Iwona Kaczmarzyk-Kozlowski, M.A., C. Psych.
Clinical and School Psychologist
With over 20 years of experience providing psychological services to children and adults, I have been a registered member of the College of Psychologists of Ontario since 2002. Previously, I have spent several years working with individuals, teens, couples, and families in various community mental health agencies. I have experience in assessing and treating children, teens, and families experiencing sexual abuse as well as working with victims and perpetrators of family violence through the Catholic Family Services, as well as the Peel Collaborative Sexual Abuse Treatment Program.
I joined the Toronto Catholic District School Board over 20 years ago and continue my role there. My work has included assessment, consultation, and prevention work. For over 10 years, I have served as a Psychology Department Lead in the provision of clinical services. I have provided training in suicide response, risk assessment, supervision, and mentorship to the new staff members as well as the staff providing services to secondary schools within the organization.
Additionally, I have been coordinating the delivery of mental health prevention programs across the board (Friends for Life). I have spent approximately 10 years on the Mental Health Board-wide Committee planning the mental health strategy for the Board. I am an ASIST and Safe-TALK trainer (Living Works Canada). Presently, I am primarily working with high school students presenting with complex mental health needs including anxiety, depression, gender-related issues, emotional regulation issues, etc. Additionally, working at the school board has allowed me to keep current with research evidence, given me an understanding of the school system, and allowed me to advocate for children and make a difference in their lives. This opportunity for advocacy is one of the main reasons why I have not opted to work solely in private practice.
For over 25 years I maintained a successful private practice in Peel and in Halton. I offered assessments and treatment services to a variety of client groups, utilizing skills that are based on a variety of modalities. I am trained in Family Systems, Brief Solution Focused, CBT, DBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, EFFT, Mindfulness-Based CBT, and motivational interviewing. As of recently, I have been developing my skills in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT encourages people to accept their thoughts and feelings rather than trying to get rid of them or feeling guilty about them. ACT is action-oriented as it prompts us to act towards a value-based and meaningful life while accepting the pain that unavoidably goes with it.
Assisting clients in finding their path to wellness that includes a productive and healthy lifestyle is work that I find extremely rewarding and enjoyable.
Assessments are the first step towards understanding the problem and in my private practice, I offer them to children, adolescents, and adults. These in-depth evaluations offer a blueprint to address some of the learning, emotional and mental health needs of my clients. Many times I have been surprised by the impact of an adult diagnosis of ADHD on a client who has struggled for years. For them to understand the challenges that they have endured for so long stem from a learning disability or untreated ADHD is truly humbling.