"I am at home amongs the trees."
-J.R.R. Tolkein

Meet Benn Brisland, CYC, MSW, RSW

Hi there! My name is Benn Brisland (he/him pronouns please), and I am so glad you have found the Deep Roots Counselling website. I offer brief and long-term individual counseling, to pre-teens, adolescents, adults, and families.

You have arrived here because you want to make a change in your life. Together, we can work to understand why things are happening, find root causes, and identify patterns. Collaboratively we will create a plan to address your challenges, practice new skills, and find happiness, purpose, or relief. I have been working in the field of mental health for 18 years in different capacities and I have a passion for working with transgender and non-binary individuals. I am a Registered Social Worker and a Child and Youth Worker. I have an Advanced Diploma in Child and Youth Work (CYW) from George Brown College and earned both my Bachelors and Masters of Social Work from York University. I am a registered member in good standing of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).

Since 2013, I have worked at a large mental health teaching hospital in Toronto, most recently providing gender-affirming services to adult clients throughout the province of Ontario.

I have also been a volunteer mental health counsellor at a residential summer camp in Washington State for 2SLGBTQ youth and families since 2004. It was there, in the forest, where I discovered my love for listening and holding space for a person’s intersection of identities, their stories, history and resilience. My first years as a Child and Youth Worker were based in therapeutic residential programs for youth experiencing mental health and substance use challenges.

Outside of work I enjoy anything and everything crafty especially knitting and sewing; and you will often find me with multiple projects on the go simultaneously! I am the proud father of two kiddos who keep life interesting and me on my toes!

Deep Roots Counselling is situated in Toronto, Ontario, lands that for millennia have been occupied by many First Nations including, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. Today it is home to many diverse Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people.
Toronto is covered by Treaty 13, the Toronto Purchase and the Williams Treaty.

At Deep Roots Counselling I believe that it is crucial to not only acknowledge First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people for their care of this land, and teachings about the earth and our connection to it, but also to actively and intentionally honor those teachings through our relationships today and every day hereafter.
We commit to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation, as we learn together and contemplate the possibilities that lie ahead.