Rory Nicol
Rory Nicol, RP (he/him)
Registered Psychotherapist
Founder and Director, The Dot
Provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut
Back in the mid-90’s, I was a long haired, Nirvana loving teen…
I had a close circle of friends, but I often felt awkward and struggled with anxiety and depression. I tried to figure out how to escape these feelings, but I felt trapped by them.
As high school drew to a close, many of my friends had plans for College or University, but I knew that path wasn’t quite right for me. As fate would have it, I met a few people my age who were travelling instead of getting a job or going off to College, and I decided to travel. It felt like a big risk at the time, but in hindsight, travelling alone forced me to face my fears and I began to gain confidence and trust myself a bit more.
Even though I was starting to get glimpses of a different way of life, I returned home because I didn’t know what else to do. Once back, the old feelings of anxiety and depression returned and still feeling uncertain, I went to College.
Along the way, I was introduced to back-country canoeing and met someone from Germany who changed my life. We exchanged a series of letters where I poured out my heart and shared my frustrations about the world.
The process of sharing my thoughts and feelings with someone I felt comfortable with was what helped me start to make sense of my experiences.
Soon after, we began travelling together, working on organic farms, living out of tents, and cooking our meals on top of a fire. I began eating healthy, exercising and feeling more connected to nature, and as a result, I started to feel stronger.
This newfound self-discovery led me to study yoga and meditation so that I could continue to shed the old feelings I had carried with me for so long and start stepping more fully into this new solid, secure sense of self.
In hindsight, my experiences travelling and studying buddhism and yoga helped lay the foundation for the things that I had been lacking from my childhood: confidence, happiness, and better relationships.
As far as I had come, I recognized that the Nirvana-loving teen part of me was still struggling and I wasn’t quite sure of the direction of my life. With the support of a friend, I started seeing a counsellor.
Therapy gave me real insights into how much I had been holding back from others, and how afraid I was of being vulnerable. I was confronted with an important choice: I could keep holding everything in, or I could take a risk and share the parts of myself I was scared and ashamed of, with other people.
Much to my surprise, the people I began to tentatively share myself with were receptive and supportive. I was finally able to process a lot of old sadness, grief, fear, and anger.
Once I took the risk to share all of that, I started to feel more alive. My relationships improved, I was able to take responsibility, hold myself accountable, and be more honest with myself and others.
Through this therapeutic work, I developed a deep appreciation and respect for psychotherapy and made the decision to go to school to become a therapist myself. Looking back, I truly believe I was meant to go through the challenges that I faced. Each of them guided me perfectly along my path.
In 2016, I began my private practice to support individuals and couples facing challenges including anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation. I also co-founded the volunteer psychotherapy wing for the TAY Program (Transitional Youth Program) - which supports young adults struggling with abuse, homelessness and trauma at the LOFT Community Services Toronto. This experience informed my clinical work greatly and I am dedicated to providing sex-positive and LGBTQ2S+ affirming care.
Since then, I have been the Registrar and Participant of the AAGT International Gestalt Therapy Conference (2018 and 2020), have co-hosted and supported several conferences including Mind Matters at The University of Toronto, and have been interviewed by SunLife. Now in my next chapter, I supervise students and up and coming psychotherapists.
Now, I am dedicated to helping others move through their own suffering so they too can recognize how perfectly their path is set up to guide them to the life and experiences they’ve been dreaming of.
Areas of Practice and Approach
Individual Counselling
- Gestalt Therapy
- Brainspotting
- Clinical Supervision
- Emotion Focused Therapy
- Psychodynamic
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Mindfulness & Meditation
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Couples Counselling
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Support For
- Trauma & PTSD
- Anxiety
- Anger Management
- Sports Performance
- Depression
- Stress
- Chronic Illness
- Life Transitions
- Chronic Pain
- Men’s Issues
- Relationship Issues
- Sexual Abuse
Age Group I Work With
- 18 and older
Professional Qualifications and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree with high distinction specializing in Religious Studies with a primary focus on Eastern Philosophy and a minor in Buddhism, Psychology, and Mental Health. University of Toronto (2015)
Advanced Gestalt Psychotherapy Training. Gestalt Institute of Toronto (2017)
Registered Psychotherapist. College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Dedicated yoga and meditation practitioner with over a decade of experience and training in clinical mindfulness.
Registered Member,
Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy
Professional Fees
Consultations
- Initial consultations are FREE
- All consultations are 20 minutes long
Individual Counselling
- $185
- 50 minute session
Couples Counselling
- $200 - 60 minute session
- $250 - 75 minute session
Crypto Payments
- Are available, email us for more information
