Meet Dana Gillespie Tozer

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Hi, I’m Dana. One of your therapists at EFCP.

Many of the people I work with are the ones everyone else depends on. They're caregivers, parents, partners, professionals and students carrying a lot of responsibility while trying to keep all the moving pieces of life in motion.

They may come to therapy feeling exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed or disconnected, wondering how much longer they can keep going the way they have been.

Therapy can be a place where you don't have to hold everything together. A place where your needs, experiences and story matter too.

As a Registered Social Worker with nearly 25 years of experience, I work with adolescents, post-secondary students, emerging adults, adults, and couples navigating anxiety, burnout, life transitions, relationship challenges and the impacts of abuse and relational harm.

Much of my work centres on relationships: understanding how we've been hurt, the patterns we develop to navigate difficult relationships, and how we can move towards healthier ways of relating. I believe meaningful change requires both compassion and accountability, and that people are always more than the challenges they've faced or the mistakes they've made.

Our struggles don't happen in isolation. Our relationships, identities, communities and the systems we live within all shape how we experience ourselves and the world. I bring this broader perspective into therapy, making space to explore not just what's happening within you, but the experiences and contexts that have shaped you.

My approach draws on narrative, attachment-based and emotionally focused therapies, with elements of CBT and DBT where helpful. Grounded in an intersectional feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive framework, I aim to make therapy a space for honest exploration, deeper understanding and meaningful change.

I'm also passionate about arts-informed approaches to healing. Creativity can help us access feelings and experiences that are sometimes difficult to put into words. It's been an important part of my own healing, and you certainly don't need to consider yourself artistic to benefit from it!

Clients describe my style as authentic, collaborative and grounded. I want therapy to feel like a genuine human relationship, not a performance. There's room for difficult conversations, meaningful reflection, humour and lightness. We'll work together to figure out what healing and change might look like for you.

When I'm not working, you'll often find me crafting (with considerably more trial and error than success), reading, drinking coffee or indulging in some dopamine-releasing TV. Home renovation shows and hockey-based romances are particular favourites.

If you're looking for an experienced, collaborative therapist who can sit with both the hard stuff and the hopeful stuff, I'd be honoured to connect.