Meet Casandra Di Benedetto
Registered Social Worker
Hello, my name is Casandra. Thanks for taking the time to learn about me and taking the first step toward counselling! With the increase in social media, counselling is something we are seeing more regularly; this can make the idea of counselling less scary or it can paint an inaccurate picture of what counselling is. I myself resisted counselling during my youth because of an incorrect idea of what counselling would be.
If you choose to meet with me the things you could expect are: a safe space, compassion, humour, collaboration, and even fun. I am comfortable talking about hard topics and my hope is that I can make hard things feel less challenging for you.
The truly important part of counselling is the connection and therapeutic relationship between the counsellor and client. It is my hope that when a person walks into the room to speak with me that they leave feeling heard and a bit more hopeful. As a child/youth counsellor my work has often focused on experiences of trauma, anxiety, depression, family conflict, LGTBQ2+ issues and school concerns. In addition to my experience with children and youth I have also worked as a Crisis Team Leader and within this role worked with populations experiencing addiction, suicidal ideation, homelessness, interpersonal conflict, trauma, and a variety of mental health diagnoses.
I take a client-centred, strengths-based approach to counselling; basically that's a fancy way of saying I focus on you and build off of the strengths that you already have to reach your goals! I take a trauma informed anti-oppressive approach to therapy using a mixture of modalities including: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), narrative therapy, strengths- based, dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
For those of you wishing to know my education, I have completed a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from Wilfrid Laurier University. I then went on to complete my Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Waterloo. I then worked full time, started my family, and eventually completed my Master of Social Work at Dalhousie University in the midst of raising a family and working.
When I am not at Calming Tree I enjoy spending time with my family. I love to watch sports, listen to music, and go out for supper. I am a Kitchener Ranger fan as Ranger games are some of my happiest childhood memories. I also enjoy visiting my extended family all over Ontario. I have strong ties to the military and first responders. Fall is my favourite season.
Be well. I hope to see you soon.
