Wendy Kirk (She/Her)

My process is very client-driven.  During the first appointment, if there isn’t something urgent, I usually do a family history, asking a lot of questions about relationships and experiences in the family, because I believe that those kinds of things shape us, and setting up that framework helps us as we move forward.

I have trained in a number of different modalities, so I am able to draw on the ones that seem to work best with each client. How I Work with one client can differ from how I work with another.  I can only know how I will work with you as I get to know you, and that may change over time.  I also have a history of working in social services, and I can offer practical suggestions for many situations that occur in life.

Homework is an important part of the process.  It’s tailored to your particular needs, and the time that you have available to make completion possible.  Sometimes, it takes awhile to finish something because there are other obstacles that need to be cleared out of the way.  We will do that together.

It’s helpful to have a therapist who is there when things become difficult, or there’s a new issue to address.  Life is a journey with lots of changes and transitions, and we will have different things to deal with at different times in our lives.  I have experienced having to start at the beginning again, and I understand the value of having someone who already gets what that can feel like.

Understanding and interpreting those experiences through different lenses can be very beneficial.  While understanding is important to the process, being reconnected with our feelings, and bridging to the knowledge about our experience our body holds, is also critical to the work.

I worked for some time in the social services sector in the deaf community, and continue to work part-time as an American Sign Language Interpreter.  During my time at the agency, I ran group and foster homes for children and deaf-plus adolescents and adults, interpreting services, summer camp, social service programs, and worked extensively with various levels of government.  These experiences have significantly affected how I see the world.

Although I have interpreted in many different sectors, I have primarily worked in the legal system for many years, and I continue to do so on a limited basis.

I’ve single-parented two adult children who are neuro-atypical in different ways, with the struggles and delights that that entails.  I think most people are unique, with different ways of being in the world.

My own work in psychotherapy helped me know this is what I wanted to do.  I returned to graduate school while my children were young, and did my Masters of Divinity (counselling) at Ontario Theological Seminary, and that was the basis for my work.  I’ve trained extensively since then in a variety of areas, as described on my website (www.comingintolife.com). 

I believe that play and creativity are critical to life and growth, and make significant impact on our brain’s development.  I love reading, sewing, quilting, wire crafts (I make trees), and experimenting with other new types of creativity.  I belong to an international writers’ group that meets virtually and in person as we are able.  I’m trying to write a book—it’s slow progress.