About Wanda Nayduk – Registered Occupational Therapist & Psychotherapist in Barrie, Ontario
Wanda Nayduk is a Registered Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist in Barrie, Ontario with 39 years of experience helping adults overcome trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, chronic illness, PTSD, and major life transitions. She provides in-person therapy in Barrie and virtual counselling throughout Ontario and Canada.
Meet Wanda Nayduk — Registered Occupational Therapist & Psychotherapist
39 years of experience. A lifetime of inner healing. A therapist who has lived what she helps others heal.
I Have Spent 39 Years Learning How to Sit With People in the Dark — And How to Help Them Find Their Way Back to the Light.
If you have landed on this page, chances are you are carrying something heavy. Maybe you have been carrying it for a long time. Maybe it has a name — trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, addiction — or maybe it is simply a feeling that something essential is missing, and you cannot quite find your way back to yourself.
I am Wanda Nayduk. I am a Registered Occupational Therapist practising psychotherapy under the authorized scope of my COTO designation, and I have been doing this work for 39 years. Not because it is a career. Because it is a calling.
But what calls me to this work is not only my clinical training. It is my own journey. I am a wounded healer — a therapist who has done her own deep inner healing work, who has walked through her own dark nights, and who has emerged with the hard-won, experiential knowledge that genuine recovery is possible. I have lived many of the experiences my clients bring to me. I do not work with their pain from a purely theoretical position. I meet it from the inside.
In nearly four decades of practice I have sat with survivors of childhood trauma and abuse, with individuals living with severe mental illness, with people in the depths of addiction and on the other side of it, with those facing serious illness and end-of-life realities, with elders navigating the losses of later life, with First Nations and Indigenous individuals carrying intergenerational trauma, with LGBTQ+ individuals reclaiming their identities, and with those in profound spiritual crisis and questioning.
What I have learned — across all of those years, all of those people, all of those stories — is that healing is not a straight line. It is not a protocol. It is a deeply personal, deeply human process that requires a therapist willing to go wherever you need to go — and stay there with you until the light begins to return.
That is what I offer. And your first consultation is completely free.
Wanda graduated from Queens University in 1987 with a Bachelor Degree in Occupational Therapy B.Sc. OT., OT. Reg.(ON). She worked for sixteen years at Waypoint Mental Heath Centre in Penetanguishine, Ontario, initially as a staff Occupational Therapist until she was promoted into a supervisory role in the following areas: Dual Diagnosis Program, Forensic Services Program, Acute Adult Psychiatry, Oakridges division for Criminally Insane Men and the Psychogeriatric Program.
Wanda also worked in the Outreach Program which provided community assessment, treatment and consultation of psychiatric/physical dysfunction to other disciplines in Mental Health. Simultaneously, Wanda went though her own therapeutic and personal growth process and began to explore continuing education of a more complex and in-depth nature which allowed her greater insight in understanding and treating her client’s issues.
A Therapist Who Has Lived What She Helps Others Heal
“In the ancient healing traditions, the wounded healer is not someone who heals despite their wounds — but through them. My wounds have been my greatest teachers. And they have made me the therapist I am.”
The concept of the wounded healer — rooted in Jungian depth psychology and found across healing traditions worldwide — describes someone called to the work of healing through their own experience of suffering, loss, and recovery. It is not a credential. It cannot be earned in a classroom. It is lived.
Wanda has done her own deep and sustained inner healing work — including the healing of her own wounded inner child, the integration of her own shadows, and the kind of self-excavation that she now guides her clients through. She has been in the fire herself. She knows what it takes to find the way through. And she carries that knowing into every session.
Professional Qualifications
- Registered Occupational Therapist (OT Reg. ON)
- Authorized to Practice Psychotherapy Through COTO
- Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy – Queen’s University
- 39 Years of Clinical Experience
- Former Supervisor at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
- Private Practice Psychotherapist in Barrie, Ontario
What I Believe About Healing
I believe that every person who reaches out carries within them an innate capacity for healing, growth, and wholeness. That capacity does not disappear under the weight of trauma, illness, loss, or despair. It goes underground. My role is to help you find it again.
I believe that the most important thing a therapist can offer is not a technique or a protocol — it is genuine, unhurried, fully present human attention. The kind of attention that says: I see you. I am not afraid of what you are carrying. And I will stay.
I believe that healing happens at the pace it needs to happen — not the pace a system demands or anyone else’s recovery timeline. Your healing is yours. I am here to support it, not to rush it.
I believe that the spiritual dimension of human experience is not an add-on — it is a fundamental part of what it means to be human. For those who seek it, attending to that dimension is not separate from psychological healing. It is integral to it.
And I believe — after 39 years — that it is never too late. I have watched people transform at every age, in every circumstance, carrying histories that would have broken most people. The capacity for healing is one of the most extraordinary things about being human. I am honoured, every day, to witness it.
Who I Work With
I work with adults across the lifespan — from young adults navigating their first major life challenges to older adults facing the complexities of later life. I offer culturally responsive, affirming, and respectful care to individuals from all backgrounds, including:
Trauma survivors — including survivors of childhood abuse, sexual trauma, relational trauma, and complex PTSD
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals — with a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, intergenerational trauma-aware approach
LGBTQ+ individuals — including those navigating gender identity, transition, and related mental health challenges
Individuals living with serious mental illness — including depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, OCD, and anxiety
Those in recovery from addiction — including substance use disorders and process addictions
Cancer patients and those with chronic illness — including adjustment to diagnosis and the existential dimensions of serious illness
Older adults and those with psychogeriatric concerns — including grief, loss of role, cognitive changes, and end-of-life preparation
Caregivers experiencing compassion fatigue — individuals who have given themselves fully to others and need a space to attend to themselves
Those in spiritual crisis or existential distress — including questioning of faith, meaning, purpose, and identity at the deepest level
Ready to Begin? Your First Consultation is Free.
Taking the first step toward therapy takes courage. Wanda makes it as easy as possible. Your first consultation is completely free — no pressure, no commitment, simply an opportunity to connect and find out together whether working with Wanda feels like the right fit.
In-person sessions in Barrie, Ontario, serving Simcoe County including Orillia, Midland, Innisfil, Angus, Bradford, Bracebridge, and Gravenhurst. Secure virtual sessions available across Canada and internationally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Wanda Nayduk?
Wanda Nayduk is a Registered Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist in Barrie, Ontario with 39 years of experience helping adults navigate trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, chronic illness, PTSD, spiritual concerns, and major life transitions. She provides in-person therapy in Barrie and virtual sessions across Ontario and Canada.
Is Wanda Nayduk a Registered Psychotherapist?
Wanda is a Registered Occupational Therapist practising psychotherapy under the authorized scope of her College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario designation. This allows her to provide psychotherapy while bringing the additional perspective of occupational therapy, mental health experience, and whole-person care.
What qualifications does Wanda Nayduk have?
Wanda graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. She has 39 years of clinical experience, including work in mental health, forensic psychiatry, dual diagnosis, psychogeriatrics, community outreach, supervisory roles, and private practice psychotherapy.
What types of clients does Wanda work with?
Wanda works with adults across the lifespan, including trauma survivors, individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, chronic illness, spiritual crisis, caregiver burnout, and major life transitions. She also offers culturally responsive and affirming support for First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and LGBTQ+ clients.
Does Wanda offer in-person and virtual therapy?
Yes. Wanda offers in-person therapy from her Barrie office and secure virtual psychotherapy and counselling sessions for clients across Ontario, throughout Canada, and internationally.
What makes Wanda’s approach different?
Wanda integrates occupational therapy, psychotherapy, trauma-informed care, depth psychology, spiritual direction, and lived healing experience into a holistic therapeutic approach. Her work is grounded in the belief that emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual wellbeing are deeply connected.
What does it mean that Wanda is a “wounded healer”?
The wounded healer is a concept found in Jungian psychology and many healing traditions. It refers to someone who has engaged deeply with their own healing and brings both professional training and lived experience to the therapeutic relationship. Wanda combines nearly four decades of clinical experience with her own inner healing work.
Is the first consultation free?
Yes. Wanda offers a free initial consultation so prospective clients can ask questions, discuss their concerns, and determine whether working together feels like the right fit before committing to ongoing therapy.
