Founder • Therapist • Executive Director Stick & Stone Counselling Services
Chelsey Gareau is a therapist, founder, and Executive Director of Stick & Stone Counselling Services—an award-winning counselling practice built on the belief that every person deserves to feel seen, valued, supported, and never alone. Known for her compassionate leadership, grounded presence, and unwavering commitment to people, Chelsey has dedicated her life and career to creating spaces where healing, connection, and belonging can flourish.
Guided by faith, humility, and a deep heart for community, Chelsey founded Stick & Stone Counselling Services in March 2018 with a vision of making high-quality, accessible, and relational mental health care available to individuals and families from all walks of life. What began as a one-woman private practice has grown into a respected multi-disciplinary counselling organization recognized through numerous community and professional awards. Under her leadership, Stick & Stone has become known not only for clinical excellence, but for its culture of compassion, innovation, authenticity, and genuine human connection.
Chelsey’s leadership and therapeutic approach have been shaped by a uniquely diverse professional journey spanning mental health, corrections, crisis intervention, education, community outreach, and humanitarian work. Prior to founding Stick & Stone, she worked in frontline and leadership roles supporting individuals navigating trauma, crisis, poverty, systemic barriers, mental health challenges, and complex family circumstances. Her experience includes crisis counselling within Indigenous communities across Saskatchewan, serving as a liaison between colleges, reserves, and band communities, working as a Corrections Officer and Case Worker within the correctional system, and supporting individuals and families through community-based counselling and education initiatives. These experiences profoundly shaped her understanding of resilience, trauma, human dignity, and the importance of culturally responsive and relationship-centred care.
Having travelled extensively and lived and worked within diverse communities, Chelsey brings a broad worldview and deep appreciation for the unique stories, strengths, and lived experiences people carry. Her work is grounded in the belief that healing happens through safety, connection, and being deeply understood. She is known for creating warm, non-judgmental spaces where individuals feel genuinely cared for and empowered to explore their experiences, reconnect with their strengths, and rediscover hope.
With advanced training in Marriage and Family Therapy, EMDR, crisis counselling, somatic approaches, and trauma recovery, Chelsey takes a holistic and integrative approach to care—supporting both emotional and physiological healing. Her work is informed by systems-centered, strength-based, relational, and trauma-informed perspectives, recognizing the complex ways life experiences, relationships, culture, faith, and the nervous system shape emotional wellbeing. As a Christian counsellor, she also integrates faith into therapy for those who desire it, honouring each individual’s story, values, and pace of healing.
Throughout her career, Chelsey has developed extensive experience supporting individuals and families experiencing trauma, grief, anxiety, relationship challenges, neurodiversity, crisis situations, and major life transitions. She is recognized for her ability to remain calm and grounded in high-pressure environments, her strong leadership and interpersonal skills, and her ability to build meaningful relationships across communities, systems, and organizations. Her background in crisis response, corrections, education, and community outreach has strengthened her capacity to navigate complexity with both compassion and practical wisdom.
In addition to her clinical work, Chelsey has become a respected facilitator, speaker, supervisor, and program developer. She partners with organizations, schools, churches, workplaces, and community groups to provide workshops, training, crisis response, and Employee, Group and Individual Assistance Programs focused on psychological safety, resilience, leadership, emotional wellness, and meaningful connection. Her work reflects a passion for changing how people experience mental health support—not only within counselling offices, but within workplaces, families, schools, and communities. Most recently, under her leadership, Stick & Stone launched walk-in mental health services to help increase immediate access to care and reduce barriers for individuals seeking timely support.
Chelsey is deeply committed to removing barriers to care and building stronger communities through accessible and innovative supports. Under her leadership, Stick & Stone has introduced initiatives including free on-site childcare during counselling sessions, sliding-scale and pro-bono services, rapid-response mental health support, rural outreach programming, educational workshops, retreats, and community connection events designed to reduce isolation and foster belonging.
Her heart for service extends beyond local communities through humanitarian and international outreach initiatives. Chelsey has provided crisis support and mental health training internationally, including ongoing work in Uganda supporting the development of schools, orphanage initiatives, and future mental health resources for underserved communities. Her passion for advocacy, community development, and human connection continues to shape every aspect of her leadership and vision.
Above all, Chelsey remains deeply committed to creating spaces where people feel safe, valued, empowered, and connected. Her mission continues to guide both her leadership and clinical work:
To be a light in the world, to create a place of safety and belonging where all people matter, and to walk alongside others so no one has to carry their story alone.