We strive to help those who come to us for counselling. We assess those who want to discover more about themselves, and we help families come together. Our goal is to preserve mental health and wellness and make an impact on people’s lives.
Many people can benefit from The Canadian Psychologists Network services, including:
- Individuals who are suffering from mental and behavioural challenges
- Children or adults who require counselling and/or psychoeducational assessments
- Discovering a child’s giftedness
- Individuals and couples experiencing relationship issues
- People who are living either with PTSD, anxiety, and trauma
Amber Skoczek
Counselling
Amber Skoczek, MSW, RSW EMDR, Child and Youth Counselling, Family Counselling
EDUCATION: Master of Social Work with Clinical Specialization in Trauma-Informed Practice – University of Calgary
Bachelor of Child and Youth Care – University of Victoria
Meet your Counsellor Amber enjoys working with individuals of all ages. She believes it is the unique experience of the individual that brings her practice to life. She has over 11 years of experience working with children, youth, and families in different capacities as a frontline worker in various residential settings. Amber worked with the Government of Alberta - Child Intervention Services and had a lengthy career with Hull Services as a Youth Counsellor and Volunteer Coordinator.
Her expertise has been grounded in developmental trauma and attachment theories. She embodies an eclectic approach that draws from creative and alternative based perspectives and integrates it with traditional talk therapy with an emphasis on client-centred focus. Amber integrates different evidence-based approaches such as Trauma Sensitive Yoga, the Polyvagal Theory and EMDR.
Amita Solanki
Counselling
Amita Solanki is a Registered Social Worker with a Master’s degree in Social Work. She started her career as a Social Services Manager in India and her practice includes Family Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Child Psychotherapy. Her Child Psychotherapy training focused on neglected children. Her training includes Crisis Intervention, Trauma-Informed Care, Behavioral Therapies, and Couples and Family Counselling. Her areas of interest include Depression, Anxiety, Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Stress Management, Partner Violence, Trauma and Sexual Abuse. Amita has over 10 years of experience working with Women, Children, Youth, Families and Individuals. Motivated and passionate to help others at a very young age, Amita participated in awareness programs and attended many conferences as a volunteer with ICYM (INDIAN CATHOLIC YOUTH MOVEMENT) where she held a Secretary position.
Gary Chernecki
M.Sc., RMFT
Counselling
Gary Chernecki, M.Sc, RMFT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Child, Couples, and Family Counselling, Individual and Group Counselling
EDUCATION:
Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy – Loma Linda University
Meet your Counsellor
Gary brings 20 years of experience in a distinct mental health discipline to help individuals, couples, and families resolve a wide variety of issues and problems. If you are feeling challenged and struggling to find hope and solutions with your interpersonal, psychological, and emotional relationships, Gary can help you focus on the positive attributes of it. His holistic ways of examining relationships and interactions can help you improve communication skills and increase stability and happiness in your life.
Gary can help you be proactive in your relationships and provide guidance in blending your families, help enrich your marriage, and provide pre-marital education and counselling. He can guide communications and therapy during an extended family conflict, infidelity, or divorce. He helps individuals, couples, and families create a safe and accepting space to process and honour emotions.
Gary’s crisis intervention skills can help individuals with anxiety, depression, anger management, and substance use difficulties. He can discuss healthy options and provide effective treatment plans for relapse prevention.
Rene Ramirez
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Counselling
Master of Psychosocial Intervention-University of Barcelona
Master of Sex Therapy and Relationship Therapy-University of Barcelona
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology-St. Mary’s University
Rene Ramirez is a registered provisional psychologist who specializes in helping people reach their potential through systemic and narrative therapy. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychosocial Intervention from the University of Barcelona, as well as a Master’s in Sex Therapy and Relationship Therapy. Rene also has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Mary’s University. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and French, and he has worked with clients from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.
His therapy sessions are tailored to each individual client’s needs, using a variety of modalities.
Rene has a strengths-based, solution-focused approach to therapy and he believes that everyone has the inner resources they need to overcome challenges and improve their relationships. When he’s not working, Rene enjoys travelling, learning new languages, and exploring different cultures.
Rene is passionate about mental health and promoting well-being in society. He feels that everyone has the potential to reach their goals with the help of psychology.
Rita St. Gelais
Counselling
Rita St Gelais, MSW, RSW
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Youth, Adults, and Couples
EDUCATION:
Master of Social Work with Clinical Specialization in Trauma-Informed Practice – University of Calgary
Bachelor of Social Work – University of Calgary
Meet Your Counselor Through evidence-based, trauma-informed, and person-centred practice, Rita provides compassion and understanding while supporting clients to work through whatever life throws their way. Whether you want to build self-confidence, learn to work through difficult situations and emotions, improve your relationships, or just need someone to listen, Rita is there to help. She strives to create a respectful and welcoming environment as she tailors her treatment to each client’s unique situation and needs. She believes that therapy is a collaborative process that requires a safe, trusting, and supportive space to create sustainable change.
Rita strives to be approachable, personable, and down-to-earth. Her collaborative approach means that she values ongoing client feedback and open communication to ensure that she is giving you the care that you deserve.
With over 5 years working as a registered social worker, Rita has experience in the areas of trauma, sexual and domestic violence, child and family conflict, peacemaking/dispute resolution, and human trafficking. While she has worked with clients struggling with a wide variety of concerns and disorders, Rita truly believes that each person is the expert in their own life and her job is to help you explore strategies and build your own unique mental health toolbox. Rita is certified in CBT and DBT Skills and she holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Calgary.
“Each journey is unique; it would be an honour to support you on yours.” ~ Rita St Gelais
We can help you through our Assess, Assist, Adapt, Achieve process.
1. ASSESS
With the help of our team of professionals, we identify and diagnose mental health problems or issues our clients may have. Although individuals don’t have to have any mental health concerns to seek us out, they might just need someone with an outside perspective to talk to.
Various assessment tools are used to diagnose an individual’s presenting problem, and a psychoeducational assessment can help identify cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses. Children and adults suspecting that they have learning disabilities may also come to us for an assessment. Individuals wanting to discover their learning and coping style can also benefit from a psychoeducational assessment. Some of these people are already professionals who would like to learn more about themselves, attain work-life balance, and reach their life and relationship goals.
2. ASSIST
After assessing and identifying our clients’ challenges, we will create a plan for their success. Client involvement in this stage is imperative so that they may be a part of their healing and improvement process. For students, we can continue to assist them by creating a plan so that they can better cope with schoolwork.
Similarly, with other clients, we would like them to be part of their treatment; what kind of treatment is right for them, and whether they are comfortable with this type of treatment. It would also help if they believed that this will help them be better, forge a relationship of trust, and connect with their counsellor/therapist.
3. ADAPT
We will help our clients adapt to their environment and manage their fears and their anxieties.
If they have learning disabilities, we would like to be able to empower them to identify their weaknesses and turn those into opportunities to learn and grow. We would like our clients to become independent of us so that they take something away with them after their therapy/treatment has concluded.
Our aim is not to keep our clients dependent on us, but to give them the strength, courage, knowledge and the will to be the best versions of themselves. Our time of assisting them is over, they should be able to navigate challenges on their own as soon as they decide that they are ready.
4. ACHIEVE
We would like to help our clients achieve their goals. Self-reliance is the culmination of their journey.
Whether their goal is to help overcome their anxiety, trauma, and PTSD; how to live a happy and full life while managing their mental health challenges. We would like to be a part of that success! We would like to create a map with our clients so that they know that they are not alone; knowledge, support, and expertise are with them throughout their journey of healing, living a life with trauma or abuse, relationship problems, or anything they came to us for. We would like to help create a plan for healthy healing not just for their mind, but also their overall health.
We are a network of mental health caregivers consisting of therapists and counsellors.
We are psychologists, therapists, and social workers.
This approach to mental healthcare is not a new concept, however, we found that there are inefficiencies in delivering quality mental health services and in the continuity in client care. Through cohesive team collaboration, our practitioners’ main focus is client care.