Michelle Massunken, MSW, RSW

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Michelle Massunken, MSW, RSW Hi, I’m Michelle. I am a Registered Social Worker and Clinic Director at MindSpa Mental Health Centre. Co Host of The MindSpa Podcast.

📍Ottawa, Ontario

My work focuses on trauma, anxiety, and sleep, grounded in compassionate, evidence informed care.

06/03/2026

Willpower has limits.
The nervous system responds to load. Full stop.
It does not matter how strong you are, how determined you are, or how much you want to push through. If the load is heavy, and it has been heavy for a long time, your body is going to reflect that.
This is something I want people to really hear: struggling is a signal, not a character flaw.
The nervous system is doing exactly what it is designed to do. It is telling you the load needs to come down.
Full conversation on The MindSpa Podcast. Link in bio.

05/25/2026

We often think about attachment styles in romantic relationships, but they can show up in friendships too.

Ever find yourself overthinking an unanswered text? Wondering if you did something wrong when a friend pulls away? Or noticing how hard vulnerability can feel in some relationships?

Sometimes these patterns are not random. They can reflect the ways we learned to connect, protect ourselves, and relate to others.

In today’s episode of The MindSpa Podcast, Tina and I sit down with our guest, Nadine Samaroo, Registered Psychotherapist at MindSpa Mental Health, to explore how attachment styles can quietly shape our everyday relationships.

🎙️ S2 · Ep 13: What If Familiar Love Is Not Safe Love? — out now.

What attachment patterns have you noticed in your friendships?

Change can unfold unevenly. Some parts of the mind and body may begin to shift, while others continue to move at a slowe...
05/17/2026

Change can unfold unevenly. Some parts of the mind and body may begin to shift, while others continue to move at a slower pace.

This pattern can reflect how the body protects, adapts, and gradually integrates new experiences.

Your response makes sense in the context of what you have lived. Your mind and body learned ways to support you, and they continue to move in ways that reflect that learning.

There can be space here for patience with the process, even when it does not feel linear.

From a nervous system perspective, familiar rhythms can offer a sense of predictability. This can help the body graduall...
05/10/2026

From a nervous system perspective, familiar rhythms can offer a sense of predictability. This can help the body gradually settle and orient toward safety.

Nature often moves in steady patterns. These patterns can reflect how healing unfolds over time, through small, repeated experiences that gently build stability.

Your mind and body learned ways to adapt and respond. With time, new patterns can also begin to take shape.

There can be space here for slowing down and noticing what feels steady.

05/05/2026

There are moments when it can be helpful to hold both what is working and what can continue to be strengthened.

In this segment from my testimony at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, I shared a clinical perspective on rehabilitation services and how they are experienced across care settings.

In my work, I often see the impact of programs that are already supporting many veterans. These foundations matter. They reflect systems that are creating meaningful access to care and supporting recovery.

At the same time, the experience of care can vary. From a trauma informed lens, clarity and consistency can support a greater sense of steadiness within the nervous system. When care is experienced as predictable and well understood, it can create more space for engagement, trust, and connection over time.

This reflection speaks to building on what is already working, while continuing to support a more consistent experience of care across all individuals.

There can be a quiet tension between the pace the world expects and the pace the body can hold.The nervous system is sha...
05/04/2026

There can be a quiet tension between the pace the world expects and the pace the body can hold.

The nervous system is shaped by experience. After stress or prolonged activation, it often seeks steadiness before movement. This is part of how regulation begins to return.

Research in trauma and stress shows that integration happens gradually. The mind and body need time to process, organize, and make sense of what has been lived. Slowing down can support this internal reorganization.

The nervous system responds to care.Small moments of warmth, connection, nature, or quiet reflection can help the body s...
03/31/2026

The nervous system responds to care.

Small moments of warmth, connection, nature, or quiet reflection can help the body shift toward a steadier state. These experiences allow the brain to register safety and support emotional regulation.

Research on nervous system recovery shows that consistent gentle care helps rebuild internal stability after periods of stress.

Your mind and body learned skills that supported survival.

With patience and compassion, they can also learn new experiences of calm and restoration.

Healing rarely follows a straight path.After stress or trauma, the nervous system may move through periods of activation...
03/26/2026

Healing rarely follows a straight path.

After stress or trauma, the nervous system may move through periods of activation and periods of rest. Moments of pause, fatigue, or reflection are often part of the body’s natural process of integration.

Research on recovery shows that the mind and body heal gradually. Small shifts in safety, connection, and supportive environments allow the nervous system to settle over time.

Your response makes sense in the context of what you have lived.

Healing often unfolds gently, one moment at a time.

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1900 City Park Drive Suite 202
Ottawa, ON
K1J1G7

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Monday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm

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