Catherine Mellange Expressive Arts Therapist, Perinatal Mental Health Therapist
Currently based in Waterloo, ON, I offer both in person and virtual sessions to clients. I have worked with clients of all ages, including latency age children (7-12) and their parents. My current area of focus is in supporting families affected by Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders at all stages of their journey in family building. This includes abortion support, fertility, pregnancy loss, pregnancy trauma, sexual assault trauma during pregnancy and birthing, birth trauma and postpartum support for all parents - birthing, non-birthing, and primary caregivers. I have worked with clients experiencing adoption transition as well as have gained education in trans fertility and birthing. I believe strongly in building community to support my clients best and have experience working in partnership with organizations and medical professionals in order to support my clients.
My practice is routed in feminist perspectives, and I strive to continue to receive training so that I am able to offer my clients a space that is trauma informed, anti-racist, anti-opppressive and anti-ableist.
I love working with Expressive Arts Therapist students and anyone interested in what Expressive Arts Therapy can offer in their healing journey. My favorite spaces in therapy are within the intermodal field, where richness is offered in the deepening of the arts. I am a regular guest speaker for Creative Therapies students in the BSW program at Wilfrid Laurier. I am also a workshop facilitator for Button Factory Arts and the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Gallery where I have delivered group programs for health care professionals experiencing burn out, and adults living with Dementia/Alzheimer's.
Credentials: Certified Expressive Arts Therapist Graduate 2010– The Create Institute (formerly ISIS Canada) 3 year Creative Integrative Arts Therapies training program.
Additional Training:
Maternal Mental Health Professional Certificate and Advanced Psychotherapy: Postpartum Support International
Perinatal Mental Health, Perinatal Grief and Loss: Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Trainings
Anti-Racism Training Course: Selam Debs
Trans Fertility and Birth PD Workshop: Kayden X Coleman
Professional affiliations: OEATA
Population served: Youth with mental illnesses, youth living in shelter, women in shelter (groups); youth and children with behavioral challenges or living with mental illness (one-on-one).
Areas of expertise & experience: Perinatal Mental Health for all birthing and non-birthing people, including birthing trauma and grief/loss. Chronic Illness Anxiety, OCD, Depression, Trauma including psychiatric trauma Gender Identity
Languages: English and French
Arts practice: I am a mixed media collage artist who's work is embedded in contemporary feminist perspectives. My materials of choice are collage, watercolour, pencil, oil sticks, digital collage, photographic staging and short film. My newer work centres on my experience as a birthing parent/mother living with mental illness and have recently self-identified as an artist living with disabilities. In my arts practice I explore notions of “performative mothering” and the anthropological history of clowning. I am also the lead artist of the Post-Part project, an inter-arts community art project which advocates for Perinatal Mental Health, inspired by Charlotte Perkins Gillman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper. I continue to partner with many organizations to build arts advocacy projects in Waterloo Region.
Location: Waterloo
Contact: I currently have clinic hours for 2 days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I work with both 1 hour session format and offer my clients extended 1.5 hour sessions if desired, in-person or virtually.
