About Me
Debbie Ernest
B.A., B.S.W., M.S.W., R.S.W
I am a Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and Consultant with extensive training and more than 20 years of clinical experience working in mental health and addictions hospital-based care, the post-secondary education sector, and in private practice specializing in mental health and substance use issues - spanning individual, family, and group treatments.
I received my Master of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario.
My Approach
I am a highly-skilled, experienced, compassionate, committed and ethical therapist who provides evidence-based treatment interventions and high-quality care to my clients. I take a client-centered, trauma-informed approach to identify a client’s unique needs and collaborate on a plan of care to help them reach their therapeutic goals. I believe the foundation of good and effective therapy is a strong therapeutic alliance and the facilitation of safety and trust in the therapeutic work. I am known to have a warm and empathic interpersonal style and I tend to bring my sense of humour to the work that I do.
In my practice, I work with adults, so this means I provide psychotherapy services to those over the age of eighteen. The issues that I work with most commonly in my practice are:
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anxiety and worry
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work-related stress - imposter syndrome, burnout, motivation and performance concerns, perfectionism, high stakes helping professions, toxic work environments, politics
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depression
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relationship and communication issues
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emotion regulation difficulties
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complex mental illness
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psychosis
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trauma-related issues
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substance use
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managing life transitions
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women's health
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parenting challenges
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low self-esteem
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suicidal thoughts
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grief and loss
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mental illness in the family
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facilitating post-event team debriefings
I have additional expertise and specialization working with:
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physicians and health care providers
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law students and legal professionals
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adult children, parents, adult siblings, and other caregivers of those living with mental health issues
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mental health care system navigation
My Background
In addition to my work in private practice, I have an established career history working in the mental health and addictions and postsecondary education sectors as a therapist, clinical supervisor, and educator. I worked for 18 years at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as a Social Worker and individual and group therapist servicing clients with mental health and substance use issues in a variety of in- and out-patient settings. I provided therapy to youth experiencing a first episode of psychosis and provided support and therapy to their families; opioid-dependent individuals and clients seeking addiction medicine services; women with addictions; clients impacted by trauma; clients with anxiety and depression; those with emotion regulation difficulties; clients in crisis and dealing with suicidal thoughts; and clients with complex mental illness – specializing in clients with psychosis and schizophrenia and their families. I also have experience working with clients with concurrent mental health and substance use issues. As a member of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Service of the Complex Mental Illness Program, I provided individual and group-based CBT for psychosis services to clients with complex mental illnesses.
During the final decade of my career at CAMH, I worked as an Advanced Practice Clinical Leader – during which time I provided therapy to clients and families, offered local, regional, and international training on a variety of mental health and addictions topics, and provided clinical supervision and professional practice leadership and consultation to interprofessional staff, teams, and students at the hospital.
After leaving the health care sector, I worked in post-secondary education in a leadership position within the Counselling and Accessibility department of a large post-secondary college setting where I provided counselling and crisis intervention services to youth and adult college students and supervised a team of personal counsellors who provide short-term counselling to students with a range of mental health and other personal issues. I also have experience working as a Counsellor in a Toronto law school providing therapy and mental health and wellness counselling to law students within a competitive and high-pressure academic environment.
The evidence-based therapeutic Modalities that I am trained in and draw upon in my practice are:
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CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
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CBT for Psychosis
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DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy )
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ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
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Trauma-Informed Care
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Motivational Interviewing
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Solution Focused Therapy
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Compassion Focused Therapy
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Harm Reduction
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Psychoeducation
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Mindfulness
