Risa has been in private practice as an Accredited Family Mediator since 2000, creating parenting plans for separating and divorcing parents. She is also a Certified Parent Educator and Pastoral Counsellor specializing in grief and marital counselling.
As a Collaborative Professional, she provides facilitation and child specialist roles for the collaborative law model. As well, Risa provides Parent Coordination Services for clients who have binding parenting plants to implement and amend their plans.
Educational Background
1980 – Bachelor of Arts, York University
1997 -Certified as Parent Educator, Ontario Parenting Education Centre, York University
2000- Accredited as Family Mediator, Ontario Association of Family Mediation
2005 – Mastor of Pastoral Counselling, Interfaith Seminary, U.S.A.
2006 – Collaborative Practice Training – Level 1
2008 – Collaborative Practive Training – Level 2
Angels Endorsement
Being a divorced person has given Risa the added insights and empathy that one can only acquire from this personal experience. She understands the emotional rollercoaster and strives to provide compassion, honesty, kindness and fairness.
Risa knows that divorce involves degrees of complicated grief, trauma and in some cases betrayal. Her main goal is to create trust with her clients. She work very hard to show clients that despite the pain and panic, they have to work together to have realistic expectations for co-parenting in the future.
She is calm and understanding, and is skilled at helping clients envision what life looks like post-marriage and the unknown relationship they will have with ex-spouses and children. She also works with family lawyers and financial mediators in co-mediation.
She is extremely easy to talk to and we love how open and honest she is about her own divorce experiences and the rebuilding of her own life post-divorce.
Promotions
Clients are offered a free consultation so they can determine if they are comfortable working with Risa.