Christie Byvelds, MSW, RSW 

Social Worker

Hi!

I’m Christie, a registered social worker and psychotherapist, and a facilitator of several of CAFCO’s therapy groups.

Parenting and growing up can be challenging, especially when anxiety, big emotions, or family conflict begin to take over daily life. I support children, teens, young adults and their caregivers in building emotional skills, resilience, and stronger relationships through a warm, practical, and collaborative approach.

Groups I facilitate:

In-person groups for youth:

  • Don’t Flip Your Lid! – in-person emotion regulation group (grades 1-3 and grades 4-6)
  • Cool Kids Anxiety group – in-person anxiety group (grades 3-5 and grades 6-8)
  • DBT Skills group – in-person group for youth and their caregivers (grades 7-9)

Virtual groups for caregivers:

  • Correction Through Connection: Supporting Your Child with Their Intense Emotions – virtual group for parents of children and teens with intense emotions
  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) group – virtual group for parents of children with anxiety and OCD

Areas of Focus:

  • anxiety
  • perfectionism
  • OCD
  • trauma
  • giftedness
  • emotion regulation
  • gender diverse youth
  • parent-child relational problems

 Approaches & Modalities

  • Nature-Based Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT)
  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT)
  • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
  • Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)
  • Brainspotting

I am deeply committed to offering affirming care to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and have experience working with gender-diverse youth and their caregivers. I also strive to bring an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens to my practice.

Background and Credentials

I hold a Master of Social Work degree from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from Queen’s University. I am a member in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and the Ontario Association of Social Workers.

Beyond my clinical practice, I am passionate about social work education and mentorship; for over a decade, I have been a sessional instructor with the School of Social Work at Carleton University.

Languages: English