About Us
Our Commitment To You
Our therapists have experience treating eating and body image concerns AND have specialized training in these areas.
We believe eating and body image concerns are best treated by therapists who have extensive experience treating eating and body image concerns AND who have completed specialized training in therapy approaches designed specifically for these concerns.
We will NOT perpetuate the systems that oppress people based on their body size.
We take a HAES (health at every size) and non-diet approach. EVERYONE deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and everyone deserves to have access to quality care.
We provide somatic and body-based services.
Eating and body image concerns contribute to, and are the result of, varying degrees of disconnection from your body. Failing to work on helping you to re-establish internal connection and embodiment hinders treatment and limits the progress that is possible.
Our work is trauma-informed.
While it isn’t a prerequisite to having a difficult relationship with food or your body, trauma often contributes to the development of disordered eating and disconnection from one’s body.
We recognize that many individuals in larger bodies experience oppression simply because of the size of their body. We recognize that anti-fat bias and weight stigma are sources of trauma in their own right.
“The goal of therapy should never be to help people adjust to oppression.”
— Carmon Cool
Meet Maggie.
Clinic Owner
Registered Psychologist, Intuitive Eating Counsellor and Yoga Teacher
Margaret (Maggie) Brennan, PhD
Hi, I am Maggie and I am glad you are here. As a fellow human being I understand how messy, challenging and painful life can be. I have personally struggled with binge eating and had to learn how to overcome eating struggles in my own life. I am passionate about, and committed, to helping others heal their relationship with food, their bodies and themselves.
My areas of expertise include binge eating, bulimia, emotional eating, trauma, emotion and nervous system regulation, anxiety and embodiment.
Therapy Methods
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EMDR is a therapy approach that was developed to address trauma and has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of trauma. EMDR does not require talking in detail about traumatic experiences, and instead uses bilateral stimulation to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain.
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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy was developed to address trauma and attachment issues. It draws on somatic therapies, neuroscience, attachment theories, mindfulness, and cognitive approaches. SP views the body as an incredible resource and works directly with the body and nervous system in the processing of trauma.
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IFS therapy maintains that everyone has different parts (e.g., an inner critic, a perfectionist part, a procrastinator part) as well as a Self. Some parts carry trauma or painful emotions and other parts try to protect these wounded parts. Protector parts can get stuck in extreme roles that have adverse consequences. IFS aims to heal parts from the traumas they have experienced or the burdens they carry so that the system can come into balance and the individual can be more Self-led.
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Compassion-focused therapy emphasizes the cultivation of self-compassion and compassion for others to help counteract self-criticism and shame and promote healing and well-being.
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Mindfulness refers to the ability to bring awareness to one’s present moment experience witht the qualities of curiosity, kindness and non-judgment. Mindfulness-based therapies help individuals develop this capacity through both formal and informal mindfulness practices and incorporate teachings from the mindfulness tradition.
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Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that works directIy with the body. There are many different kinds of somatic therapy. Somatic therapy helps individuals inhabit their bodies so that they can use their body as a resource; gain awareness of the information coming from the body and regain trust in this information so they can take effective action to get their needs met; learn to move and work with their body in ways that help to experience feelings of calm and safety, energy, or empowerment; and heal traumas that are held in the body.