Julie McKenna

Julie works as a Registered Psychotherapist at Northwind, aiming to provide a culturally safe, strengths-based, trauma informed practice that allows for healing and change within the client’s worldview.

Julie is experienced in a diverse range of mental health areas and works with individuals and groups of all ages and backgrounds. Areas of focus include recovery from symptoms of trauma, abuse and neglect, depression and anxiety, grief and loss, addictions, disordered eating habits, body image issues, and relationship struggles. Her recent training in Expressive Arts Therapies (Level 1 & 2 Certificate) allows her to offer clients space to use a variety of expressive modalities including visual art, mixed media, music, creative writing, play and drama in their healing journey. She is committed to ongoing professional development in the psychotherapy field, with a particular interest how continued discoveries in neuroscience can inform and support her practice.

Julie grew up in Sydney, Australia. She bumped into her future husband Peter (from Thunder Bay), on a hike in the Australian bush. She moved to Thunder Bay in 1989 to marry and work as a high school teacher in Science and Family Studies (primarily Food and Nutrition Sciences) for 25 years, retiring in 2015. In 2017, she was able to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a counsellor/ therapist (she completed her M.A. in Counselling from Providence Seminary in 2009), joining first Ishaawin and then transitioning to Northwind Counselling Services as a part-time counsellor.
Julie is passionate about providing a safe place that allows others to grow and heal; to help people move from surviving to thriving. Past experience in the mental health field includes facilitating Celebrate Recovery (a support group) in Thunder Bay, as well as helping establish and facilitate the Natural Helpers peer counselling program in high schools across the city. In addition, Julie was a board member of New Life Ministries Thunder Bay and worked as program staff in the women’s program at Hope House providing emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support for clients.

Julie enjoys art of all kinds, reading, and is actively involved in the pickleball community. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends, both near and far.