We were lucky to catch up with Kristin Garrity recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin , thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

When I reflect on my career, I can’t help but smile. I have loved every work environment that I have had for different reasons. I started in children’s mental health, working with ages 12-18 in a “live-in treatment” facility. I was there for 12 years and the lessons I learnt were incredible, the skills I was able to develop in communication, teamwork and mental health interventions were vital in building my foundation and core beliefs. I worked in different settings, including as an educational intervenor for a school board and then moved into hospital work. The hospital was huge for me, as it had been a goal of mine for a long time. I worked in a day treatment program and on the psychiatric unit and crisis team. I thought that I would stay there for a long time, but the longer I stayed, the more I realized that I was being held back from supporting people in the authentic way I wanted to be able to. This started to weigh on me and I began to understand that as long as I was working for a large organization I was going to have to follow suit with the way things were done there, even if it did not align with my values as a clinician.
In 2020 I won a hospital-wide award for “serving with purpose”. This was a huge honour and yet I still could not shake the feeling that I was part of the problem rather than part of the solution due to bureaucracy. This was the defining moment for me, I had “princess parking” (underground) and an 8-4 day shift in a hospital with great pay and benefits; however, I had to resign. I knew that I would not reach my potential in supporting people if I stayed in an environment that limited the way I could do my job. I decided to give up all of those perks and go out on my own so that I could deliver clinically sound support to people in need on my terms. I wanted to do what made sense for the client and not be boxed in because of the work setting.
Since being on my own, I have established myself within the community of Port Perry, working out of a wellness clinic, Healthspace Collective.
Here I have supported children, adolescents, families and individuals in creating relationships that allow for the therapeutic alliance to thrive. I have supported clients in overcoming obstacles such as taking public transportation, ordering food at coffee shops, safety planning for self-harm and managing active addiction. I have been able to really meet the needs of the clients I serve and I leave work every day feeling like I am finally part of the solution. I am grateful for the people who come to see me, open up and allow me to be a part of their journey.
Leaving the hospital was very scary for me but I knew I had to try and see what I could do if I branched out on my own and now I know I can do anything! I can help a young adult learn to make a grilled cheese, and I can support a family in advocating for their child at school. I pride myself on offering a different experience to clients who come to see me. From the intake process to the way sessions are structured, and because of this, I leave work at the end of the day feeling like I am living a life that is true to me and making a difference in the best ways.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

When I was picking a college program to apply to, I narrowed it down to two options. The first was a child and youth worker and the second was a funeral director. When people hear this, I usually get a strange look followed by many questions lol, but if you break it down, I wanted to help people who were experiencing distress, crisis, and big emotions, and loss and grief are parts of everyone’s journey. I opted to go the child and youth work route and expanded my education with undergrad, becoming a Psychotherapist and now I’m halfway through completing the MSW program and looking at PHD programs for the future.

In my practice I support all sorts of people experiencing a wide range of stressors. I work with young children and we look at emotions and language and strategies for managing upsets. I support teens with social issues, family conflict, self-harm, and procrastination. I support individuals with a wide range of stressors and families. I love that every day is different and every person is so unique with different strengths and needs. I use a combination of evidence-based interventions to support my clients, including cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and person-centred care.

I am proud that from start to finish I offer a unique experience in a therapeutic setting. I focus on relationship and rapport, I do not write while we talk, I ask questions and get to know the person on a real level that is not cold and overly clinical. I am respectful of my clients’ time in session and out of session, and I try to support them in getting the most out of every session.

When it comes to my brand, I have a one-line tree that holds very special meaning to me. It is a pine tree and if you turn it sideways, you can see that it says the word “through” the premise is “through the pines”, which comes from a song that I hold close to my heart. The song is an old folk song. I knew the Nirvana version (which I have always loved) but during my undergrad, I took a music course as an elective and I chose to write my paper on that song. I learnt that it was an old folk song and the lyrics had been changed multiple times over the years and it was made famous by Huddy Leadbetter (who had a fascinating and tragic life). The chorus ‘In the pines, in the pines where the sun don’t ever shine, I would shiver the whole night through’ always pulled at my heart, and then learning the meaning – that the pines meant the struggle, the darkness, the journey and perseverance through our hardest moments – made me want to find a way to incorporate it into my brand. This is how “through the pines” came to light and the one-tree symbol came about.
I pride myself on helping people through the pines.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think lived experience has helped me in this field equal parts, if not more than training and education. I left home at a young age and learnt almost every life lesson the hardest way possible. From doing this, I was able to meet and talk to people of all walks of life from all over this country. Growing up my mom and I moved (alot) I switched schools many times, sometimes in the middle of the school year. This was hard but I began to master the art of meeting new people and learning how to connect with people quickly. When I left home, I moved around a lot too lol but now I was going farther. I lived in Thunder Bay, Calgary and Vancouver twice before settling down in Holland Landing/Newmarket. Throughout my journeys all over this beautiful country, I met people of all walks of life and I was able to sit and talk and connect with almost all of them. These were the most valuable skills I could have acquired! the ability to listen without judgement and connect with people and really learn from them. Fun fact: I also learnt that if you listen to all types of music, you can connect with almost anyone. Music is this universal tool that connects us so I have a wide and eclectic music taste, lol.

I have always helped people in the community, talked to people on the bus and made connections everywhere I go. Talking to people, feeling that genuine connection and building rapport has always fuelled me and filled me up.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It is hard for me to share this, but I think that because of the unconventional way I have done things throughout my life, a lot of people (family and friends of the family) believed that I would probably not be very successful. I had a child at a young age and I faced a lot of criticism, scepticism and overall negative judgements from many. I remember taking the bus with my son when he was a baby and people saying to me that I look so young and then saying “babies having babies”. I think there was a genuine belief from many that having a child was going to stop me from gaining education, owning a home, and thriving in life. I can’t speak to others’ lived experiences; I can only speak to mine and my son has never held me back from anything. I have had a living, breathing reason to work harder, do better and overcome every obstacle that life threw at me.

My son Nickolas was with me throughout my post-secondary journey and I remember him asking me when he was little why I had to do homework, and I told him because I was going to buy him a house. I told him that every time he asked and I remember him telling people that I had to do homework so I could buy him a house, so the year after I graduated college, I bought a townhouse in Newmarket to keep my word to my little boy, who was my biggest cheerleader without even knowing it.

There is also another part to this that is important to my story, I had my son when I was eighteen and unfortunately my father died suddenly and unexpectedly when I was nineteen. He was able to see me throughout my pregnancy and meet my son, which is something I will be forever grateful for. I think that is part of what gave me strength to deal with the negativity I faced from people in the community and the negative judgements that came my way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://healthspacecollective.ca
• Instagram: kristin.garrity.therapy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristin.michele.625807
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristingarritytherapy
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/kristin-garrity-therapy-port-perry-on/986864

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