CLEO HABER

Hello, I’m Cleo and I’m the founder and clinical director of North Star Therapy.  I have over 20 years experience working as a social worker.  Over this time, I have grown and developed a practice that is rooted in the philosophy that we all have the innate capacity to heal.  I am passionate about helping clients connect with their strength and resilience, as well as the soft, vulnerable parts of themselves.  As we face struggles, it is these soft places that often toughen up over time.  Through insight oriented learning and experiential exploration, I will help you reconnect with these parts in order to feel more whole–a process of coming home to your “Self”.

Through my own experience as a client, I know that reaching out for help can feel daunting.  My approach is warm, collaborative and curious.  I am committed to creating a safe and empathic space to begin your therapy journey.  I work primarily through an attachment-based and trauma-informed lens, using Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) and Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) as main modalities for treatment.  I will work with you to uncover emotional patterns that no longer serve you. Together we can transform these patterns and find new and healthy ways to navigate them. 

I provide individual psychotherapy, relationship counselling, clinical consultation and supervision, in addition to teaching workshops and professional development training.  I have extensive post-graduate training and stay current with new research through ongoing professional development. 

My hope is that through our work together you will feel heard, validated and seen, while making the meaningful changes you want to see in your life.  Thanks for taking the time to get to know a little more about me.   I look forward to working with you! 

My Background: 

Before moving into my private practice full time,  I worked as a Registered Social Worker at the Mount Sinai Academic Family Health Team in downtown Toronto, providing psychotherapy to patients of the practice.  I taught psychotherapy and counselling skills to family medicine residents and was involved in a variety of research initiatives.  I completed my Master’s of Social Work degree at Hunter College in New York City and worked in East Harlem, where I started my career working with at-risk children and families.

Teaching and Educational Offerings:

Another passion of mine is teaching and mentorship.  I design and create workshops and training for mental health professionals focused on professional development and self-care.  I also work with executive leadership to support them in attending to the mental health and wellness needs of their staff and organizations and develop and present workshops tailored to their unique needs.

Some of the organizations I have worked with include: George Hull Centre for Children and Families, Sinai Health System, Dillon Consulting, Concordia University, Sick Kids Hospital Centre for Community Mental Health and St. Joseph’s Care Group North West Regional Palliative Care Program.  I am on the Board of Directors of Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario and the retreat manager at the annual retreat focused on providing self-care and professional development for mental health professionals.

I look forward to working with your organization to support the learning needs of your team.

Approaches:

• Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)

• Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

• Mindfulness-Based Therapy

• Attached Based Therapy

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)