Sarah Chouffot, RSSW

​I know how it feels to be anxious, stressed, depressed, traumatized and alone. Life can throw us a lot of curve balls that make us feel not so great about ourselves. But, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. When you work along side me, I help you to learn about yourself, important mental health information, and how to move forward to start feeling better!​

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Everything that I teach about and suggest is all information that I have learned for myself and practiced. I can gladly say that it has made a significant impact!

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Where I am coming from - I grew up being a highly anxious and sensitive child and unfortunately, no one knew what children like me really needed to excel and work past the limiting symptoms of anxiety. I drove my parents nuts with my anxiety and was often told to suck it up. I learned to suppress a lot of my emotions and prided myself in hardly ever crying. Unfortunately my life became a lot worse when I was 14 years old. I had met a wonderful young man who I called my boyfriend for a few months. Sadly, like in many relationships, we got into a fight and I told him I hated him.  A few days later he went on a camping trip with his cousin and met his untimely death due to the undertow in Lake Huron. He was not found for a week. As you can imagine, this was too much for my 14 year old self to deal with. Most people struggle with feeling as though their last words to someone who has died were not good enough. My last words were horrendous. You can probably imagine the struggles that I experienced after. The shame, guilt, debilitating grief, anger, etc, on top of someone who is already anxious. Three years later, I would be kicked out of my family home for having a bad attitude and being too difficult for my mother to live with. Not exactly what an anxious, grieving, and traumatized teen needs to prosper. The next 20 years were a struggle to survive. I experienced unexplained pain, even worse anxiety, panic attacks, you name it! And life kept dealing me more bad cards! It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally began searching for answers to my misery. I advocated for myself and learned everything I could. I devoured hundreds of books on self help and psychology, I obtained my Social Service Worker diploma, and enrolled myself in numerous certification courses and webinars. I finally understood that although I was predisposed to be an anxious person (due to generational trauma) I had been suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Panic Disorder. My previous doctor said I just needed to exercise more......

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After working my butt off in the pursuit of better understanding myself, it has provided me with an amazing ability to understand the human condition and the world at large.

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There is a lot of fundamentally important information that we lack as we grow up. I believe that if we understand the biology of mental health as teens, we will be well adjusted and ready for whatever life throws our way in adulthood. Thankfully, it is never too late to learn! And if you are a parent, you can help your children have a great head start at managing the stressors of life!

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If you have been feeling even a slight amount struggle and are wondering what to do about it, please reach out! Lets get to the bottom of your negative mental health experiences and the unexplained pain and physical symptoms that you have been dealing with! Change and better health is possible!​

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It is my duty to myself, and to you to always be upgrading my skill set! I look forward to expanding my scope of practice and finding new and better ways to provide effective mental health support. It is not one size fits all!

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I offer trauma & polyvagal informed counselling services but am also trained in CBT, DBT, and ACT and offer psychotherapy under supervision. (Please see FAQ page for more information)

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Qualifications and Training

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Member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers - RSSW - License # 837797

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• Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work - Laurentian University (In progress)

• Social Service Worker - Durham College

• End of Life Doula - Douglas College

• Thanatology - Durham College

• Palliative Care - Durham College (Pending completion of field placement)

• Fundamentals of Palliative Care Training

• Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Training

• Palliative Care: In the Know

• Pallium Canada

• Grief Literacy Series

• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional - PESI

• Anxiety Certification - PESI

• Children's Mental Health Certification - PESI

• Integrative Mental Health - PESI

• How to Work with Shame - NICABM

• Practical Strategies for Working with Deep-Seated Resentment - NICABM

• Advanced Master Program for the Treatment of Trauma - NICABM

• Felt Sense Polyvagal Model - Certificate for Treating Trauma and Addiction

• Wisdom of Trauma - All Access Pass

• Rewire Therapy Institute

• Trauma Super Conference

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Wilfrid Laurier University

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy - The Association for Psychological Therapies

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - The Association for Psychological Therapies

•  Internal Family Systems Therapy Immersion - PESI

• Neuro-Based Self Regulation Toolbox for Children and Adolescents - PESI

• ASSYST Training - Rapid Response Trauma Treatment 

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+ roughly 300 psychology books read!