Since realizing her career path 17 years ago, Dr. Stephanie Dinsmore has dedicated her life as a ‘holistic trauma therapist’ in helping people who have dealt with various traumas in their lives.
Dinsmore, who was born and raised in Brantford, had a typical upbringing until her family faced a major challenge.
“My dad experienced a workplace injury that left him chronically ill, and that impacted our family life, our family dynamics, and the finances. So, growing up…I had to figure out a lot of things on my own while trying to navigate the new way of life with our family,” she said. “My family was very private with all the problems that were going on…and my parents managed the best that they could without any support….because of our finances, I stopped doing a lot of things like sports around age seven [and] after that, I primarily focused on school…being really drawn to academics. When I turned 16, I got my first official job and I focused on finding my own way in life.”
However, Dinsmore had her sights on another career path before focusing on social work.
“Interestingly enough, I started my journey with a focus in policing [and] went to college for that, and then I went to post-secondary where I started my degree in criminology. I graduated with the hopes of working in that field,” she stated. “Then I got pregnant at a younger age and was a single parent. I realized they couldn’t do shift work because I didn’t have my own childcare. And so that’s kind of how things took a turn [and] I started applying for roles related to mental health, like social work.”
Dinsmore would then gain experience working at various organizations learning along the way the importance of being genuine and empathic with people she has helped.
“I worked at Canadian Mental Health Association and at Grand River Community Health Centre for several years [especially at the] sexual assault center. I’ve worked in [various] systems for a long time as well, and also nonprofit and community mental health. I’ve worked with very complex cases and the common theme I saw was that people just want someone who is genuine and authentic [and] who would sit with them, listening, and meeting them where they’re at, and then really helping them to do the work from there,” explained Dinsmore. “Even though…I could have used one specific modality, [but] I choose to be eclectic, because everyone is so different, and I needed to meet a person where they’re at…building that genuine, authentic rapport [which] is really where the work starts. I think building those authentic relationships with all of the different clients I’ve worked with over the years, has really been the most rewarding aspect in what I do.”
However, Dinsmore, has continued to mine her past experience and personal journey when providing a ‘person-centered’ approach to therapy.
“I definitely learned from my own healing journey, [and] own counseling, and the work that I’ve done on myself, also the different trainings I’ve taken, plus all the degrees that I hold, I definitely would identify as a holistic trauma therapist. I always make sure that the work is person-centered. Everything that I do is rooted in identifying trauma and helping the person work through and recover from a lot of those pieces. I definitely take more of an indigenous lens when I say holistic, so focusing on mental, physical, emotional and spiritual, and that’s just kind of naturally what I’ve gravitated towards,” said Dinsmore. “I am not indigenous…that’s just the modality and the lens that I look at counseling and social work from [and] which I have found most helpful for all of my clients, regardless of cultural background. Also, I feel like narrative therapy has been really helpful, which means hearing a client’s story and allowing them to share their narrative, for us to do that processing work.”
In 2017, Dinsmore founded Mindful Path Counselling, which has a mandate to provide therapy services which are accessible and adaptable to each person’s unique situation.
“I never imagined owning a business, yet have learned a lot on my own and reaching out for the right support. I started as a sole business owner, and learned quickly that this was a field and a business that required a lot of support [as] the number of inquiries coming in daily was too much for me to handle on my own,” explained Dinsmore. “We now have 23 people within the practice, between independent contractors…so that’s our social workers and psychotherapists [and] I have a community mental health outreach worker, my support staff, and also our student interns.”
Nevertheless, feedback has been very positive from people coming and using the various therapy services at the clinic.
“Organically, people are leaving us pretty positive reviews…and oftentimes we get referrals from people who have been to a few therapists before coming to us [and] nothing has worked…[and we are] kind of their last-ditch effort,” Dinsmore said. “We do a free consultation call so they can meet with their potential provider initially, [and] just to see if it’s a good fit. And then they can decide from there if they want to proceed. [Typically], when they decide to continue, and they’ve had that first appointment…many of them get back to us thanking us for listening to them [and] giving them the space and ensuring that it was the right fit before proceeding with a paid appointment. This makes all the difference in the world for them.”
Community involvement for Dinsmore is also a key aspect to the success of helping people.
“I think it really comes down to the 3Cs: community, care and connection…whether it’s in a private practice or in the community work that I’ve done. For us now in a private practice, it’s about ensuring that we have access to mental health services and resources regardless of someone’s situation. We offer free workshops, free groups, [and] we do offer paid groups, but we are very mindful of what people might be able to afford if they don’t have access to insurance,” said Dinsmore. “We are always involved in the community [and] we always try to be a positive resource for anyone reaching out for mental health support. We’re highly involved with Six Nations, and we are looking to expand our services there, and we’ve been in partnership with their child and youth services, and we’re looking at doing more holistic type practices in collaboration with some of their organizations.”
