About Ilana Goldsmith

Ilana is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). She completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Guelph and her Master’s of Social Work (MSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Ilana has a passion for supporting adults struggling with anxiety, low self-esteem, perfectionism and self-criticism. She believes that therapy is a powerful space where individuals can be seen exactly as they are while also striving for growth. Clients would describe Ilana as warm, easy to talk to, and encouraging in her approach. As a strong believer that knowledge is power and a life-long learner herself, Ilana helps her clients get to the root of their problems and learn practical skills that they carry forward in their lives. Ilana also recognizes that counselling can be hard work thanks to the personal work she’s done in her own therapy. She appreciates the courage it takes to reach out for help and understands what it takes to create a safe and welcoming space.

Ilana uses an eclectic mix of therapies to help clients identify the problems that are creating distress in their lives and better understand the connections between their thoughts, emotions and behaviours. She believes that clients are the experts of their own lives and bring an inherent wisdom to each session. Ilana guides her clients to recognize strategies that have worked well for them in the past, helps build new coping skills to add to their toolbox, and increases their awareness of guiding values that drive meaning in their lives.

Ilana also loves working with post-secondary students. Thanks to her ongoing role as a Counsellor at Centennial College, she understands the unique challenges, stressors, and unseen mental toll being a student can take. She’s experienced helping students identify their unique learning needs, address accessibility barriers, and develop effective work/life balance and habits. Ilana is committed to helping her student clients rebuild their mental health, create positive relationships, and define their own successful path through life.

Prior to her work at MyLife, Ilana gained valuable experience as a Social Work Intern at the Guelph Community Health Centre. She worked with individuals from all walks of life through various mental health challenges such as anxiety, stress, relationship issues, and depression. Ilana helped her clients using Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy by teaching them useful skills in dealing with overwhelming emotions and developing healthy coping strategies.

In her spare time, you can find Ilana hanging with her partner and dog, with a Netflix show in the background or a book in hand. She also loves playing piano, guitar and will play soccer any chance she gets!