Vanessa Garofalo, MSW, RSW

Vanessa Garofalo is a registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist with the Ontario College of Social Workers. She provides individual therapy for general mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, life stage transitions, stress, perfectionism and interpersonal and relationship challenges. Vanessa offers a supportive and confidential space to explore concerns with kindness, curiosity, and compassion.

Vanessa’s approach to therapy is grounded in evidence-based practice. She incorporates elements of person-centered therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, emotion-focused therapy, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Vanessa believes that achieving positive outcomes for her clients is deeply rooted in a strong therapeutic alliance built on empathy, genuineness, and trust and collaboration. Vanessa’s practice is holistic, strength-based, trauma-informed, and affirming of LGBTQ2S+ identities.

She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Toronto Metropolitan University. Vanessa’s training includes a two-year psychotherapy internship at Mount Sinai Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry, which she combines with over ten years of experience providing outpatient mental health care in hospital, primary care, and research settings.