Are You Navigating a Difficult Season of Life?
When you are feeling overwhelmed, finding the right mental health counselling shouldn’t be another burden. At Kardia4Life Counselling, we offer empathetic, highly specialized support for your unique challenges. We take time to understand your story, not just your symptoms.
Many people come to us when they recognize themselves in one or more of these areas:
Areas of Support
Grief & Loss Counselling
Grief can follow the death of a loved one, the loss of health or independence, the end of a relationship, or other significant changes. It can touch every part of your day, even when others expect you to be “doing better.”
We provide grief counselling that honours your pace and your way of grieving, your personal journey. If you’ve been searching for grief counseling near me, our online sessions make it possible to receive compassionate support from your home in St. Thomas or anywhere in Ontario.
Anxiety & Stress Counselling
Chronic stress can quietly affect sleep, appetite, concentration, mood, and physical health. Over time, it may feel like you are always “on,” with very little room to rest.
We provide stress counselling and stress management therapy to help you understand your stress patterns, calm your nervous system, and develop realistic strategies that fit your life rather than an ideal version of it.
Self-Esteem & Personal Growth
Long-standing self-criticism, shame, or feeling “not enough” can shape how you see yourself and how you show up in relationships, work, and daily life.
Our self esteem therapy and self esteem counselling focus on where these beliefs began, how they affect you now, and what it might mean to see yourself with more kindness and accuracy. We walk alongside you as you explore identity, purpose, and personal growth.
Life Transitions Counselling
Retirement, career shifts, divorce, adult children leaving home, new diagnoses, chronic illness and caregiving responsibilities can all unsettle your sense of identity and question life purpose.
Through life transitions counselling, we help you name what is changing, make sense of mixed emotions, and consider what you would like this next season to look like – practically, emotionally, and relationally.
Meet Our Founder & Clinical Director: Cheryl Vanderveen, MSW, RSW
Holistic, Client-Centred Therapy for Lasting Change
Kardia4Life Mental Health Services was founded by Cheryl Vanderveen, a practitioner with over twelve years of clinical experience. Cheryl holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and psychotherapist licensed in Ontario.
Her background includes:
- Community mental health and hospital-based work
- Dementia and brain injury services, including silent stroke
- Gerontology and later-life mental health
- Private practice supporting adults and seniors
Cheryl has advanced training in:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and CBT-I (CBT for Insomnia)
- Mindfulness-Based and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (MBCT/DBT)
- Solution-Focused and Single-Session Therapy
- Gottman Method training for relationship patterns and communication
- Neurorehabilitation training for supporting the emotional and cognitive impact of brain injury, stroke, and related life changes
She is also involved in ongoing research, keynote speaking, and podcast work on grief, aging, and brain health. These experiences shape how we think about care at Kardia4Life Counselling – grounded in evidence, but always centred on real people and their stories.
While digital and automated tools are evolving, we believe authentic healing requires genuine human connection. Your psychotherapy at Kardia4Life Counselling is conducted by licensed, experienced human practitioners, ensuring privacy, clinical oversight, and a deeply respectful therapeutic alliance.
Session Fees and Scheduling Information
We know that time and finances matter. We aim to be clear and straightforward about the investment involved in therapy.
- Initial video consultation: 20 minutes – Complimentary / Free
- Standard video session: 55 minutes – $150
- Single-Session Therapy: 80 minutes – $195
Psychotherapy services provided by a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work (MSW) are covered by many extended health benefits and insurance plans in Ontario. After each appointment, we provide a detailed receipt you can submit to your insurer, depending on your coverage.
All sessions are offered as secure online counselling Ontario-wide, so there is no travel or waiting room. As an online therapist Ontario residents can trust, we aim to make it easier to access meaningful support from wherever you are in the province.