Molly Benoit-Leach, MSW, RSW, RYT
Registered Social Worker
Toronto ON
To book an appointment, email me or visit https://mollybenoitleach.janeapp.com/ or send me an email at mollybenoitleachtherapy@gmail.com
I really look forward to hearing from you! The truth is, I love my clients. I work with them gently and lovingly, encouraging them to allow whatever comes up in their experience and supporting them in the best way that I can through that process.
While I focus on psychedelic work, many of my clients aren't using psychedelics or may decide it is not for them. I help clients figure out if it is right for them or not. I help clients integrate experiences they have already had whether it was done as ceremony, medically, or more recreationally.
Approaches I use include but are not limited to: mindfulness, somatic experiencing, spiritual and yoga-centric philosophy, internal family systems, attachment theory, and harm reduction.
Because my background is in family work, I am often able to explore with clients how their present day patterns and challenges may be linked to their internal family system, childhood experiences, and/or other attachments. I also use the therapeutic container to work with attachment trauma and build a healthy loving relationship within therapeutic boundaries.
I believe that we have the ability to heal ourselves, and that psychedelic medicines can help to catalyze the process. As it becomes more popular to use psychedelics to support mental health, I find it imperative to offer safe containers to integrate these experiences. For some, the integration process can last days, weeks, months, or even years. I help clients whenever they need to integrate an experience. I am open to integrating with clients who have used ayahuasca, DMT, peyote, psilocybin (mushrooms), LSD, ketamine, or MDMA.
I believe in TLO - Trust, Let Go, Be Open. This is a concept to apply to psychedelic journeys especially when there is a lot of resistance. I think we can apply this same idea when we find resistance in other moments of our life as well.
From an early age I tried to understand the people around me. I have always been a very sensitive person. When I was a child, I was around adults who were abusing substances and this is one of the things that led me to be very empathic and an advocate for compassion for individuals who struggle. This led me to complete a degree in Psychology and Master of Social Work, specializing in understanding substances, family systems and mental health.
Since 2009 I have been formally studying psychology/mental health, practicing counselling, and supporting individuals and families. While I strongly believe in the power of psychotherapy, I also found it to have limitations. In 2016 I felt burnt out, so I left my counselling job and began seeking healing for myself. I travelled to Mexico to complete a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training and around this time I also experienced a spiritual awakening. Since then I have approached health differently. I now believe that health includes overlapping physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects.
I have continued to study mindfulness based cognitive therapy, trauma informed yoga, restorative yoga, yoga nidra, Internal Family Systems Therapy, and Somatic Therapy.
I have had a relationship with psychedelic medicine since 2002. I have participated in psilocybin mushroom, peyote, and ayahuasca ceremonies in Canada, Mexico and Peru. I feel passionate about this work because of my own personal experiences and the experiences I have witnessed around me.
I have received healing through yoga, meditation, and psychedelic / plant medicines as well as working with a therapist who helps me integrate these experiences. I feel that these experiences came together to create more profound healing than counselling alone had been able to.
I feel passionately about the potential of psychedelic medicine revolutionizing mental health for people. I also believe that one person’s healing contributes to healing the collective as well as the planet, and I am honoured to participate in that process.
These days I am living between Mexico and Canada. I balance my time between being a furmama, musician, teaching yoga, and running my online psychotherapy practice.