Anne Sureshkumar

Raised in Zambia and Nigeria, and lived largely in the south of India, I grew up questioning the alarming socio-economic inequalities and gender biases within present-day societies, which determined my career choice in counselling. I am a Registered Social Worker with a Master's in Social Work, and a Master's of Philosophy in Guidance and Counselling. My work in India was in public health and counselling. In Canada, I focus on counselling and community development. My experience working internationally lends me insight on how collective and individualistic societies function, giving me the ability to also engage with immigrant populations. My areas of interest include anti-racism work, mental health, domestic violence, intersectionality, identity development for ethnic and sexual minorities, research, public speaking and free-lance writing.  Advocating for anti-oppressive practices and culturally inclusive clinical practices are also my areas of interest in the field of psychotherapy.  Preventing women from being limited in the name of ‘honour’, breaking the silence and reconstructing social norms remains close to my heart. I was also nominated for the Alberta Inspirational Awards in 2018.

I am a passionate advocate of cultural humility

As a genuine and empathetic counsellor who is passionate about empowering my clients to grow, succeed, and thrive, I walk the journey of healing and growth with my clients, meeting them where they are at to make connections and feeling empowered to move forward. I take a strength-based, person-centered and anti-oppressive approach, incorporating techniques and tools from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, emotion focused and Narrative Therapy to support my clients in a tailored way.

I enjoy working with individuals, couples, and families of all ages and diverse backgrounds. My extensive experience includes working successfully with people facing challenges with anxiety, depression, trauma, sexual concerns, sexuality and gender, grief, occupational stress, self-esteem, domestic violence, and honour based violence, and parenting challenges. My expertise also includes racial and sexual minorities, immigrant, refugee populations and the multi generations. I also focus on intersectionality and identity development for ethnic, aboriginal, and sexual minorities through the counselling process.

I believe the counselling relationship is one of the most important factors to my client’s success, growth, and empowerment. It is important to me that each client leave’s their session with something concrete to work on, observe, or try between sessions to get the most out of their therapy journey. I welcome feedback from my clients to personalize their experience as part of a collaborative process for each unique individual, couple, or family.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Strength Based approach, Client centered, Narrative therapy, ARAO – Anti Racism Anti Oppressive Approach