MELISSA CUTLER THERAPY SERVICES
Supporting life after injury, illness, and chronic pain
When you’re navigating the emotional and practical impact of concussion, brain injury, chronic pain, or medically related life changes, therapy can help you understand what’s happening and regain a sense of direction. My approach is not a one-size-fits-all model. Every client brings a unique history, identity, and set of challenges, and our work reflects the whole context of your life, not just your symptoms.
The foundation of effective therapy is trust. I aim to create a space where you feel heard, respected, and able to explore your experiences without filter or pressure. I draw on a whole-person, mind–body approach, recognizing that thoughts, emotions, and physical responses are interconnected.
I work with clients across Toronto and Ontario, offering both in-person and virtual sessions.
Post-Concussion Therapy in Toronto
A concussion affects far more than your physical symptoms. Many clients come to therapy feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or misunderstood, especially when progress feels slow or inconsistent. Emotional reactions like worry, frustration, sadness, self-blame, and fear about the future are extremely common.
Brain Injury & Stroke Rehabilitation
Brain injury or stroke can reshape identity, relationships, and your sense of control. Therapy provides space to understand your experience, make meaning of what happened, and process the grief, fear, or frustration that may emerge along the way.
How I Support Clients
We begin by understanding your story, what the event meant to you, how recovery has unfolded, and what challenges remain. I normalize your experience through education and provide resources, including community and peer supports when helpful. When relationships are affected, loved ones may join sessions to support communication, reduce strain, and foster understanding.
Rehabilitation Beyond the Medical Model
Rehabilitation is not just regaining physical abilities; it’s reconnecting with life. You don’t have to wait for “recovery” to begin living again. Our work focuses on identity changes, confidence, emotional expression, and finding agency in the present.
What you may Gain
Clients often develop clearer self-understanding, greater emotional regulation, better communication strategies, and deeper acceptance of their new reality. My experience in hospital and rehab settings helps me understand the journey you’ve already taken and what’s still ahead.
Chronic Pain Management
Chronic pain impacts mood, energy, roles, relationships, and self-confidence. Many clients come to therapy after feeling they've tried every medical intervention with little emotional relief. Therapy becomes a space to understand and manage the psychological weight of pain.
CBT helps identify and reframe unhelpful thoughts, including fear, hopelessness, self-doubt, and self-criticism, that can intensify emotional distress. You’ll learn how your beliefs and expectations shape your pain experience and how more balanced thinking can create emotional relief.
We also look at daily routines, pacing, and energy-conservation strategies that foster greater steadiness. Over time, clients often experience increased self-compassion, improved coping, and confidence to re-engage socially, relationally, or functionally.
Living well with chronic pain doesn’t mean ignoring it, it means the pain no longer defines or constricts your life. Therapy supports acceptance, integration, and self-compassion so you can move toward a life that feels meaningful and possible.
Somatic Therapy
Emotions often show up physically, tightness, heaviness, restlessness, or tension. Somatic therapy helps you connect with these sensations and process emotions through the body, not only through thinking.
What we use in Session
Depending on your comfort, we may explore gentle movement, stretch, guided imagery, body scans, diaphragmatic breathing, grounding, or breathwork. These practices help you recognize emotions, tolerate discomfort, and release tension safely.
Who This Helps
Somatic work is especially supportive for emotions that build up over time, grief, anger, sadness, overwhelm, and for clients who “feel everything in their body.”
What Clients Often Notice
Many clients describe a sense of calm, clarity, and emotional steadiness after somatic practices. Over time, mind–body awareness supports regulation, healing, and deeper insight.
Moving Forward
Reaching out for therapy is meaningful, and you deserve to feel supported in that step. If you’re ready to explore whether therapy could help you move forward, I invite you to book a consultation.
Let’s begin with a conversation.