ABOUT ME
Tiffany Merritt RP, RCAT, BFA #008609, #328-R-22 Registered Psychotherapist & Registered Canadian Art Therapist
I was an anxious kid. I worried all the time. I worried in the hope that by worrying my worries wouldn’t come true. When I later learned that there was a therapeutic profession that could help people to share their stories, express their feelings, learn coping skills, worry less and feel better about themselves, I dreamed of how one day I might be able to support people in that way.
I didn’t realize how therapeutic it was at the time to create things, but in my youth I spent ALOT of time painting art, doodling on the walls of my bedroom and making film/videos. Eventually this creative talent and passion took me in the direction of an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (2000) from York University and a career in film and television as an assistant director & development co-ordinator. Then at 24 years old my adventurous and playful side decided to embark on a sailing adventure aboard a 96 foot tall-ship called the HM Bark Endeavour with 55 other people that sailed from Australia to England. I was offered a permanent job on board as a watch-leader and spent the next 4 years sailing around the world teaching people how to sail a tall-ship. I slept in a hammock, scrubbed the deck, climbed aloft, survived force 9 storms and saw the most beautiful sunsets of my life. Looking back at my time on board the ship, along with testing my courage it was also a true test of my interpersonal communication skills living in such extreme conditions!
In 2008 my curiosity and love for helping others encouraged me to become a 300 hour Jivamukti yoga & mindfulness certified teacher, and even though as of 2017 I am no longer teaching public yoga classes, I continue to practice mindfulness & am always learning more about neuroscience, somatic body-based approaches, self-compassion practices and the mind-body connection. Alongside teaching yoga I worked for years as a birth doula and my nurturing presence supported dozens of women and their families through the emotional, physical and psychological highs and lows of pregnancy, labour, birth and early postpartum. I continue to have a passion for supporting families through fertility issues, pregnancy loss, birth, postpartum depression/anxiety, and parent-hood struggles.
I’m incredibly grateful for each one of these previous careers and life experiences that supported me to eventually complete a masters level graduate degree at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute in 2015 and become the therapist that I believed in as a child. Now as a psychotherapist & art therapist I weave that creativity, playfulness, curiosity and presence into every therapeutic relationship, and as a human being who was once a child consumed with worry I also bring a great deal of empathy and compassion.
As a Registered Psychotherapist and a Registered Canadian Art Therapist, I abide by the code of ethics and the standards of practice of both the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA). I am also a clinical member of the Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists (OSRP).
During my "me time" I enjoy spending time making memories with my daughter & family, gardening, downhill skiing, playing around with photography, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), practicing yoga, & pilates, cooking yummy food, walking my dog and many other soul nourishing activities.
RECENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
I love to learn new skills and practices, so along with participating in regular group supervision & professional consultations, I have recently completed the following trainings, certifications and workshops/webinars:
2024
Neurodivergence, Trauma, and Somatic Experiencing (2 hour webinar) with Sarah Schlote, MA, RP, CCC, SEP - completed October 2024
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Certification (SEP) (3 year training) with Maureen Gallagher Completed: Beginning 1 (April 2024), Beginning 2 (June 2024), Beginning 3 ( October 2024)
2023
Working with Complex Trauma: Innovative Approaches for Restoring Mind-Body Integration with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and Linda Thai, LMSW - completed November 2023
Relational Life Therapy Training - Level One (10.5 hours) with Terry Real & others - completing currently online July 2023
Memory Reconsolidation: Translating Neuroscience into Art (24 hrs) with Juliane Taylor Shore, LPC-S, LMFT-S, SEP – currently completing
Certificate in Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies (18 hrs) with Linda Thai LMSW, ERYT-200, CLYL – completed May 2023
The Art of Art Therapy Supervision (30 hrs) with Monica Carpendale BFA, RCAT, BCATR, DVATI - completed March 2023
The Neurobiology of Feeling Safe 2: Safety Within and Between (21 hours) with Juliane Taylor Shore, LPC-S, LMFT-S, SEP – completed April 2023
2022
The Neurobiology of Feeling Safe: Working with Boundaries Inside & Out (15hrs) with Juliane Taylor Shore, LPC-S, LMFT-S, SEP – completed September 2022
Living with the Legacy of Loss -A Somatic Approach for Working with Grief (12hrs) with Dr. Janina Fisher, Ph.D. - completed June 2022
Level 3 CERTIFICATION -Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) (24hrs) with Dr. Janina Fisher, Ph.D. - Certified Practitioner June 2022
Neurobiology with Heart (12.5hrs) with Juliane Taylor Shore, LPC-S, LMFT-S, SEP. - completed March 2022
A Therapist’s Path for Exploring Implicit Bias and Racial Trauma (6hrs) faciliated by Janina Fisher PhD, Debra Chatman-Finley, Gliceria Perez - completed June 2022
The Essential Guide to Gender Diversity in Children and Adolescents: What Every Therapist Needs to Know (12.5 hrs) with Sarah Burgamy, Psy.D. - completed January 2022
Creative Solutions for ADHD (3hrs) with Liana Lowenstein MSW, RSW, CPT-S - completed January 2022
2021
Level 2- Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST): Building Internal Safety and Connection (22.5hrs) with Janina Fisher PhD – completed December 2021
Polyvagal-Focused and Sensorimotor Expressive Arts Therapy (18hrs) with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi PhD, LPAT, LPCC, ATR-BC, REAT, and Dr. Elizabeth Warson — completed October 2021
Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing (3hrs) – completed August 2021
Level 1- Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST): Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors (22.5hrs) with Janina Fisher PhD– completed May 2021
Tips for Online Therapy with Kids and Teens (2hrs) with Liana Lowenstein MSW, RSW, CPT-S – completed March 2021
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Dissociation & the Body (2hr) with Pat Olgen – completed February 2021
2020
Experiential Internal Family Systems (IFS) Workshop (12 hrs) with Dr. Risa Adams & Marina Hasan – completed November 2020
Embodied Presence in Online Coaching & Therapy (4hrs) with Jane Clapp & Yvette Lalonde– completed May 2020
Children’s Grief & Bereavement Certificate (27hrs) with Andrea Warnick – completed February 2020
Mindfulness Informed End of Life Care (MIEOL) Module 3 (14hrs), Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto – completed January 2020
2019
Mindfulness Informed End of Life Care (MIEOL) Module 2 (14hrs), Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto – completed November 2019
Mindfulness Informed End of Life Care (MIEOL) Module 1 (14hrs), Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto – completed October 2019
Narrative Therapy Intensive Training (27hours) - Narrative Therapy Centre - completed July 2019
2015
Certified Trauma Integration Clincian Core Training (12 hrs) with Lori Gill MSW, RSW, CPT-S, at Attachment and Trauma Treatment Centre for Healing (ATTCH) - completed July 2015
Narrative Responses to Self-Harm & Suicidal Thoughts (3hrs) - Narrative Therapy Toronto (Oolagen) - completed August 2015