Althea Fernandes, MC, R.P., CCC
Career Counsellor, Registered Psychotherapist
She / Her
Althea is a Registered Psychotherapist and Career Counsellor based in Toronto. She specializes in helping clients who experience burnout, stress, and anxiety , particularly those working in demanding fields like healthcare. Many clients seek her guidance during career transitions or identity crises, looking for clarity, confidence, and a career aligned with their values and goals. Althea’s expertise lies in helping clients restore balance in their lives by setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, and redefining their relationships with work.
Althea’s approach to career counselling blends psychotherapy with career-focused guidance, helping clients not only navigate difficult emotions but also gain deep self-awareness of what informs their career decisions. By addressing underlying belief systems, she empowers her clients to make more strategic and informed choices that align with their values and aspirations. In addition to career counselling, she provides psychotherapy for personal challenges such as stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and interpersonal difficulties.
She uses advanced therapeutic modalities such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to create a holistic, tailored approach that supports deeper healing and personal growth. Her goal as a Career Counsellor is to offer practical action-planning to help her clients build resilience, clarify their goals, and take concrete steps towards creating fulfilling careers. She is described as warm, relatable, culturally competent, knowledgeable, and patient.
As a first-generation South Asian Christian immigrant, Althea has a deep understanding of how cultural, religious, and internalized familial beliefs and expectations influence career choices. Having pivoted multiple times in her own career, she offers a unique perspective to her clients. Initially training to become a Paramedic, she completed a joint degree and diploma program at the University of Toronto – Scarborough Campus and Centennial College. While pursuing a second undergraduate degree in Psychology and applying to medical school, a professor’s recommendation to consider counselling as a career shifted her path. Althea went on to complete her Masters in Counselling Psychology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta and became a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), which has allowed her to find one of the most fulfilling careers she has ever worked in.