Grassroots, ceremonial, and holistic mental health and addictions counselling for First Nations and Inuit individuals, families, and communities across the GTA and Ontario.
The name Carrying Place comes from the ancient portage routes used by First Nations peoples — places where canoes were lifted from one water and carried to the next. It is a place of transition, of trust, and of community help.
Our work honours that tradition. We walk alongside individuals, families, and communities navigating mental health, addictions, trauma, grief, and the long shadows of intergenerational harm. We meet people where they are and help them carry what needs to be carried — with care, ceremony, and cultural strength.
We serve First Nations and Inuit clients across the Greater Toronto Area and the wider province of Ontario, in person and remotely.
These seven sacred gifts guide every part of our practice. Each is carried by an animal, and each is a way of walking through this world with our relations.
To know love is to know peace. The eagle flies highest and carries love to the Creator, returning it to the people.
The buffalo gives all of itself so the people may live. To respect is to honour every gift of creation and use it with care.
The bear shows us strength rooted in love for its young. Courage is doing what is right, even when it is the harder path.
The turtle carries the truth of creation on its back. To live honestly is to walk in alignment with what is real and what is right.
The wolf lives for the pack, never above it. To be humble is to know oneself as a sacred but equal part of all creation.
Wisdom is using one's gifts in service of the people. It grows slowly, through experience, prayer, and listening to the elders.
To know truth is to know all of these teachings, and to live them. Truth is the foundation on which the others rest.
The salmon returns home against every current, carrying the strength of all who came before. To persevere is to remember where we come from and keep moving toward it.
Every person carries something different. Our services are designed to meet you wherever you are on the journey — quietly, respectfully, and without rush.
One-to-one sessions for mental health, anxiety, depression, grief, identity, and life transitions. In person or virtual.
Working through ruptures, communication, parenting, and intergenerational dynamics with cultural sensitivity.
Harm-reduction and recovery-oriented counselling for substance use, with respect for each person's pace and path.
Trauma-informed care for those navigating residential school legacies, loss, and the wounds carried across generations.
Access to smudging, talking circles, and traditional approaches for those who wish to integrate ceremony into healing.
Group sessions for organizations, schools, and agencies focused on cultural safety, wellness, and the teachings.
Walking alongside BIPOC men and women returning from incarceration as they rebuild their lives and find a new path, in partnership with community programs.
When someone comes home from incarceration, the hardest part is often what comes next. Zack walks alongside Indigenous, Black, and racialized (BIPOC) men and women returning to community, helping them rebuild their lives and find a new path.
Through counselling, cultural teachings, and ceremony, we help people reconnect with who they are, take responsibility for their healing, and step into a life of purpose, giving back to their families and communities.
We partner with community organizations, programs, and agencies to connect people with the support they need. Real change happens when we work together.
We don't believe in one-size-fits-all healing. Our work blends evidence-based modern practice with the deep wisdom of Indigenous knowledge — because real wellness lives where both meet.
You set the pace, the language, and the practices that feel right. Nothing is imposed.
We tend to body, mind, emotion, and spirit — the four directions of the Medicine Wheel.
Healing happens in relationship — with self, with others, with land, and with the ancestors.
Every session is a safe container. We work with care for what has been carried, often unseen, for a long time.
We are not separate from creation. To heal one part of ourselves is to honour the whole.— A Carrying Place teaching
Ceremony, Elders, drum, and gathering. These moments reflect the community and traditions that ground our work.
Photos show community gatherings and ceremony. No one pictured is identified as a client of Carrying Place.
Carrying Place is carried forward in honour of Zack’s little brother. After losing him, Zack committed this work to making sure no one struggling has to carry it alone.
“This clinic we set up is to help anyone out there struggling with whatever life issues they are dealing with. We care. We can help. You are important — never forget this love.”— Zack
Whether you are looking for support for yourself, a family member, or your community — reach out. We respond to every message with care and within two business days.