Hello, I’m Brittany Pompilii, MRFT, RP-Q.
Let me begin with my journey to becoming a psychotherapist.
My path to becoming a therapist was influenced by my own experiences of therapy and deep healing work. Therapy created a space for me to understand myself; it changed how I learned to relate to my inner world, my emotions, my body, and the relationships I was a part of. I was empowered by the experience of being deeply seen, understood, and supported in places I could not face alone for a long time. I learned what can be possible when we are given space to bring compassion to the parts of ourselves that have long remained hidden, misunderstood, or rejected.
Alongside my own deep, emotional transformation, I began working in research and advocacy focused on gender-based, sexual, and intimate partner violence, exploring how survivors can take power back and experience pleasure and joy in their lives. This led me to work alongside survivors of sexual and relational trauma for many years. I will never forget their stories, as they are forever woven into my approach as a therapist. I was, and continue to be, changed by the survivors I’ve met in my time in this field and beyond.
I am also someone drawn to meaning-making, particularly through psychology, literature, and esoteric study. I believe there is wisdom in evidence-based research and symbol, story, and the mythic / spiritual beliefs that help us understand our lives.
As a therapist now, I bring a grounded, compassionate, and deeply engaged presence to therapy. I do not shy away from intensity, complexity, or contradiction - rather, I welcome it!
For when we have the courage to face, or speak to, the parts of ourselves and others that we avoid - healing can be sustainable, and change inevitable.
I am grounded in a justice-oriented, equity-focused practice
My identity as a therapist is also shaped by my lineage as an Italian-Canadian and the intricate histories that immigrant families often carry - stories around sacrifice, belonging, tradition, opportunity, and loss. Alongside this, I’ve engaged in an ongoing process of deconstructing religious conditioning and reclaiming a more authentic relationship to life purpose and meaning beyond organized religion. Throughout my life, I’ve continued to explore my cultural identity and belief systems, and deepened my connection to my heart and authentic values. In doing so, I’ve recognized the power in examining our relationship to the forces that impact us, and in creating space to imagine who we might become beyond them.
I also continue to reflect critically on what it means to live and practice as a settler on stolen land, and how colonial histories have shaped my upbringing, as well as my training and education in the mental health and psychotherapy field. This awareness informs both my personal and professional commitment to anti-oppressive, decolonizing, and liberatory therapy practice.
As such, I practice with the belief that pleasure and joy are powerful tools of resistance and healing - a belief informed by influential Black, Indigenous, and racialized writers and healers. Systems of oppression often rely on disconnecting us from body, instinct, intuition, desire, community, and creativity. In this context, I’ve come to know how pleasure is power. How joy disrupts despair and hopelessness. How desire resists control. Choosing aliveness in a world set on disconnection can become a personal, political act of empowerment and collective change. In therapy, this means in our work together will go to the hard places, we will speak about pain, and we will also create space to imagine and build ways to feel alive beyond the systems that fail us and restrict our life force.
There are also life experiences that have impacted me deeply that I do not share publicly. I acknowledge this because I believe part of therapeutic work is recognizing that we do not fully know one another in a clinical relationship, and yet we are still deeply impacted by who the other person is. So while you may know what informs my therapy through what I write and speak to, there will always be parts that I keep private. Yet, I wish for you to know that I remain committed to understanding myself with honesty and deep reflection, and in doing so, I am able to be highly attuned, sensitive, and present in our therapeutic work.
While my lived experiences do not define me, nor do they make me an expert in anyone else’s life, they inform the questions I ask as a therapist, the power dynamics I notice, and the depth of complexity I am willing to hold in our work together.
It is these experiences - past, present and future - that have allowed me to become a therapist who is kind-hearted, non-judgemental, and curious.
Outside of therapy, who am I really?
The therapeutic relationship is integral to the work we do together, and I am human too! As such, I believe it is important for me to offer parts of myself that can provide insights into who I am, outside of therapy.
In my personal and professional relationships, I am often referred to (lovingly) as the emotional & deep one. I tend to be a person that people come to for emotional support, for deep conversations, and for a good laugh!
I am someone who has a sensitive heart, and a fierce passion that runs through everything I do.
I love to read (any and all genres), with some of my favourite books being: Women Who Run With the Wolves, Mysteries of the Dark Moon, The Night Circus, and of course, Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
In terms of my favourite movies, I love Phantom of the Opera, Scream, and all of the Spider-Man eras.
For my favourite shows: Game of Thrones, This Is Us, and Attack on Titan. Although I’m sure my obsession with Criminal Minds and Pretty Little Liars as a teen has something to do with me becoming a therapist now… (I just can’t prove it!).
I also enjoy watching soccer (🇮🇹) and hockey (Toronto Maple Leafs fan… allegedly).
For those interested in astrology & human design: I am a Taurus Sun, Virgo Moon, and a Scorpio Rising; and a 2/4 Emotional Projector (which I imagine sounds hilarious to anyone not familiar with human design).
A few of my other interests & hobbies include: writing, herbalism, esoteric study, and playing music. Oh, and trying to keep my plants alive.
If you feel a resonance with who I am as a therapist, I invite you to reach out and explore working together.
I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with a Master's degree in Relational & Family Therapy (MRFT) from the University of Guelph. During my training program, I completed 530+ direct client contact hours in relational & systemic models of therapy with individuals, couples, and families across a diversity of therapeutic concerns.
I also hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (Honours) with double minor specializations in English Literature and Family & Child Studies.
My work is informed by past and ongoing training in the following therapy models:
Relational & Systemic Therapy
Collaborative / Dialogic, Solution-Focused, and Narrative Therapies
Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Parts Work
Trauma-Informed Practice
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT)
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples and Families
Indigenous Wisdom in Trauma Recovery
I have also worked in various roles as an academic & community researcher, on research projects related to:
young adult sexual consent practices
equine-facilitated therapy as a treatment for children who have experienced physical & sexual abuse and behavioural addiction
sexual & gender identity exploration
precarious or ‘toxic’ masculinity
consensual unwanted sex
sex worker relational experiences
trauma bond relationships
intersections of perfectionism, emotion and ADHD
housing insecurity amongst young women and mothers during COVID-19
drag performers' workplace experiences
refugee women’s experiences with immigration and cultural integration
gender-based violence policy in ontario (for the publication, click here)
As an integrative therapist, I draw from these approaches thoughtfully and flexibly, adapting our therapeutic conversation to your unique needs, strengths, and hopes for our work together.
Beyond academic studies, much more of what I have learned about healing and care have come from community, survivor-led, folk, and Indigenous perspectives around spirituality, queerness, land-based healing, cultural and ancestral connection, relationships, authenticity, and justice. I carry these teachings with deep gratitude and integrate them into my practice in honour of the people, communities, natural world, and elders who have generously shared their wisdom with me in service of this work.