Dragonfly Counselling & Wellness
Associate Therapist
Adults Children Couples Families Youth
Relational, client-centred and Indigenous-informed therapy for people navigating conflict, healing and change.
Ryan works with adults, children, couples, families and youth navigating difficult life experiences, conflict, healing and change.
He is Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River, Turtle Clan, and brings eight years of experience as a conflict mediator to the work alongside his social work training.
He offers calm, grounded and compassionate support in a space where you feel safe, respected and truly heard.
Areas of focusAnxiety, depression, grief, men's mental health, Indigenous identity, anger/emotional regulation, major life transitions, first-time therapy
I work withAdults, children, couples, families, youth
FormatIn-person in Brantford and virtual
ApproachesRelational, client-centred, Indigenous-informed, conflict mediation
CoverageInsurance, NIHB
In My Words
Wondering What Therapy with Me Is Like?
Why I Became a Therapist
My mom was a helper as well. She's somebody who everyone just kind of opened up to, and she shared a lot of her energy for the people she cared for. She was a pretty pivotal example of what that could be.
She also had a helper of her own, and they had a pretty amazing therapeutic relationship she could tap into when she needed it. I saw that as an example of what being an empathetic person could be. If I cultivate these gifts, I'll always have purpose.
What It's Like to Work with Me
Sessions are calm and unhurried. You set the direction, and I follow it rather than running you through a programme.
Fit is everything with a therapist. If I'm not the right person, I'll help you find someone who will listen and who you can start a healing journey with.
“I'm going to try to find where you're at, and I'm going to build a bridge to where you are, and we're going to work on this together.”
Ryan MactavishMSW, RSW
How I Work
Before becoming a therapist, I spent eight years helping people navigate conflict as a community and restorative justice mediator. That experience shapes how I show up in the room today — listening closely, staying grounded, and helping you find a way forward without telling you what that way has to look like.
My Therapeutic Modalities
Person-Centred Therapy
Relational ApproachCouples Therapy
A Particular FocusNarrative Therapy
Story-Based ApproachIndigenous Ways of Knowing
Culturally GroundedCurrently expanding my training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
How That Shows Up In Our Sessions
Indigenous Identity & Ways of Knowing
I am Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River, Turtle Clan. My identity, my community connections and my graduate training shape how I approach support and healing, and I bring Indigenous ways of knowing together with my academic work.
I recognize that Indigenous teachings and ceremony will not apply to every client. When they are relevant and welcomed, they can be respectfully held alongside Western therapeutic approaches. I'm a relationally driven person. I believe in cultivating a strong relational bond, a therapeutic bond, before some of that deep work can really be established.
Who You’d Be Sitting With
I’m a husband and father of two. I stay connected to community through Indigenous organizations, boards and accountability circles.
I’m also an Indigenous artist, singer-songwriter and digital artist. Music, guitar, gaming and creative expression are where I spend my time outside the office.
“Karaoke, a song on the guitar, drawing a picture. All of these can be representative of a healing journey.”
Ryan
An Invitation From Ryan
Can I Walk With You for a Minute?
You don’t have to have everything figured out before you begin. Book an appointment with me and take the first step with someone who will listen and walk alongside you.
