Eleanor

As a cis queer (— biromantic and demisexual) woman of colour (biracial — Black and White) or "tri bi", colloquially — biracial, bisexual, and Bipolar woman — I live and work at the intersection of complex identities and challenges. I have navigated SPMI (severe and persistent mental illness — Bipolar Disorder Type 2, Social Anxiety/Social Dyslexia [now an ambivert with unshakeable confidence], haphephobia [fear of touch]/tactile defensiveness [for which I did EMDR], and, formerly, anorexia nervosa for ten years, later relapsing as orthorexic for two years [now meeting Carolyn Costin Institute's definition of "full recovery" for 14 years, self-directed, by practicing Intuitive Eating]), C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), PSUD (Polysubstance Use Disorder [now practicing Harm Reduction not abstinence-only]), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — inattentive type, of the three subtypes), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder — level 1, formerly "Asperger's"/high-functioning autism), physical disability (mobility and hand dexterity issues, as the result of Lithium toxicity caused by psychiatric medication), and the heavy weight of systemic racism and social disadvantage, to come out the other side as a consumer/survivor of the mental health and addictions system and succeed in a world that is not set up for me; and I work with clients to do the same — "The best way out is always through." ~ Robert Frost.

I know what it means to heal. I was diagnosed with my mood disorder in 2010 and have been in recovery for over 15 years. I recovered from my eating disorders — anorexic (1996-2006), relapsing as orthorexic (2010-2012) — after 12 years of struggling with them, in 2012, and maintain "full recovery" (symptom-free, relapse-free) status to this day — getting two ED recovery tattoos next year (2027) for the 15 year recover-sary. C-PTSD just means that you live as a person who has experienced trauma, as you cannot unlive that experience and that experience lives in the body, but that does not mean you cannot live well despite having experienced trauma, so I live well with it and around it. I am a Harm Reduction practitioner, activist, and advocate. For more than ten years, I have helped individuals navigate mental health and addiction recovery using a unique blend of clinical knowledge and personal lived experience, having worked for leading institutions such as Mood Disorders Association of Ontario/Hope + Me, Sheena's Place Eating Disorders Support, Moss Park OPS (Overdose Prevention Service), PQWCHC's SCS (Supervise Consumption Service), St. Michael's Hospital's Mental Health and Addictions Service, and in the still experimental and burgeoning recovery college model/Collaborative Learning College in the Research and Education Department at CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) — the #1 research psychiatric hospital in Canada. By sharing my own journey through intentional, purposeful self-disclosure, I connect deeply with clients to benefit their healing.

My background spans a previous career in book publishing as an Editor (trade/fiction [even feminist fiction], high school and higher education/academic/scholarly publishing [secondary and post-secondary]), a lifetime in the narrative and fine arts as a published writer and photorealistic painter, and over 25 years of direct action and advocacy work in social justice. Now a Certified Peer Support Specialist through Robyn Priest: Live Your Truth, with a background in Gender and Gender-based Violence, Psychology, and Social Service Work, currently qualifying for the OCSWSSW, working from the framework of Narrative Therapy and Art Therapy techniques, through proprietary courses developed for Mood Mend — called Writing for Wellness© and Conscious Creativity© — with clients, today, I combine my lived experience with over a decade of professional practice in mental health and Harm Reduction to help you reclaim your narrative and step into personal empowerment by re-authoring your story and re-directing the trajectory of your life toward your happily ever after