Anthea Lai

Anthea Cin Wah Lai is licensed with the College of Registered Psychotherapist of Ontario (#17021). She is the Clinic Director at Grace Health Centre and a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying). She is deeply empathetic and emotionally attentive to help individuals navigate through relationship struggles, trauma, addictions, self-discovery, and life transitions.

Through her Masters (MPS) program in Psychotherapy and Spiritual Care at the University of Toronto, Anthea is skilled to integrate spirituality into her professional therapeutic care of supporting clients struggling with purpose in life, faith, core beliefs and intergenerational family value systems that inform who we are and what we do.

Foundationally, Anthea uses Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), an integrative strength-based attachment therapy which explores deep trauma and issues with attunement to the mind, body (somatic) and emotions. Anthea has AEDP Level 1 and in progress to complete Level 2 of a 3-Level certification from www.aedpinstitute.org. She also uses Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Solutions-Based Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and other therapy models as suited to the individuals’ needs.

She has supported individuals within hospital settings, to face grief, loss in autonomy/mobility, aging and death. Anthea has walked alongside individuals living with depression, anxiety, trauma, addictions, mental health disorders, spiritual distress, and broken relationships. Her compassion runs deep to help others restore hope and find strength.

Anthea brings her business leadership, warm coaching experiences and curiosity into joining people in gently navigating life's complexities and meaning. Together with those she supports, Anthea is curiously perceptive to unpack root issues and thoughtfully builds a new path forward with gentleness and trust.

Anthea's personal journey of being a working mother of young children, overcoming high-stress and workplace toxicity, finding her own identity in different cultural settings having dual identities of being Chinese (having lived in Hong Kong for 7 years) and being Canadian, navigating intergenerational family relationship challenges, and understanding her own faith journey in facing grief / crisis, has shaped her deep compassion and passion to support others in different life transitions and difficulties.

Click here to book a free 15-min consultation with Anthea