Marcia Nazartchyk (she/her)
Registered Psychotherapist
In 2013 Marcia graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelors of Science degree, after which she decided to take two years away from her studies to focus on self-exploration and restoring both her mental and physical wellness. During this time she developed a deeper understanding about the importance of taking the time to take care of oneself, which can involve a great deal of self-reflection and working through difficult issues. It was during this period that Marcia was reminded of her passion. Marcia completed a three-year Masters of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counselling at Niagara University and is now a Registered Psychotherapist.
Marcia is motivated to take the skills and lessons she has learned both in her personal and professional life to help those that are looking to work through complicated issues by creating a safe environment to explore them in.
“ What I hope individuals can learn is that therapy can be for an extremely valuable tool at all stages in our mental health journey, and can help provide clients with skills to help in the event of a crisis to allow them to more effectively move through it. It can also just be a space to process the everyday challenges of life."
Marcia was the first therapist to join the CCP team. Without Marcia's bright spirit, encouraging attitude and passion for this work, we would not have grown to where we are.
Marcia started with her first clients in September 2020. She helped us get through the pandemic, various changes with the team and most importantly has established a full time group of clients who have benefitted from Marcia's skills. Marcia has added such warmth and value to the team and her clients.
Marcia's warmth and commitment to her work has allowed her to make lasting change with her clients.
Marcia aims to create a strong therapeutic alliance built on the foundations of authenticity, trust and respect, and strives to cultivate client wellness through compassion and empathy.
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What areas of practice and populations do you enjoy working with?
I enjoy and have experience in working with young adults and beyond, with concerns such as eating disorders, anxiety disorders, OCD, low mood, body image struggles, trauma and perfectionism. Recently, I have gained an interest in working with pre and post natal women and parents to help support parents in their journey through pregnancy and postpartum.
What prevents people from coming in and doing this work?
What modalities do you use? How would you describe your approach/style to this work?
My approach to therapy is a very Rogerian style, in that I show up as a human connecting with another human, and providing my clients with unconditional positive regard through warmth, acceptance and empathy. I strive to meet clients where they are at, having their goals and intentions guide the therapeutic process.
Over my years as a therapist I have training in various therapeutic modalities and tend to use a combination of each as I see appropriate. I typically utilize strategies and concepts from CBT, DBT, interpersonal therapy and have recently become fully trained in EMDR therapy. I am also beginning my journey into learning more about EFT with hopes of integrating it into my practice with clients.
I think there are multiple reasons why people may experience hesitancy in beginning therapy. I believe that many people think they need to be in crisis or be very unwell to see a therapist, and I think that holds people back from coming to therapy before a “crisis” happens. What I hope individuals can learn is that therapy can be for an extremely valuable tool at all stages in our mental health journey, and can help provide clients with skills to help in the event of a crisis to allow them to more effectively move through it. It can also just be a space to process the everyday challenges of life.
I also feel that although a lot of work has been done to reduce the stigma around going to and receiving therapy, it still exists. Many individuals make the brave decision to fight against this stigma, and any fear about therapy, and engage in the process anyways!
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What's the most rewarding part of your job?
The single most rewarding part of my job as a therapist is when clients come to the realization that they have an innate strength and ability within them to achieve their goals and overcome really hard things. It is also very rewarding to hear clients say, “I am actually feeling really good right now, and I was able to do the thing I never thought I could do.” I say all this, while also wanting clients to know that the therapeutic process is for THEM; to work towards their own personal goals, to process the challenging emotions, and to overcome the hard thoughts. My main goal as a therapist is to support clients as best I can throughout this process.
Why are you in this field of work?
Throughout my life I have watched several individuals close to me struggle with serious mental health disorders, and I personally have gone through my own mental health struggles along the way. From a young age I remember just wanting those people close to me to have a supportive place to go to get the help they needed. I also witnessed a lot of “flaws” in our mental health care system, and unfortunately a lot of those flaws exist today (i.e. people not having access to the help they need, stigma around getting help, etc.). I have always wanted to help be part of the solution, and after years of trying to decide what that would look like, I fell upon psychotherapy. After working in the field for a couple of years I wanted to be involved in more advocacy work because I was so upset with what I was seeing in more acute mental health care (i.e. Psychiatric emergencies). However, in a conversation with an amazing mentor (CARLY), I said, “How can I change this? How can I help people?” and she told me, “Start here. Start small and it makes big changes.” It reminded me that being able to provide a safe space for individuals to openly discuss their struggles where they would not be judged and could be supported along the way, was the best thing I could do.
I remember being in grade 4 knowing that I wanted to be a “psychologist” one day, because I wanted to help people feel better mentally. While I didn’t quite become a psychologist, that dream led me to psychotherapy and I am really glad it did!
What made you want to work with CCP?
Carly and I met very serendipitously. I was working at a non-profit organization and then moved into an agency job and had heard about Carly and her work within the community, in my eyes she was kind of like a “celebrity” in the eating disorder world. I emailed “The Carly Crawford” one day to see if she had any space in her busy schedule for a new client, and we briefly shared an email exchange. Months later when my agency job had burned me out, I received an email from Carly asking if I would ever be interested in joining her private practice and the rest is history.
Carly came into my life at the perfect time, and it has changed my career for the better in so many ways. I knew after having one phone call with Carly that I wanted to work with her, and it is the best decision I have ever made. I have never felt more supported, more valued and more confident than I have working in the CCP space. The CCP space has now grown into a thriving clinic with amazing psychotherapists, social workers and nutritionists, and the team environment really allows for clients to have access to many avenues of support. I feel grateful to be a part of this amazing team!
What's the most surprising thing about you?
Currently, I would say that the most surprising thing about me as that I am a Mama to two little toddlers that keep me very busy! However, a past surprising thing would be that I played highly competitive soccer growing up for many years. Competitive soccer was a huge part of my life, and it brought me a lot of joy to play at that level. While I did not continue playing competitively in University, I did play recreationally for a bit. Now, I find enjoyment playing soccer with my husband and kids, while less competitive, it is a lot more fun!
