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Fatina Elkurdi, MSW, RSW
Fatina participates in several trauma-specific and mindfulness-based consultation and training groups and works with the clinical supervision of a registered psychologist, if required for treatment.
Fatina has over 20 years of experience in agency and hospital settings and understands the important step each of her clients takes when seeking a therapist. The evidence tells us it is your relationship with your therapist, more than anything else, that will determine the success of your treatment. Fatina is known for her warm and practical style. She has the ability to create safety in the therapeutic relationship, integrating proven methods for healing and lasting change. You will work together to determine the best path towards your goals, starting with where you are today. As a leader in applying research to practice, Fatina teaches her clients innovative skills to cope with the complexities of trauma. She has special expertise in complex PTSD, dissociative disorders, and attachment related healing.
Fatina works with members of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans, police services, and others exposed to traumatic events in their lives. For many years, she was a clinical lead within an interdisciplinary team working to stabilize those who were acutely ill in an inpatient setting. She completed a Bachelor of Science (1999) a Bachelor of Social Work (2001) and a Master of Social Work (2006) at Dalhousie University. She became skilled in the assessment of psychiatric emergencies during her time working in emergency departments and on crisis teams, which developed her understanding of the many paths that lead people to despair.
Following graduate studies, Fatina continued to train in Canada and the United States with leading experts in many exciting therapies, like CBT, DBT, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Ego State Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR.) She completed the Certificate Program at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in 2020, studying under some of the most highly regarded researchers and practitioners in North America on the application of mindfulness and meditation in psychotherapy. She trained in practice settings with teachers Ron Siegel, Psy.D, Bill Morgan, Psy.D., and Susan Morgan MSN, RN, CS, on retreats for mental health clinicians in Vallecitos, NM, USA for 3 years in a row.
For more information on some of these trainings and teachers, see below:
https://meditationandpsychotherapy.org/
Fatina completed her EMDR training with the Niagara Stress and Trauma Clinic in Toronto, ON (2014) and is a Certified EMDR Therapist. She is also an EMDR Consultant in Training and provides regular consultation to EMDR clinicians.
For more information on what EMDR Therapy can offer you, there is a helpful collection of videos here, at the official EMDRIA YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@EMDRInternationalAssociation/videos
and the official EMDR Canada and EMDRIA sites:
Fatina's waitlist is currently closed. Please inquire through the MindLight contact form for inquiries about training and upcoming EMDR consultation dates.