Barb Foston

My passion for counselling comes from my own experiences navigating life’s challenges, relationships, academic and professional environments, and trauma. It further developed from my experience living with ADHD and being part of a neurodivergent family. While my education and training shape my work, I believe my personal experiences and learning from others are equally important. I feel honoured when people trust me to support them on their healing journey, knowing how brave it is to be vulnerable in a therapy setting. My goal is to help you better understand yourself and your challenges, alter unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour, tap into your inner strength, and make positive changes in your life.

Many of the individuals I see feel stuck and unsure of their capacity to manage life’s struggles independently. Providing a safe space to process these challenges nurtures hope and offers clarity. For more than two decades, I've gained extensive experience collaborating with individuals and families navigating a range of exceptionalities and experiences, including but not limited to Trauma and PTSD, ADHD, ASD, Mood Disorders, and Anxiety Disorders. My focus has been on addressing various concerns that impact mental well-being and daily life, such as grief and loss, social-emotional development, executive functioning, stress management, life transitions, academic and professional planning and performance, and self-discovery.

I engage with curiosity, sensitivity, warmth, and a bit of humour. I know that when you enter the room, you bring a wealth of experience that is unique to you. Therefore, your individual characteristics, preferences, needs, beliefs, and abilities will be considered when determining the format of our sessions. By integrating various evidence-based counselling theories and techniques, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and Somatic and Mindfulness Practices, alongside your self-knowledge, we can broaden our understanding of the presenting concerns, create personalized goals, and ensure the therapeutic benefit is maximized.

My hope is that, through our work together, you will rediscover your inner strength and personal power, fostering a deeper understanding of self, increased self-compassion, and meaningful change. We will work together to make sense of the challenges you are facing and co-create a preferred way of engaging in life.

I invite you to contact me by email to arrange a free 20-minute consultation to determine if working together feels like a good fit. Please check your spam folder if you do not receive a response from me within two business days.