Our Team

Helen Yack is a Registered Social Worker and Co-Founder of Rise Up Counselling with over 27 years of experience supporting individuals, children, and families navigating separation, family conflict, and complex life transitions. Her work is grounded in helping people move through separation, family conflict, and emotionally challenging situations with greater clarity, stability, and resilience.

Helen began her career at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, where she spent more than 18 years working in child protection. For over a decade, she served as a Senior Children’s Service Worker, supporting children and families in foster care and group home settings. During this time, she developed extensive expertise working with children and families experiencing complex needs, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a range of mental health challenges. This experience provided a strong foundation in assessment, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed care.

Following her work in child welfare, Helen transitioned to providing social work support and case management for individuals impacted by traumatic events, including brain injuries, anxiety disorders, and depression. Her approach is grounded in strengths-based and client-centred practice, integrating trauma-informed principles to support individuals and families navigating stress, uncertainty, and major life transitions.

Today, Helen’s work focuses on supporting individuals and families navigating separation, divorce, and complex co-parenting dynamics. She works with clients to better understand the emotional and relational dynamics of separation, helping them reduce reactivity, strengthen decision-making, and maintain healthier relationships with their children during periods of change.

As someone who grew up experiencing divorce in her own family, Helen brings both professional expertise and personal insight to this work. This perspective reinforces her belief that while separation can be difficult, with the right support families can move through it in ways that protect children and create healthier paths forward.

Helen holds a degree in Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). She is collaboratively trained as a neutral family professional and is certified in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Trauma Counselling. She is also a certified New Ways for Families counsellor through the High Conflict Institute and has completed foundation training in Voice of the Child Reports.

Helen is a Registered Social Worker in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and Alberta College of Social Workers. She is a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Helen offers in-person sessions at her Thornhill office and provides virtual sessions to clients throughout Ontario and Alberta.

Gabbi Silverberg is a Registered Social Worker and Co-Founder of Rise Up Counselling, who began her practice in 1999. Her career began in child protection, where she worked extensively with families navigating challenges related to child safety, trauma, mental health concerns, substance use and parenting struggles. Through this work, Gabbi developed a strong understanding of family systems and the ways stress, conflict and trauma can affect both parents and children.

Gabbi later moved into a leadership role within child welfare, where she led a team of frontline staff for over four years. During this time, she supported both families and professionals navigating complex and emotionally demanding situations. She eventually shifted her focus toward therapeutic work, providing counselling and support to individuals, couples and families impacted by separation and divorce.

Today, Gabbi’s work focuses on supporting individuals and families navigating separation, divorce, co-parenting challenges and evolving family structures. Her approach is trauma-informed, strength-based, and client-centred, with a strong commitment to equity and inclusion. Gabbi works collaboratively with clients to help them understand the emotional and relational dynamics of separation so they can move forward with greater clarity, stability and confidence.

Gabbi also brings personal insight to this work. Having experienced divorce while raising very young children, and later navigating remarriage and the realities of blending families, she understands both the challenges and possibilities that come with changing family structures. This lived experience deepens her commitment to supporting families in navigating separation in ways that prioritize children’s well-being and foster healthier relationships moving forward.

Gabbi holds a Master of Social Work. She has completed specialized training in Voice of the Child Reports, Cognitive Behavioural Foundations, Solution-Focused Counselling, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and Trauma Counselling.

In addition to her clinical work, Gabbi has completed advanced leadership training, including programs in Emotional Intelligence. She has experience facilitating Critical Incident Debriefing, supporting professionals impacted by Secondary Traumatic Stress, and working with Blended Families.

Gabbi is a Registered Social Worker in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and is a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Gabbi offers in-person sessions at her Thornhill office and provides virtual sessions to clients throughout Ontario.

Dianne has 30 years of experience as a Registered Social Worker and an Accredited Family Mediator passionate about helping high-conflict families navigate the complex challenges that arise from separation and divorce. Her journey began in the child welfare sector, where she worked with various Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario. After two decades in child protection, her commitment to supporting families led her to transition into Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

As a Clinical Therapist and Family Mediator, Dianne specializes in addressing a wide range of issues, including co-parenting challenges, post-separation parent-child contact problems, child welfare involvement, court involvement, intimate partner violence, mental health concerns, and substance abuse. Her approach is deeply rooted in anti-oppressive and inclusive values, focusing on trauma-informed, client-centred, and strength-based practices. She believes each individual and family is unique. She tailors her therapeutic methods to meet their needs, drawing on techniques such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Family Systems Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, and Attachment-Based Therapy. Dianne is dedicated to providing compassionate, practical support to those facing difficult transitions.

Dianne holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Social Work from York University, and a Master of Social Work from McMaster University. In 2013, she earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Family Mediation from York University. Dianne sees clients in person in Oshawa and virtually. Dianne is registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and accredited by the Ontario Association for Family Mediation.

Dianne offers in-person sessions at her Oshawa office and provides virtual sessions to clients throughout Ontario.

Sonya is a Registered Social Worker with 30 years of extensive experience supporting individuals and families through trauma, separation, divorce and toxic relationship recovery. She began her career in child protection, where she spent two decades focusing on child safety and supporting children in care. For 16 years, she led various teams of frontline staff, including the children’s services team. Her deep commitment to family well-being led her to transition into assessment work, and she currently serves as a Clinical Investigator at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer.

More recently, Sonya has expanded her practice to provide therapeutic support to individuals, couples and families. She helps clients heal from trauma, improve communication, and recover from narcissistic abuse. As a Clinical Therapist, Sonya specializes in supporting individuals and families navigating separation and divorce, with expertise in co-parenting challenges, reintegration therapy, post-separation parent-child contact problems, narcissistic abuse recovery, mental health concerns, and unresolved childhood trauma.

Her approach is grounded in anti-oppressive and inclusive values, emphasizing trauma-informed, client-centred, and strength-based practices. Sonya tailors her work to the unique needs of each client, drawing on modalities such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Attachment-Based Therapy, and trauma-informed interventions. Sonya holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Social Work from Ryerson Polytechnic. In 2016, she earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Family Mediation from York University and completed collaborative training as a neutral family professional. She is registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Sonya offers in-person sessions in Richmond Hill and virtual appointments across Ontario.

Kristen brings over 27 years of dedicated experience supporting children, youth and families with a deep commitment to those affected by trauma and crisis. Kristen obtained her degree in Early Childhood Education from Ryerson University and began her career in the family shelter system as a frontline counsellor and outreach worker.

Kristen’s extensive career in child welfare spans more than 25 years, focusing recently on issues such as human trafficking. Kristen is also a trainer with Boost, delivering educational courses and workshops on child abuse and trauma. Kristen participates in many committees and provides consultation to partners in family support services, including child welfare and judicial, educational, and community-based services. Her expertise extends to diverse family issues, including maternal and post-natal care, child abuse, parent-child/teen conflict, substance use and mental health, child behaviours, parenting conflict, separation and divorce, domestic violence, online safety and human trafficking. Kristen is a passionate parenting and family support coach.

She will be offering therapeutic supervised parenting time services, parent coaching and family support. Kristen recognizes that life’s challenges can strain family bonds and is dedicated to facilitating healing and connection in a nurturing environment. Kristen works with family members from an empathetic, non-judgemental, anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, strength-based, and family-centred approach. She believes in individuals’ capacity for change and aims to help families rediscover joy, rebuild trust, and foster enduring connections, enabling children to thrive and families to flourish.

Evgenia Khilov is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) and Registered Art Therapist (RCAT) in Ontario, specializing in supporting children and families through challenges and significant life transitions. She brings extensive experience working with a wide range of concerns, including parent-child and teen conflict, behavioural issues, emotion regulation, mental health concerns, and navigating post-separation family dynamics. Evgenia completed her clinical training at the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health and has worked in both private practice and community-based settings.

She integrates art as a powerful therapeutic tool to foster communication, self-expression, and emotional healing. Her approach combines the creative process with psychotherapy, drawing from evidence-based modalities such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy for Individuals and Youth (EFT, EFT-Y), Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Mindfulness practices. Evgenia focuses on helping clients explore their sense of self and patterns of relating to others to understand and overcome emotional obstacles. Her work is rooted in a strength-based, relational approach that empowers clients to heal, grow and thrive.

She is a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), the Ontario Art Therapy Association (OATA), and the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA). Evgenia offers in-person sessions at the Thornhill office and provides virtual sessions to clients throughout Ontario.