Hi, I'm Angeline.
Angeline Antonakos Boswell, MA, Registered Psychotherapist, Certified Canadian Counsellor
First, let me tell you a little bit about myself and why I do this.
I wasn't always going to be a therapist. But during a time of difficulty in my life, a lot of people showed me a lot of love and support, and I realized how much brighter the world could be once I knew how to look for the light in it (PS: I now strongly believe that people, like plants, know how to grow and have all they need inside them to grow, as long as the obstacles are removed for them to find the light). I took a pause from studies, and worked on a permaculture farm in the Balkans (where my roots are) where I was surrounded by nature, interconnection, and community; there I asked myself what I really needed in order to be fulfilled. It turns out, contributing to a sense of connection in this world, and working towards a holistic sense of wellbeing in myself, others, and the community is what makes my heart tick.
In my work and in my training, I centre: incorporating the client's own worldview and values into session instead of imposing my own; deconstructing unhelpful societal messages; and challenging the tendency to pathologize the individual instead of looking at collective systems of wellness.
I strongly believe that we are a part of one another - that we are a part of our communities and our earth - and tending to those spaces we interconnect is meaningful.
I have dedicated my life to seeking individual and collective wellbeing, and sharing that journey with others, like yourself, is an honour. Being a therapist is not only a job to me, but is part of what I feel I have been put on this earth to do. If you feel emotionally held in a world & system that can often be cold and uncaring, then I am doing what I'm meant to be doing.
My co-therapist on the window ledge...
Outside of session...
My life is about community. We are each other, I deeply believe; so to take care of myself holistically is to constantly tend to the collective as well.
I run a donation garden which feeds some local food access hubs, helping people in need access fresh produce. (Plus fulfilling my own passion for working outdoors in ecologically conscious ways). I volunteer in different capacities for the welfare of animals, such as in a local farm animal sanctuary.
Assisting underserved communities in accessing food and basic needs is a huge driver for me. I work with local organizations to deliver and serve free items and food, and to contribute to a free community space (community is a basic need too!).
I have a dog and a cat and live in the country. I adore cooking and, let's be honest, watching Netflix and doing nothing whenever possible. In the winter, I'll sometimes be in Greece where my family is from, working virtually!
Education:
MA in Counselling and Spirituality, Saint Paul University
Degree Included: Internship at the Saint Paul Counselling Centre, and External Placement at a private Sex Therapy practice.
My degree was centred around incorporating the client's own worldview, beliefs, and values into session instead of imposing my own. This is a central value to me and a core component of person-centred therapy.
Intensive Sex Therapy Training Program, Guelph University
Program included intensive training on: understanding individual sexuality/sexual experience; treatment methods for a wide range of sexual concerns; diverse perspectives on relationship structures, sexuality, identity, kink-positive practice, and more; increasing client experiences of pleasure and self-acceptance; and exploring the relational, cultural, emotional, psychological, and physical aspects of sexual experience.
BSc in Anthropology, University of Ottawa
Degree Included: Specialized coursework on death and cultural perspectives; and fieldwork done on what "meaningful living for the soul" means to those in back-to-the-land movements in the Balkans.
Licenses & Memberships:
Registered Psychotherapist, License #11651, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
Certified Canadian Counsellor, #10009424, Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
Training & Certificates:
Decolonizing Therapy: Sacred Rage, Sacred Grief, and Sacred Boundaries, with Dr. Jennifer Mullan
A training program which challenges eurocentric, pathologizing, and individualized models of wellness and therapy, to better support the rage and grief experienced by clients via systemic oppression.
"Decolonizing Therapy sits at the intersections of the psychological, political, ancestral, and the collective. It’s a loving, but urgent call to: bravely and earnestly confront the multi-generational impact of colonization on all of us; uncover and tend to the real roots of symptoms and suffering; [...] It calls for an end to individualistic and pathologizing Eurocentric methods of wellness–one that includes those who have been purposely excluded and historically forgotten. It demands a model of mental health that is accessible to all and that offers a path to liberation and thriving."
The Body Positive Institute: Body Positive Psychotherapy
"Create a new definition of health that focuses on useful health markers, leaving weight and size out of the equation... Understand the problematic, oppressive history behind the BMI, and learn how to release the pressure to force your body into the “right” category... Redefine beauty to include yourself, and to include more than what you look like, as you resist the mainstream definition of beauty that is based on exclusive (and often racist) ideals. Free your energy from worrying about your appearance, making room for your own authentic desires and aspirations... Honor your body as your precious home passed down from many, many ancestors."
Dr. Sue Johnson, Emotion Focused Therapy: Attachment Science in Practice Certificate
Training by an innovator of EFT, Dr. Sue Johnson, to explore how focusing on client emotional experience leads to an expression of internal needs, and provides an avenue for growth.
Nutrition Therapy for Mental Health Program, MAK Nutrition
Resisting weight-centric care, healing food and body relationships, and looking at moving toward intuitive and gentle nutrition from a trauma and eating-disorder informed lens.
The Buehler Institute, Sex Therapy Certificate
Covering the essentials of working in the field of sex therapy, according to the necessary areas of study and experience recognized by AASECT. This was a precursor to my intensive sex therapy training program through Guelph University.
Body Peace Collaborative, Eating Disorder Sensitive Certificate
Building sensitivity to eating disorder experiences through attention to language used, approaches recommended, and more; to build a more inclusive space for anyone with difficult relationships to food. Introduction to different routes of intervention.
Breaking the Binge Eating Cycle, Simple Practice Learning with Dr. Danielle Keenan-Miller
A focus on the role of shame, stigma, and negative emotional cycles fueling binge eating behaviours as well as often fueling barriers to clients bringing their experiences forward in therapy. Training explored creating a positive atmosphere and tackling binge eating at the level of emotions/shame through acceptance.
CRPO License #11651; CCPA Certification #10009424