Leanne is a cognitive behavioural therapy counsellor with a private practice specializing in anxiety for children and adolescents. She is trained as a teacher and guidance counsellor, with a Masters degree from Toronto’s Institute of Child Study, OISE and certificates in CBT from the Beck Institute in Philadelphia. Discovering the prevalence of anxiety issues in the classroom setting, and their regular misdiagnosis as academic concerns, Leanne has become a mental health advocate who speaks regularly about anxiety in the classroom to parent and teacher groups.
Michele is a parent who has lived experience with mental health issues and has become an advocate. She is also a writer who writes on the topic of mental health and wellness and lends her communication expertise to Mental Health Empowerment Day to help spread the word, educate and eradicate stigma.
Dr. Ari Zaretsky, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Sunnybrook Medical Health Sciences Centre, has extensive experience in CBT treatment, teaching and supervision.