“Life can sometimes darken our hearts and make things feel difficult or even insurmountable. A cloud may cover our hearts, sending us into a deep fog where symptoms like anxiety and depression can take hold. There are any number of life circumstances that can lead to experiencing mental health challenges. Some begin before we are even able to speak and while others emerge throughout the lifespan. The struggles are real, and it may feel as though there is no way out. However, there are tools and resources to help you smile from your heart once more or maybe for the first time.” – Donna Hutchinson

About Donna

Donna Hutchinson is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, EMDR Practitioner, Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor, Registered Personal Trainer/Fitness Instructor, and she hold’s Master of Education in Counselling Psychology.

Thirty years ago, Donna started a career in the fitness industry as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. She worked in many sectors of the industry and eventually became a Master Trainer of fitness leaders, an author, and a professional speaker. As the years went by, Donna’s clients and even some of her students would speak to her about their mental health struggles, including struggles with body image, eating disorders, low self-esteem, inner critics, trauma, and much more. Donna really wanted to be able to help these individuals, but recognized their issues were outside of her scope of practice, education, and knowledge. Not satisfied by this limitation and wanting a new challenge for herself, Donna decided, at age 46, to go back to school and add a master’s degree in counselling psychology to her tool kit. While she loves fitness and will always remain involved in the industry, Donna is happy to make this career shift and truly be able to bring together both mind and body in her work together with her clients.

Approach to Counselling

Donna brings her vast knowledge, experience, and expertise from 30+ years of living and breathing health and fitness coupled with a solid foundation of psychology. She truly integrates the body-mind experience into her sessions with her clients. Donna is a certified trauma-informed yoga instructor and incorporates mindfulness practices into her work with her clients. She utilizes the tools I offer my clients because I know how beneficial they are. I am not all about academia. Donna also has a sense of humour and likes to use it when appropriate in therapy. Some issues are difficult to discuss, and humour can be a really helpful form of healing.

Donna practices from a mindfulness based perspective and brings theoretical components of cognitive behavioural therapy, internal family systems, emotion focused therapy, and narrative therapy into her work with her clients. Donna is also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidence-based therapy for treating PTSD and other traumas. Common concerns that Donna works with are life transitions, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, depression, self-worth, self-esteem, trauma, body image, eating disorders, sexual, gender discovery and identity, inner critics, grief & loss, self-harm, suicide ideation, childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, and personal growth.

Couples Counselling

With her work with couples, Donna uses Imago relationship therapy (Imago means image) which addresses two journeys that connect experiences of relationship in childhood with experiences in adult love relationships. As your Imago therapist, Donna will work to support you and your relationship by exploring the space between you and what is preventing you from connecting to one another. To seek to understand what’s underneath all the hurt, the reactions and the behaviours that seem to make it difficult or even sometimes impossible to feel seen, heard and understood by the other. The Imago dialogue, facilitated by your Imago Therapist, is specifically designed to help you each explore your unique worlds and invite your loving partner to join you in a way that feels safe, supportive and connected. The Imago Dialogue is easy to learn and something you will be able to do on your own to deepen the connection between you. Donna is currently completing the Imago Relationship Therapy Certification and for a limited time will be offering  90-minute sessions at a 75-minute rate. 

Schedule

Donna offers virtual counselling only, on these days:

Mondays: 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm

Tuesdays & Thursdays: 5pm-7pm

Wednesdays & Fridays: 9am-12pm

Fees

$160 – $263