About Grace

Hi! My name is Grace Pagtakhan, my pronouns are she/her, and I am a cisgender queer woman who is living and working in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Treaty 1 Territory. Thanks for checking out my website!

As a therapist, it is my firm belief that we are all experts on our own lives, and in my work, I strive to guide and support the people I work with to empower themselves to create change in their lives and discover what wellness looks like for them. My hope is to help everyone I work with build a life they believe is worth living.

Therapy can be a safer space to explore many facets of people’s lives, including people’s strengths, their growing edges, and their experiences with the various identities that they hold. I view therapy as a collaborative process, and as a therapist, I am here to help my participants process and work through whatever they decide to bring to our sessions together. My approach to therapy is primarily person-centered, DBT-informed, trauma-informed, and based on an intersectional feminist framework.

Currently, I work with individuals aged 13 and up, and I have experience working with people on a variety of concerns and struggles including, but not limited to, sexuality and gender diversity, sexual health and wellness, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

In my life outside of being a therapist, I enjoy reading, singing, attempting to play guitar, watching live music, and snuggling with my adorable cat, Riley.

Therapy Approaches

If you are curious about the theories and models that inform my work as a therapist, you can read more about them here.

  • Person-centered therapy, which is characterized by genuineness, unconditional positive regard, and empathetic understanding, is at the core of how I aim to work as a therapist. You are the expert on your own life, and my role is to be here for you to provide support and guidance as we work toward creating change in your life.

  • Feminist therapy, which stems from feminist theory, focuses on looking at people's lives through the lens of intersectional and sociopolitical factors. What this means for me as a therapist is that I aim to help people explore their identities, identify their skills and strengths, and find ways to empower themselves within the systems that impact them.

  • DBT is an evidence-based, skills-focused approach to therapy that aims to help people balance accepting the reality of their lives with also working to create change in their lives. As a therapist, I use DBT to teach social-emotional skills to help people manage their emotions, tolerate distress, and improve their interpersonal abilities.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and the Integrative Trauma and Attachment Treatment Model (ITATM) are the approaches that I use to help people process their past traumas. With trauma therapy, my aim is to address people's emotional responses to past traumas, process these experiences, and decrease the intensity of their emotional distress.

Credentials & Qualifications

Certification

  • Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) - Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
    (License No. 10008599)

Education

  • Master of Education in Counselling Psychology (MEd) - University of Manitoba, 2021

  • Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Education, Counselling Specialization (PBDE) - University of Manitoba, 2019

  • Bachelor of Arts, English Major & Psychology Minor (BA) - University of Manitoba, 2015

Professional Development

  • ASIST: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (LivingWorks, 2022)

  • Attachment - Dynamic Maturation Model, Levels 1 & 2 (Aulneau Renewal Centre, 2021)

  • DBT Foundational Training (Psychwire, 2023)

  • DBT Skills for Adolescents and Families (Psychwire, 2023)

  • EMDR Basic Training (Envision, 2024)

  • Integrative Trauma & Attachment Treatment Model (ITATM) Training (ATTCH, 2022)

  • Intensive Sex Therapy Training (AASECT, 2022)

  • Mental Health First Aid (MHFA Canada, 2021)

  • Running DBT Skills-Development Groups (APT, 2021)

  • San’yas: Indigenous Cultural Safety Training (WRHA, 2022)

Location
2-208 Provencher Blvd.
Winnipeg, MB R2H 0G3