Foundations for Emotional Wellness

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Foundations for Emotional Wellness

FFEW is a thriving practice in east Toronto, committed to supporting children, adolescents and families experiencing a variety of mental health challenges.

Offering individual, caregiver and group therapy options. I am a registered clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children, adolescent, and parents. My goal is to help clients cope with uncomfortable feelings, improve relationships, and increase competency and efficacy in managing the demands of each new stage of development. I am also a strong believer that the environment in whic

h kids are immersed is a critical factor for how they learn to regulate their emotions and build resilience. For this reason- I am passionate about parenting and early intervention. I aim to equip parents with knowledge and tools to strengthen the parent child relationship, decrease behaviour problems, and build long term emotional health and resilience. I received my B.A. in Psychology from McGill University, and my Masters and Ph.D from the University of Illinois- Chicago. I have worked in a variety of mental health settings including community mental health, private practice, day treatment programs and hospitals. In 2017, I started Foundations for Emotional Wellness- where I maintain a private practice, run parenting groups and workshops, and give talks and training on various mental health issues.

06/10/2026

A few weeks ago I posted about 🌟Mundane Magical Moments 🌟 — those small, unremarkable things our kids do that often go unnoticed, and sometimes stop us in our tracks.

The one I shared was my son calling me, unprompted, to ask if he could pick up his little sister from school. So ordinary and so awesome.

Here’s another one.

Two kids. A porch. A book. A sleepy summer afternoon with nowhere to be.

Like all of you, I am busy- and I often feel like I am walking a tightrope carrying a million things! I can easily get caught up in the chaos of regular life — and I think most parents do too — AND, these moments are always happening. We're just not always still enough to catch them. The noise of schedules and to-do lists and relentless family/work life drowns them out.

And, I bet that if you look close enough you’ll find them!

Pay attention ♥️
Drop a note and tell us what you found.

06/03/2026

Parents aren’t failing their kids on screens. Policy is failing parents.

Every room I speak in, I see the same thing — moms and dads who want to be informed, are worried, and are doing their absolute best without a single meaningful protection from the government to back them up. No age verification. No algorithmic safeguards. No national strategy.

Yesterday, together with Unplugged Canada Toronto , we spoke with parents from a number of East York Toronto Schools. These parents are doing what parents do — they’re showing up. In church basements and school gyms and community centres, asking hard questions and refusing to accept “that’s just how it is” as an answer.

This is how grassroots movements are born. Not in legislatures. In rooms like this one.
I’m proud to be part of — and even prouder to stand in front of parents like these. 🙌
Spread the word!

05/25/2026

If there's one thing I could tell every parent, it's this.

Suffering is part of childhood. Hard moments, big disappointments, social hurt, failure — it's all coming. We can't protect our kids from any of it.

But suffering alone is a different thing entirely.

When children are left to make sense of painful emotions by themselves, they don't usually land on the truth. They land on shame. They decide the feeling means something about who they are. They carry it quietly, and it grows.

What changes everything isn't having the perfect thing to say. It's just showing up. Sitting with them in it. Letting them know — you are not alone in this, and this feeling makes sense.

That's it. That's the whole intervention.

Don't let your kid suffer alone.

And while we're here — don't you suffer alone either.🩵

📍 Foundations for Emotional Wellness | ffew.ca

05/15/2026

The results are in! 📊 I asked this yesterday and I'm guessing a lot of you said talk it through — because that's what feels helpful in the moment.

Here's what the research actually tells us though: at the peak of a big emotion, the thinking part of your child's brain is essentially offline. They cannot take in information, reason, or learn anything you're saying. Talking too much often backfires.

What they actually need from you at the peak? Your calm. Your presence. Almost no words. "I'm here" is enough.

Save the talking, the teaching, and the problem-solving for after the wave has passed — when their brain is ready to actually hear you again. 💛

Save this one. You'll want it next meltdown.

📍 Foundations for Emotional Wellness | Toronto
🌐 www.ffew.ca

05/07/2026

Hi, I'm Zia, a child psychologist who talks about screen time all the time- and I have a screen time problem. 🫣

Mine is email. Compulsive, reflexive, completely unnecessary at 9pm — it's lame, but there it is.

So I got a . This little guy lives on my fridge and I use it every day. It physically locks my phone so I can be present for the parts of the day that actually matter — dinner, homework, the weird conversations that only happen when everyone's bored and no one has a screen.

It's for me mostly, cause let's get real about screens and willpower, but it's also for my kids. They watch me use it. We talk a lot about phone boundaries for kids. But honestly? Most of us adults need them just as badly. No shame in that. The shame would be in pretending otherwise.

P.S. is not a sponsor. But Brick, if you're reading this... call me. Or actually, don't. My phone's bricked! HA!

05/02/2026

Last night our team got together celebrate our very own Bronwyn :) Bronwyn is an integral part of our clinic- she’s hardworking, reliable, and a delight to have around. In September, she will be continuing on her path that’s going to carry her into a career built on exactly the kind of care she gives our team everyday!

The work we do is important…and hard, and sometimes can take up a lot of our headspace.

Good moments matter too, and deserve acknowledgement and celebration.

Yummy food, drinks, and some fun on a Friday night!

04/30/2026

We're hiring! 💙 Join a team that's genuinely changing lives.

We're a Toronto-based mental health clinic working with children, adolescents, and families. The work is meaningful, the team is close-knit, and we're looking for a therapist who's independently registered in Ontario, skilled in CBT/DBT, and genuinely passionate about this population.

We offer competitive pay, a full caseload, flexible scheduling, admin support, beautiful offices at Woodbine station, and real investment in your growth as a clinician.

If you've been looking for a place to build a career you're proud of — this might be it. 🤍

👉 Visit ffew.ca to submit your resume and cover letter!

04/29/2026

Meet Dahlia — therapist, human, and someone who's been on both sides of the mental health system. 💙

Dahlia works with children and adolescents who feel overwhelmed, anxious, intense, or just plain misunderstood. Kids who are trying to figure out who they are in a world that doesn't always make space for them.

Their approach? Real, relational, and skills-based. Dahlia is trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) — helping young people build tools to navigate big emotions without pathologizing who they are. They also work closely with parents, because support doesn't stop in the therapy room!

A few things that make Dahlia unique:
✓ Speaks English, French, and Spanish
✓ Committed to culturally safe, accessible therapy
✓ Brings their own lived experience with mental health
✓ Has a special understanding of identity pressure and what it feels like to grow up a little different

If your child is struggling — or if you're not even sure where to start — you don't have to figure it out alone.

📩 Reach out today | Toronto | https://zurl.co/K9MMX

04/27/2026

When it comes to screen time, here's a helpful metaphor: think of your child's brain as a juicy, plump lemon. 🍋

Inside that lemon? Dopamine — the happiness chemical. It fuels your child's ability to focus, feel joy, and stay curious.

Now imagine your child reaches for their phone or tablet first thing in the morning. TikTok. YouTube. Video games. That's a big, hard squeeze on the lemon. 🍋➡️😶

By the time they head to school — or sit down to read, do homework, or play — they go to squeeze the lemon again. It's empty.

This is a child running on empty — their dopamine depleted before the day has even really begun. And kids actually feel it. Regular activities feel boring. Day-to-day life feels less fulfilling than it used to.

So what's the fix?
✓ Delay screens until later in the day
✓ Make sure they're fed and nourished first
✓ Get some movement in
✓ Allow time for self-directed, self-initiated play
Use that precious dopamine to help them grow — not hand it over to an algorithm.
Easy to say. Hard to do. But absolutely worth it. 💙

Need support navigating screen time or emotional regulation in your child? We can help!
📍 Toronto | www.ffew.ca

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Toronto, ON

Website

http://www.ffew.ca/

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