Niall JM Barnard

People and institutions are always trying to force us into boxes – you shouldn't have to deal with that when you come to therapy.

As a queer and trans person myself, I'm passionate about providing competent, respectful and affirming counselling for folks whose gender and sexual identities don't line up with society's assumptions about who we should be or how we should love. You deserve to find health and peace on your own terms and you shouldn’t have to go it alone in order to get there. I work hard to build healing relationships with my clients that are safe, respectful, and affirming. 

With two decades of professional training and experience to draw on, and just as many years of lived experience within and beside the communities I serve, you won’t have to educate me about your reality. If I do find myself in uncharted territory, I’ll go find a reliable map on my own time! The work we do together will always be adapted to you and your needs, not the other way around.

I’m interested in the bigger picture of your life, not just managing the problems you’re having right now. I want to understand how the social ecosystem you’ve lived in has influenced your struggles and your strengths. No matter how resilient we may be, trauma and oppression have especially powerful impacts on minority lives; they tell us toxic stories about who we are and what our place in the world should be. Putting things into a broader context helps us to develop compassion for ourselves and our loved ones so we can write new stories that serve us better in the future.

If you’re dealing with complex issues, I’m up to the task. I’ve got experience in both hospital and community mental health settings, as well as private practice. I have university degrees in social work, creative arts therapy, and couple and family therapy and I'm knowledgeable enough about poly and kink to offer coaching and help you recognize the line between personal triggers and important boundaries about how you’re willing to be treated.

I’m comfortable talking about race, religion, and cultural experiences and I’ll show up as a real human being, willing to own my mistakes and repair them.

My practice welcomes:

• 2SLGBTQ individuals, couples and families in conflict, crisis or transition
• Folks with marginalized sexual identities/relationships of consent (e.g. poly, kink, sex work)
• Queer and trans folks coping with complex intersections of trauma, identity and mental illness
• QTBIPOC willing to work with a White settler who does their work
• 2SLGBTQ counsellors and graduate students seeking clinical supervision

Intake sessions are risk-free - if we're not a good fit, there's no charge for the session.

Twenty percent of my practice goes to sliding-scale slots. Sometimes clients choose to pay benefactor rates, which help open more sliding-scale spots.

I am an approved provider with the FNHA and will also offer sliding scale to Indigenous clients who don't have federal status.