Knox Counselling Centre officially launched this past September and the team is already making a positive impact!

The centre provides a range of services, including individual, couple, family, and group counselling, all with a psychospiritual focus. This approach integrates psychological principles with spiritual exploration, addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, grief, life transitions, and relationship challenges. While rooted in the Christian academic context of Knox College, the Centre is inclusive and welcomes clients from all backgrounds—no religious or spiritual affiliation is necessary to access services.

The centre is led by Dr. Mi-Weon Yang, a Registered Psychotherapist with over two decades of experience in clinical practice and academic teaching. As an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Intercultural Counselling at Knox College, Dr. Yang has a deep commitment to supporting clients through compassionate care and culturally sensitive approaches. Her leadership ensures that the Centre upholds the highest standards of professionalism, ethical practice, and quality client care.

As part of Knox College’s mission to provide holistic trainingin psychospiritual studies, the Knox Counselling Centre serves as a clinical training site for students enrolled in the Master of Psychospiritual Study (MPS) program. Under the close supervision, intern counsellors gain hands-on experience in a real-world setting, ensuring that clients receive excellent care while interns develop the skills and competencies needed as they go out on their own.

Services Available

• Individual Counselling
  One-on-one sessions to address a variety of personal and spiritual concerns, including stress, burnout, depression, and life transitions.

• Couple and Family Counselling
  Tailored support to help families and couples work through relational issues, improve communication, and navigate cultural or generational conflicts.

• Group Counselling
  Facilitated group discussions and activities focused on community support, spiritual growth, and personal development.

All sessions are offered either in-person or virtually, based on client preferences and needs.

The Centre operates with a sliding scale fee structure, allowing services to be provided at a reduced cost or free of charge, depending on a client’s financial situation.

Schedule an Appointment

Appointments can be scheduled by filling out the intake and consent form available on the Centre’s website or by contacting knox.counselling@utoronto.ca. Sessions are typically 50 minutes for individual counselling and 80 minutes for couple or family counselling. The Centre operates from September to March, and is currently accepting new clients.

Meet the 2024 Intern Counsellors

Sana’ Richards

Sana’ Richards chose this vocation due to personally experiencing poor mental health. As she healed, she wanted to be a means of healing for others.

In her previous placement, she was a spiritual health therapist in a hospital. Her experience is diverse in both the psychological and spiritual. She met with patients who struggled with depression, anxiety, grief, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She also met with Christian, Atheist, Agnostic, Muslim and Hindu patients.

Sana’ has an eclectic therapeutic style comprised of: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Well-Being Therapy (WBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Narrative Therapy (NT). This means that you will explore what well-being looks like in your life (WBT), what thoughts (& accompanying emotions/behaviours) interrupt your well-being (CBT), and what story those interruptions tell (NT). Then, from a mindful and compassionate posture (CFT), you will look at what new stories may be available to you and how that can change your thoughts, emotions and behaviors so that you can live more in well-being than outside of it.

“I've heard a quote about care for an individual creating space for cure, and that's a guiding principle for me in how I approach psychospiritual therapy.” - Sana’ Richards

Joseph Park

Joseph Park chose to become a mental health professional because he believes that everyone faces emotional challenges that, if unaddressed, can lead to mental health issues. Through pastoral care, counselling, and soul care, he is passionate about helping individuals redefine their life's meaning and future goals. Joseph derives immense satisfaction from witnessing the positive impact of proper support on their lives.

In his previous hospital placement, he gained extensive experience in psychological and spiritual domains, working with patients facing diverse challenges including addictions, psychosis, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety, grief, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. He also engaged with individuals from varied religious backgrounds, fostering multicultural dialogue among Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, and Muslims.

His approach to psychospiritual therapy emphasizes unconditional acceptance and open conversation without judgment, fostering a natural opening of people’s hearts. He is drawn towards modalities such as Logotherapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST), and Narrative Therapy (NT).

Joseph can provide counselling both in English and Korean.

“I've learned that, fundamentally, we are all interconnected as human beings. Building deep relationships through shared experiences, honesty, respect, and recognizing the spiritual richness in others often leads to profound sharing of life stories. I deeply value seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit in my practice.” - Joseph Park

Cari Ferguson

Cari Ferguson became a mental health professional after a previous career in an unrelated field. She saw a need for more qualified practitioners who are willing and able to provide holistic, spiritually integrated therapeutic care that incorporates matters of faith and speaks to the needs of one’s spirit and soul as part of promoting emotional and mental wellbeing. What she loves most about being a mental health professional is that she gets to hear and help people understand their own unique, incredibly rich stories and witness the moments when individuals gain new insights, skills, and perspectives that build on their unique gifts and abilities, bring about growth, encourage positive change, and enhance the quality of one’s life.

In her previous placement, Cari met with patients living with mental illness,  chronic conditions, and new diagnoses as well as patients who had experienced birth (medical) trauma, perinatal losses, and those who were caring for babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She worked with a variety of issues including abandonment, isolation and loneliness, traumatic experiences, grief and loss, death anxiety, existential distress, powerlessness, difficult transitions, and anxiety, among others. 

Her approach to therapy is client-centred, strengths based, and is founded on Common Factors Theory, which suggests that there are common therapeutic principles that are shared across multiple modalities. She is influenced by Family Systems and Attachment Theory, as she believes many of our early life experiences and relationships have shaped our values and beliefs about ourselves as well as our current supports, emotional responses, and preferred coping strategies. Cari uses Narrative Therapy and Logotherapy modalities to help individuals deconstruct and interpret the narratives that they tell and have been told about themselves. Together, you unpack the meaning, values, strengths, and spirituality within these stories. She uses techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help alter and adjust maladaptive thought, emotional, and behavioural patterns. Cari also has an interest in Somatic and Polyvagal Theories as well, as she believes many negative emotions are stored in our bodies and by working with both the mind and body, those pent-up emotions can be released.  

“There is a profound freedom and comfort that can come from feeling as if you have been truly seen, heard, and understood by another person. It is important for me to create the space and therapeutic relationship in which it feels safe for patients and clients to share openly in a way that experiencing of being fully heard and understood to happen.” - Cari Ferguson

David Knox

David Knox chose to become a mental health professional after his struggle with depression and embarking on a journey of finding his purpose and place in the world. He sees it as an honour to bear witness to people's lives and to accompany them on their journey to find what is meaningful to them. 

In his previous placement, he had the opportunity to develop his spiritual care and chaplaincy skills in an interfaith context at Baycrest Health Sciences, working with patients, residents, and families in late adulthood. He met with patients who struggled with loneliness, grief, isolation, abandonment, regret, acceptance, depression, anxiety, understanding their meaning, values, and purpose in life, and the loss of autonomy, choice, social support and community.

His approach is non-judgemental, providing a compassionate presence while offering congruence (genuineness), unconditional positive regard (acceptance and caring), and empathy. He gravitates towards narrative and logotherapy, where you explore your life story and the problems that may have saturated your personal narrative. In the story of your life, we search for meaning in those experiences and how the choices you make based on your values can shape your present and future.

“It takes courage, strength, and vulnerability to examine your life and find meaning. The process is often uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but in that process, you find growth, understanding, peace, and confidence in who you are and who you are becoming.” - David Knox