Lori Helfenbaum

Registered Social Worker (She/Her)

Get to Know Lori

Many people come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, stuck, disconnected, or exhausted from trying to hold everything together on their own. You may not fully understand why things feel so difficult right now; only that something needs to change.
 
My role is to help you slow things down, make sense of what you’re carrying, and create space for movement forward. Together, we look at the full context of your life — your relationships, experiences, pressures, and patterns — rather than reducing your struggles to something “wrong” inside you. I believe your story deserves to be heard in your own words. Therapy with me is collaborative, thoughtful, and grounded in curiosity rather than judgment.
 
Alongside the pain or challenges you’re facing, I also pay close attention to the strengths, values, and survival strategies that have helped you keep going. Often, people overlook the resilience, care, and intention already present in how they’ve responded to difficult experiences.
 
I’ve worked as a counsellor since 2012, supporting individuals, couples, families (18+), and groups across public health, post-secondary institutions, non-profit organizations, and private practice. My work draws from narrative, response-based, and solution-focused therapies, and I tailor the process to fit your needs, goals, and circumstances. I also provide consultation and supervision to other therapists.

About Lori’s Practice

What is your training?

I have a Masters in Social Work (clinical specialization), extensive training through both the Vancouver and Toronto Schools of Narrative Therapy, and completed a year-long externship at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre. I’m also a member of the Trans Affirming Network in Calgary, Alberta.

I consider myself an adult generalist in that I love and have experience working with folks from young adulthood to older age, and from broadly diverse backgrounds. No topic is off-limits in our conversations, including trauma, sexuality, gender, racism, relationships, family struggles, grief/loss, self-image, life transitions, or any other day-to-day challenges.
I have a particular interest in working with people across the lifespan, on issues including (but not limited to):
  • Partner relationships
  • Trauma (childhood physical/emotional/sexual abuse, intimate partner violence)
  • Women’s issues across the lifespan, including perimenopause and menopause
  • Separation and divorce
  • Abortion, pregnancy, post-partum and perinatal concerns, infertility
  • Grief
  • Strengthening self-esteem and your relationship with yourself
  • Gender roles
  • Discrimination – racial, religious, cultural, gender-based, ability-based
  • Work-life balance
  • Religion and religious trauma
  • Sexuality
  • Gender identity and expression
  • Friendships
  • Chronic health conditions
  • Body image
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
I bring both professional training and lived experience to my work. Having sought mental health support myself, I know how vulnerable it can feel to reach out for help – and how harmful it can be when care is dismissive or disrespectful. These experiences shape my understanding that distress is not simply something that is located within individuals but is often connected to larger social forces such as gender inequality, racism, hetero and cis-normativity, cultural bias, and economic pressures.

lori@monarchpsychology.com

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