Drop-In Counselling for Black and Racialized Students

Adria is a Registered Social Worker and Alumna of the University of Guelph with over 10 years of experience working in university and community-based organizations. As a multi-racial Black woman with Trinidadian and Italian heritage, who also identifies as bisexual, her lived experiences inform her work, and she strives to work from an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, decolonial, trauma-informed, intersectional, person-centered approach. Adria has expertise in supporting individuals and groups in their healing from sexual and gender-based violence, racial and intergenerational trauma, and relationship challenges. Adria draws from a variety of modalities, including somatics (body-based), Internal Family Systems (IFS), expressive arts, narrative, self-compassion, and mindfulness-based therapies.

Stella is a professional Counsellor / Therapist with a master’s degree in Social Work. She has worked extensively with Individuals, couples, families, groups on a variety of issues including but not limited to depression, anxiety, separation /divorce, domestic violence, and grief/loss. As an eclectic social worker, Stella works from a strength-based perspective using diverse interventions such as narrative, solution-focused, and cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT.) She is a registered social worker and a registered marriage and family therapists.

Varsha Ramkumar is a Registered Psychotherapist with over seven years of experience in the field of mental health. As an immigrant and person of color, she deeply understands the cultural nuances embedded in traditional practices and integrates this awareness into her work. She specializes in supporting individuals and couples through a range of challenges, including anxiety, depression, interpersonal difficulties, and grief.

Her therapeutic approach is eclectic, drawing from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, and Somatic-based techniques. She provides care within a trauma-informed, relational framework, ensuring a compassionate and culturally responsive space for healing and growth. Languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil & Malayalam

Naszrin is a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist, with over ten years of experience in university and community-based settings. She has had the privilege of supporting individuals as they work through anxiety, depression, the effects of trauma and in exploring relationship challenges, identity, and the many transitions that life can bring.

As a bicultural, biracial immigrant (Afghan and Hungarian) who has moved between cultures and ways of being, she holds a deep appreciation for the complexities of belonging, identity, and connection. While Naszrin now practices in Guelph, much of her life and work has been rooted in Scarborough and Toronto, places that shaped her understanding of diversity, resilience, and the need for therapeutic spaces that address systemic inequities. She brings a strong social justice lens to her work and approaches each session with warmth, curiosity, and compassion.