Joni Stryde
(She/Her/Hers)

Joni has been working in the field of mental health for over 15 years. She is a Registered Psychologist and Certified Play Therapist. Her focus in therapy sessions with children and adolescents is primarily play-based and trauma-informed, engaging with compassion and patience. Joni is a professional member of the College of Alberta Psychologists and can also provide clinical supervision for intern counsellors working through their certification programs.

Joni has worked in schools for most of her career and started out as a classroom teacher. She has a great deal of experience helping children while providing extra support for parents and other family members. Her approach involves looking through an attachment-based lens within a safe and supportive environment in order to provide guidance for clients throughout their therapeutic journey. Originally from New Brunswick, she brings the warmth of those roots into every aspect of her work, such as fostering secure family attachments and finding solace in nature.

In her practice, Joni has a therapy dog (Penny), who often joins in during therapy sessions to support clients through their struggles. As a team, Penny and Joni will create a therapeutic environment where clients can explore, heal, and grow. It has been shown that a human’s core need for safety, security and connection can be established through traditional therapy experiences, and those needs will often evolve further with animal assistance. Joni will integrate a collaborative approach to incorporate Penny in various therapeutic modalities in order to accommodate individual client needs.

Approach:  Joni is a very kind-hearted, patient and compassionate therapist. She believes that emotional well-being, positive connection and somatic movement enables us to regulate. Joni & Penny provide support from a place of empathy and genuine positivity where clients can make progress towards significant goals. 

Trainings: 

• Advanced Play Therapy

• Sandtray 

• Emotion Freedom Technique (EFT - tapping), 

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) 

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Circle of Security

Fun Facts: Joni loves animals and enjoys spending time outside. She can often be found hanging out at the barn with horses, out trail riding, or spending quality time with her kids. Black coffee is a must in the morning and her ideal snack is apples & peanut butter. Joni is from New Brunswick and thrives on being oceanside, toes in the water, or paddling around in a kayak. Her favourite movie is ~Planes, Trains, and Automobiles~, which is filled with great quotes and inside jokes.

Specialties: Joni’s primary focus in session is play-based and/or animal assisted therapy techniques. She has experience working with individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, grief & loss, relational issues, divorce, attachment, trauma, parenting, life transitions, addictions, as well as emotional regulation and behavioural concerns. 

Client Focus: Children & Parents, Adults, Youth, 2SLGBTQIA+

Rate: $220