Out of the Box Counselling & Collaborations

02/03/2026

Out of the Box Counselling & Collaborations is a small and mighty crew trying to do social work differently to explore healing that doesn’t have to look any particular way. We walk alongside Two-Spirit, Q***r, Neurodivergent and Nonspeaking people and the people who love them. We seek to help people to navigate understanding themselves, the world around us and our communities. We provide trauma informed support from lived experience, research and professional training to help meet you where you are at and move towards healing. Reach out for a free consultation at [email protected]

ID: These posts highlight Krystal and Monica’s ways of working and experience. Because of the limited characters allowed on Instagram, we weren’t able to post a full version here. We put all of this information on our About Us page (link in bio) on our website. Please check it out there for an accessible format or reach out and we will be happy to share more. We’re committed to making therapy accessible for diverse access needs.

06/13/2025

We're excited to hear that another Disability Unleashed Performance night will be happening in Kitchener-Waterloo July 24th and Dec. 3, 2025! Applications are currently open for authors, artist, crafters, singers, dancers, poets, magicians, strongman acts, etc with apparent and non-apparent disabilities. Check out the video for more details!

Please contact CJ at [email protected] if you are interested in applying!

Do you have an Apparent or Non-Apparent disability and live near Cambridge, Ontario, Canada?! Well I'm asking you to APPLY to perform in one of my upcoming...

06/01/2025

We’re kicking off Indigenous Peoples Month & Pride with the Willow River Centre at the Kitchener Market. Come visit us! Fidget making supplies are available 😊

04/14/2025

Neuro-conformity is the huge amount of pressure all people experience to uphold neurotypical standards. It is also when we strive to do things in a way that reflects our perception of neurotypical standards. Neuro-conformity is one way that internalized ableism can really harm our view of ourselves and others. This pressure to conform is part of upholding colonialism.

Indigenous communities across Turtle Island and around the world share perspectives that challenge this way of understanding. As Dr. Ineese-Nash shares historically a learning and inclusive mindset in many Indigenous communities has allowed for people to work with their strengths and challenges. Further, everyone’s characteristics form and shape community as a whole.

For example, in colonial understandings, autism is a complex developmental condition with persistent “deficits” in social communication, restricted interests and repetitive behaviours (among others). Dr. Bruno shares that from a Cree perspective, Autistics have a different way of spiritually thinking and play a special role in community overall.

In what ways do these Indigenous perspectives on neurodiversity and disability impact the way that you think about yourself or other neurodivergent people in your life? In your community?

If you’d like to learn more check out our new blog and the links in our bio for more information on Dr. Ineese-Nash and Dr. Bruno’s work.

03/28/2025

It is common in conversations about neurodiversity for people to make a distinct binary between being neurodivergent and being neurotypical. This language can be helpful, at times, to understand the unique differences in our experiences.

This language can also lead to a lot of comparison. When we have binary frameworks like “neurodivergent” versus “neurotypical” it can lead to a lot of assumptions, misunderstandings and internalizing expectations that can be very harmful.

When the experience of being neurodivergent is presented as an opposite, it can lead us to conjure up ideas that neurotypical people are just getting through life with no struggle. Rather than identifying that neurotypical standards are created in our society and are a challenge, if not impossible, for everyone to maintain.

What would happen if we were to consider neuro-conformity instead of the binary “us” vs. “them” mentality of neurodivergent vs. neurotypical?

What becomes possible in our systems and communities if we examine the expectation to conform to certain standards instead of comparing ourselves to what we *think* other people are or are not capable of?

Learn more in our upcoming blog - link in bio

02/26/2025

Have you ever considered what you can learn from the stories that you don’t hear? The books we shared by Sami Schalk, Loam, Davis, and Daye Hunter offer one type of opportunity to hear perspectives often overlooked. Another amazing example of amplifying Black and Indigenous perspectives is the Proclaiming our Roots project based on the Haldimand Tract in so-called Waterloo Region. Spending time hearing and learning from Afro-Indigenous perspectives can help us all to speak truth to power.

The Proclaiming our Roots project is led by a team of African diaspora, Indigenous and allied community researchers, artists, and social service workers from Ontario and Nova Scotia. This team is working in community based research to share people’s lived experience stories that counter colonial forms of oppression, to heal and to speak truth to power. From their website they explain that:

“The Proclaiming Our Roots project is the culmination of the histories, stories and experiences of mixed Black and Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island. This project aimed to create written, visual and narrative archives of the geographies, histories, and contemporary realities of Black-Indigenous Peoples. With over 400 years of African diasporic presence in Canada, relationships between Black and Indigenous Peoples offered a form of resistance against colonial oppression and afforded these communities an opportunity for survival.”

Listen to their digital stories on their YouTube channel for more transformative story telling - Link in bio.