Welcome! Get to know us...

A photo of Kelly Tennant, a 40 year old white femme with medium length wavy brown hair, wearing maroon glasses, and smiling with no teeth. She is wearing a medium brown cable knit sweater over an ivory top.

Meet Kelly

Hi! I'm Kelly Tennant. I'm a Rehabilitation Counsellor and Clinical Director/Owner of Synapse Counselling Services, located in Moose Jaw, SK. I provide in-person and online counselling.

My training is in psychology, behavioural neuroscience, and rehabilitation. I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a PhD in Neuroscience, and a Master's Certificate in Rehabilitation Counselling.

I hold multiple counselling designations, all of which require me to be constantly learning and growing as a therapist:

Certified Rehabilitation Counsellor with the Commission on Rehabilitation Counsellor Certification (CRC #553957)
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor with the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada (RTC #3058)
Registered Counselling Therapist with the Association of Counselling Therapists of Alberta (CT #2494)

What is Rehabilitation Counselling?

Rehabilitation Counselling is the sub-division of the counselling field that helps people living with disability, neurodiversity, or all kinds of chronic health conditions learn to adapt and thrive, so that they are able to live more independently and function more easily in all aspects of life.

Training and specialization:

I have two decades of experience working in the field of disability and rehabilitation, including research, teaching, non-profit management, and now counselling for the past 6 years. I opened my private practice at the end of 2021.

My specialization is in working with individuals with neurological or brain-based disabilities (stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, spinal cord injury, brain/spinal cancer, Parkinson's, MS, CP, ALS), neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, OCD, BPD), those living with chronic illness, and caregivers. I also offer neurodiversity-affirming Adult Autism Screening Services.

I am proudly queer-affirming, neurodiversity-affirming, disability justice minded, anti-racist, and aligned with the health at every size (HAES) and fat liberation movements.

I believe that high quality counselling should be inclusive and affordable. To provide mutual aid within the disability community, I offer sliding scale fees to disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent clients who are underemployed or recipients of disability benefits.

(Kelly currently has a 6 month waitlist for counselling services, but no waitlist for Adult Autism Screening)

Meet Kristy

Hi, I’m Kristy Hourd, an associate counsellor here at Synapse Counselling. I'm based in rural Manitoba and meet with clients online. I know the struggle of being someone who is living with marginalized identities in a conservative part of the country and provide neurodivergence and LGBTQ+ affirming therapy to clients in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

My counselling style is inclusive and autonomy-focused. I work with clients discovering their neurodivergence, questioning their sexual or gender identity, managing chronic illness, and recovering from trauma. I also have a love for doing geek therapy and deep-diving into your special interests!

Personally, I've always been a nerd. My educational background ranges from English literature to linguistics and now to counselling psychology. Before working in counselling, I had a career in data analysis and system optimization - I’m great at finding patterns and solutions others might miss. I’ve always had an intense interest in learning to understand people – through literature, languages, cultural context, social contexts, and just what can make us tick in general. My philosophy is that if something seems senseless, there’s just missing information. We all do what we do for a reason. You make sense. And when you make sense, desired change is easier to achieve.

(Kristy currently has a 1 month waitlist for counselling services.)

Colleagues we love to refer to:

Sometimes our schedules are full and we want to make sure that we have amazing practices to refer you to if we're not able to see you in a timely manner. If you like our practice, you'll also like these folks:

Ruth-anne Donellsen

Infinity Minds Mental Health

https://www.infinityminds.ca/

Based in Nova Scotia, Ruth-anne is able to see clients in Alberta, Saskatchwan, and Manitoba via virtual sessions.

Charlotte Laws

https://charlottelawsrp.com/

Based in Ontario, Charlotte is able to see clients in Alberta, Saskatchwan, and Manitoba via virtual sessions.