Offering Counselling Services to all of Labrador
We are offering private counselling services to all of Labrador, either in person or virtually. We are a 100% Female Indigenous owned and operated company. We offer a variety of counselling services, offering a safe, judgement free space to find your authentic self. We specialize in trauma informed care, working with all ages experiences mental health disorders, and those who have exceptionalities. Working from a Holistic, self-reg perspective. We also offer speciality programming, and trainings. Stay tuned for speciality programming. Reach out today for your counselling needs. We offer family, couple and individual services for all ages.
Meet our Team
We have diverse experiences providing unique services,
striving to fill the gaps in Labrador!
Owner Operator
Blake Sheppard-Pardy, BA, YJI, BSW, RSW
Blake has a diverse educational and professional background. She holds a BA in Criminology, Sociology and Psychology from St. Thomas University, she has an Advanced Diploma in Youth Justice Interventions from Durham College, as well as a BA in Social Work from Dalhousie University. She is currently working on her Masters of Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. She holds a seat on both the Board of Mokami Status of Women Centre, and the Libra House. She is a student of Dr. Stuart Shanker's self-reg course. Since moving back to Labrador 5 years ago, she worked in Sheshatshiu, and over the last year she worked as a private counsellor for Mindful Matters, where she expanded and grew her skills as a counsellor. She is an Inuit Women from Labrador, who has created Holistic Haven Inc. so that there is an Indigenous owned and operated counselling clinic. She has always had a passion for working with youth, families, and adults, she is also passionate about community wellness, support, outreach, and connection. Blake is a strong believer in being an advocate for those in her community, and those who are struggling. Her skills are focused on exceptionalities, trauma, grief, and mental health disorders. She works from a Holistic perspective, and self-reg perspective, by looking at the client as a whole and understanding the internal and external factors. Offering a safe, compassionate, respectful, and non-judgemental space for people to be who they truly are and support them through their challenges. Blake is compassionate, personable, and kind to all those she meets. She looks forward to working alongside each of you.
Admin Manager
Stephanie Holwell
Stephanie is an Nunatukavut women, who is from Goose Bay and has 20 years of admin experience in multiple different fields, including small businesses. She carriers an administrative diploma and has multiple years experience. She is passionate about community building and connections. She is excited to be stepping into the mental health field, and to connect with each of our clients and support in providing Indigenous based services to Labrador.
Program Manager
Shawntelle Parsons
Shawntelle is completing her Diploma in the Mental Health and Addictions program at the College of the North Atlantic here in Goose Bay. Shawntelle has preserved through so many personal adversities, at such a young age. She is a strong, resilient, and independent young single mother of a 9-year-old son. With a passion to support those who are dealing with Intergenerational trauma and family reunification. She is passionate about community support and is completing this diploma to advocate and support those struggling with addictions and or declining mental health. She is paving the way for a beautiful life for her and her son. She is a community role model, she is eager to enter in her chosen field of study, she is dedicated to herself, her son, and her education. Shawntelle supported Blake during the Fantastic Friendships summer camp that happened in July 2023, a camp for youth with exceptionalities. She was able to meet the unique and individual needs of each youth, making them feel excited, respected, and safe. She offered a fun environment, while also offering a non-judgmental space for the youth to connect with her. She has a way of making each person feel, heard, seen and important. She is compassionate, smart, and always ready to learn and to expand her skills. She is dependable, respectful, and personable. Offering a respectful and non-judgemental space for everyone she meets. Shawntelle can easily connect with anyone she meets and is able to offer them support in every aspect, always one step ahead. We are so lucky to have her as a part of our team, and we are so excited to see where her future takes her as she paves a beautiful future for her and her son, to live a happy life doing what she is passionate about.
Cultural Connections Officer
Misty Dyson
Misty is an Inuk woman born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Misty completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2021 and is hoping to begin a Social Work degree soon.
Misty enjoys working and advocating to better the lives of those in her region. She recently travelled to Iceland where she was asked to speak on the panel “Vision for the Arctic: Young Leaders’ Perspectives on Community Needs & Policy Shifts” at the Arctic Circle Assembly. Misty works full time at her local Women’s Centre as the Program Coordinator, where she provides multiple programs and services for women and gender diverse people in her community.
Misty is our Cultural Connections Officer or CCO. She will be providing support in community engagement and connections. Client advocacy, and cultural and community connections. Reach out today to learn more! We will be seeing a lot of Misty, when it comes to community engagement and community supports/ programming. We are so lucky to have such a knowledgeable and culturally connected person join our team. We are excited to see how far she goes with her career!
Private Counsellor
Chelsea Mullaley, BSW, RSW
Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Memorial University and is currently completing her Master of Social Work online at Dalhousie University. Chelsea has a diverse professional background, working with children, youth, and adults in various roles across parts of Labrador, including Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the Northern communities. With a client-centered approach, she works with children, youth, and adults. Chelsea works with individuals and groups, having particular interests in perinatal mental health, addictions, anxiety, depression, interpersonal relationship issues, and parenting/family issues. She bring experience working with adults with psychological disorders such a bi-polar, schizophrenia, and addictions. She is excited to be a part of Holistic Haven and to offer counselling services in the community or virtually. If you are interested in learning more about Chelsea or the services she offers, feel free to reach out!
Registered Speech-Language Pathologist
Caitlin Mullaley, M.A., M.Sc. R.-SLP (C)
Caitlin has a passion for communication access, and believes that everyone deserves support in building and enjoying meaningful connections in their lives. Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts (double major in Psychology and French, minor in Linguistics) from Memorial University, and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Queen Margaret University. She holds registration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Council of Health Professionals (NLCHP). Caitlin has a lot of experience working with children and youth of all ages, and works with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District where she supports children and teenagers in developing speech, language, and communication skills. Caitlin loves supporting children and youth with articulation (speech sounds/pronunciation), comprehension and expression of language, stuttering, using augmentative and alternative communication (assistive technology), social communication, and literacy! She is trained in the Lidcombe Program for stuttering, and has loved professional learning about Gestalt Language Processing and supporting autistic populations. Neurodiversity-affirming therapy is very important to Caitlin, as she believes that all differences in communication and socialization are strengths that contribute to someone’s uniqueness. She loves to support everyone in developing their communication skills in ways that work and feel best for them! Caitlin can work with youth directly, and can also carry out sessions with parent(s)/guardian(s) for education, conversation-partner training, and advice. If you’re interested in figuring out whether speech and language services would be right for you, Caitlin would love to chat with you!
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Mentor
Nikki Quilty
Nicole Elizabeth Quilty (Nikki) is 41 years old, a mother of two teenage children, and a full-time child and youth worker. She was trained and has experience in the areas of tourism, dental hygiene, and recreation, however working with youth has always been her passion. She worked in youth recreation in her small hometown community, but also volunteered as much as she possibly could because of her love of working with youth. At this point in her life, she decided to in-roll in Child, Youth, and Care Diploma program, which also had a focus in addictions support. After finishing this program, she moved back to Labrador where she could practice her passion. She has worked with youth in various programs such as home care support worker, individual support worker, and supervisor of programs for youth groups, and currently works as a supervisor with AMAL as a home care support worker for youth in care. Several of the organizations that she has worked with include local indigenous groups, the public school system, and local recreational organizations, so she has a wide range of understanding of youth and the intricate life’s they live. For more information on Nikki, please reach out to her and she would be happy to chat with you anytime.
Tutor
Kelly Keeping, BA, B.Ed, M.Ed
Kelly is a 39 year old Mom of 2 beautiful children. She is happily married and has been living in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay for the past 6 years. Kelly works full time as a radio operator with the Canadian Coast Guard. She is a shift worker and she loves the flexibility of her schedule. Prior to moving to the big land, Kelly was a French immersion teacher for 9 years. She has a bachelor of arts degree with a major in French and a minor in geography and a bachelor of education (intermediate/secondary) degree. Kelly also has a master of education degree with a focus in curriculum, teaching and learning studies. All of Kelly's degrees are from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Kelly loves to learn and she truly believes that education is the key to success. Kelly is an avid reader. She has always loved to read and is never far from a book. Kelly also loves to spend time outside with her family. She enjoys going for boil ups in the winter and spending quality time with her family at the cabin. Kelly's tutoring schedule is flexible. She is able to meet and work with students and families during different times of the week. Send us a message to book a session with Kelly!
Private Counsellor
Jade Pilgrim, BSW, RSW
Jade was born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and thoroughly enjoys the lifestyle our small community offers. She graduated from University of Victoria's Bachelor of Social Work program in 2017. She has 8 years of experience in the field of social work, 5 of which were spent providing counselling and offering programming to women and gender-diverse folks on a full-time basis. Among topics such as grief, loss, anxiety, depression, and addictions, she also has extensive experience working with those involved in the criminal justice system, those involved in the child welfare system, and with women experiencing violence. She works from a strengths-based, client-centred approach. Jade is passionate about building connections with people and embodies an approachable, down-to-earth vibe with her clients. Since becoming a mother herself in 2020, Jade is extremely passionate about walking alongside others experiencing the highs and lows of parenthood. She is able to do work around parent education, and will soon be able to offer parenting programs in a group setting or one on one.
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Private Counsellor
Kandice Gosine, BSW, MSW, RSW
Kandice is from Bell Island, NL, a small town in Newfoundland. She has been living in Labrador since 2021 and has been working here since 2019. She brings a shared understanding of the need to be creative to fill service gaps, especially in isolated communities. Kandice brings a wealth of knowledge in working with children and youth, especially in the Central Labrador region.
Kandice recently completed her Master's Degree in Social Work in 2023 and received the honor of Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies at Memorial University relating to her work in Sheshatshiu. Kandice appreciates the value of decolonizing services and working together to build meaningful relationships to create change.
Kandice has experience working with children and youth who have experienced emotional neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and other adverse traumas. She also has spent much of her career working directly with parents who experience the effects of intergenerational trauma. Kandice continues to expand her knowledge with plans to complete the perinatal mental health certificate program this year, along with other complex trauma training.
I currently am taking new clients in the evenings and weekends and would love to connect with you. Please reach out if you feel like we would be a match and create a meaningful therapeutic connection! I am so excited to be a part of the Holistic Haven team!
Private Counsellor
Peggy Newman,
Peggy is a ‘Labrador girl’, having grown up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Peggy comes with a wealth of experience, having worked in a variety of community-based agencies. She first started her career in 1991 in Happy Valley, then onto Ontario, then back to the Island portion of the province, and in 2019, back to Labrador. “Regardless of the destination, all roads lead home” (H.L. Balcomb)
Peggy has had experience working victims of violence, homelessness, families, children with exceptionalities, mental health and addictions, and youth. Peggy has also facilitated group sessions in various settings. Peggy is also the co-author of the children’s book, Sunni, a resource tool that helps children understand the process of entering into foster care and what to expect next. The book was written from a child-informed lenses and provides an opportunity to support children who are separated from their families, helping them understand they are not alone.
Peggy was recognized for her research that informed the completion of her book with the honor of Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Peggy employs a humanistic/client-centered therapeutic approach to practice as Peggy strongly believes that each individual already possess the qualities they need to succeed. Peggy’s goal is to support each person through their journey to reach their full potential.
To ensure success, Peggy will also draw on the therapeutic approaches of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-Based Counseling, Narrative Therapy, Single-Session Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy.
To ensure she is able to meet her client’s needs, Peggy will offer a hybrid approach. This means that each client can choose to avail of sessions in either virtual, in-person, or a combination of both, based on their preference and clinician availability as Peggy believes that there is no “one size fits all” approach that works for everyone.
Peggy is excited to engage with individuals, couples, and families who thrive to be the best version of themselves. The journey starts with that first step!
Private Counsellor
Avery Brown, BSW, RSW
Avery is a strong community advocate and has such diverse experience with women and gender diverse folk, who face gender based violence. She has experience in supporting those affected by intimate partner violence, and domestic violence. She also holds vast knowledge of the justice system, and supports through the justice system, as either victim or offender for all genders. Avery can also support in addictions, and works from a harm reduction lens!
Avery takes a humanistic, holistic, compassionate, and trauma informed lens when supporting her clients. She has many service provider connections throughout Labrador and on the island, and can lend support in many direct or indirect ways.
She is now accepting clients, and we have reached out to those on our waiting list! Avery will be seeing teens, and adults of all genders.
Female, Indigenous led
BECOME A PART OF THE TEAM
We are hoping to expand specialities and counsellors. Reach out today if you are interested.