Candace Kensley is a licensed Couple and Family Therapist and Social Worker. A member of the order of Social Workers and Couple and Family Therapists of Quebec, Candace holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Couple and Family Therapy, both completed at McGill University.

Her passion for treating couples and families began during her training at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, where she worked with the families of children and teens with a mental health diagnosis. Candace then completed a specialization at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry at the Jewish General Hospital, working with both couples and families. Candace has over 10 years of experience working with children and families in the Youth Protection system, and now works part-time as a therapist in the outpatient child psychiatry department at the Douglas Mental Health Institute.

Given the delicate nature of conflict exploration in couples and families, Candace first works toward gaining a complete understanding of the dynamics impacting the couple and family. This first starts by creating a strong therapeutic relationship with each member in the couple or family. Candace aims to treat the relationship as a whole, rather than each individual, and helps the couple/family gain insight into their relational dynamics. Candace uses systemic and psychodynamic approaches when working with families, and has received training in Emotion Focused Couple Therapy as well as Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy. These approaches serve her in conceptualizing and understanding the ways in which families/couples develop and maintain their patterns of interaction.

Outside of her passion for couple and family therapy, Candace enjoys traveling and spending time with loved ones.