Tina Borsa

 

Hi, I’m Tina (she/her).

** Please fill out this form to apply to work with me or another intern on our team. **

Let’s embrace our wonderful authentic selves! I’m Tina and I am passionate about helping people on their journey through life’s challenges. My goal is to help empower my clients to recognize their strengths, experience growth, and build resiliency. I want to help motivate you while making sure you never feel judged for struggling. The world is a tricky place, and for those of us that fall outside the norm sometimes those challenges can leave us feeling othered, stigmatized and down on ourselves.

My family moved to Canada from Iran as refugees when I was two and it was challenging to cope and negotiate multiple competing world views. Personally, I didn’t always fit in with any cultural expectations, gender norms, sexuality norms, and faced a lot of difficulty as a result. I recognize that it’s challenging to be your authentic self and to know what that even means. Sometimes we miss out on self discovery which can leave us feeling confused in adulthood. Counselling is one of the places that I have found helped me discover more about myself and to overcome some of the deep wounds that made life feel confusing. I have been married for many years now and authenticity and honest communication has helped my partner and I explore the world and develop a greater sense of who we are as individuals and teammates. If you resonate with my story we might be a great fit. I am passionate about working with people from all walks of life and anyone who has felt like they don’t fit in. 

My areas of focus include:

  • Navigating Adolescence and Early Adulthood

  • Issues with self esteem, body image, gender, identity, sex and sexuality

  • ADHD and neurodiversity

  • Intersectionality (intersections between race, gender, and sexuality)

  • Overcoming adverse experiences 

As a counselling intern, I am able to provide trauma-informed counselling but not specialized trauma treatment. I am also unable to provide treatment for those experiencing active psychosis and cannot write gender affirming assessments for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and gender affirming surgery. Post-traumatic stress, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and active addiction will be considered by my clinical supervisors on a case-by-case basis to ensure I can provide an appropriate level and type of support.

Adolescence is a time of self discovery. As a former teacher, guiding adolescents through challenging life circumstances is one of the ways I became interested in the counseling field. Youth often struggle with self-esteem, body image, gender identity, and sexuality. Working through those challenges alone can be challenging for any adolescent. I am here to help. 

I enjoy helping clients with ADHD use their unique strengths and develop greater capacity to overcome challenges they are facing. I recognize that the world is not always forgiving of us but by building self confidence and skills we can use our strengths to overcome challenges unique to a neurodivergent life. 

Sometimes our lived experiences as marginalized people create additional barriers and traumas that leave us feeling wounded and helpless. Exploring and making meaning of these experiences can be hugely beneficial in creating resiliency and recognizing the strength it takes to be our authentic selves. Sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we don’t want to be strong. That is normal. Regardless of where we are at, our story is precious and we have the ability to shape it. 

Session Fee: $40 per 50-minute session (plus applicable tax).