Hi! I’m Suse Silva.

I offer holistic mental health support with a somatic approach that focuses on healing at the soul level.

The best alternative to talk therapy.

I use the healing arts of somatic movement, trauma-informed yoga, Qigong, meditation, breathwork, art making, forest bathing, sound therapy, energy healing, and more, to support my clients in clearing trauma from the body, regulating the nervous system, and developing a new narrative with holistic perspectives and habits to support their dreams, ambitions and soul’s calling.

Often, clients come to me after they have experienced a mental health crisis, received a diagnosis; or experienced a life-shifting event such as: a death, divorce/breakup, traumatic event, career change, rock bottom, relocating, significant loss etc. and they are ready to empower themselves in moving forward in a new direction.

I offer support both in-person and virtually all over the world.

I am a first-generation settler of Azorean Portuguese descent living on the unceded traditional and treaty territory of the Michi Saagiig (Mississauga) and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations (Northumberland County, Ontario). With great gratitude, I acknowledge that the Williams Treaties First Nations have been stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters. Through my practices, teachings and daily actions I honour and respect these lands, and all who are doing the same as we walk forward hand-in-hand in good relations.

I have been dedicated to this work for over a decade and I continue to educate, support, and hold nurturing spaces that inspire people to be themselves, heal, explore, grow and have fun! I've had the privilege of walking alongside individuals during profound life transitions, through times of trauma, grief, mental health struggles, substance misuse, pregnancy, parenting, marital struggles and cancer recovery. Some of the most rewarding opportunities came from facilitating trauma-informed yoga at Bellwoods Health Services to those in recovery from PTSD and addictions, facilitating trauma-informed yoga at Fred Victor’s Transitional Housing, and co-facilitating Eddy Tony’s Sacred Medicine Ceremonies, Soul Journeys and Pachamama Retreats.

THE STORY

How this all began and why supporting others on their mental health healing journey became my mission

Grab yourself a cup of tea and get cozy for this little story time…

In 2010, I found myself in a psychiatric ward, marked with a serious mental illness label, “type-1 bipolar disorder”. I was just 22, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and striving to define my path in life. It was a very bewildering time and in hindsight, what I experienced was a spiritual emergency, my soul expanding and my gifts being shown to me.

After a traumatic seven-night stay in the hospital, I emerged, completely confused and utterly lost. I received no guidance or explanation from the medical professionals, only a prescription slip. I knew little about the diagnosis that was given to me, or how to heal it. My psychiatrist's voice still haunts me to this day, "This will be something that you will have to live with for the rest of your life." What did he mean? Would I continue to have wild “manic episodes”? Would I be hospitalized again? "Not if you stay on medication," he insisted.

In other words, the "safest" option was to rely on toxic, life-threatening medications. I refused to accept that. I couldn't bear to think of myself as broken, unfixable, or a lost cause. In my heart, I knew I was better than that. I was determined to find my way, even if it meant doing it alone.

At the time, there weren’t any stories of people sharing their experiences or strategies for living well after receiving a diagnosis. There is still so much stigma associated with experiencing altered states and receiving a diagnosis..

After being diagnosed, I followed my psychiatrist's orders, taking high doses of lithium and quetiapine, both heavy antipsychotic medications with dangerous side effects. I followed his orders because I was scared to experience altered states that could land me locked up in the horrors of hospitalization again. Intuitively, I knew I needed to do something else, and that relying on medication alone wouldn’t provide the quality of life I dreamed of and deserved.

Six months after my hospitalization, I enrolled in a 200-hour yoga teacher training. It opened a new world for me, shifting things on a deep soul level. Yoga school introduced me to new philosophies, mindsets, and a way of being that were entirely new to me. I immersed myself in it, pursuing courses, taking workshops, and attending retreats. I became a dedicated student, driven by the desire to teach these practices that I was benefiting from, to others.

As I delved into yoga and experimented with many healing arts modalities, I began to feel better, not just mentally but also physically, emotionally and spiritually. With my psychiatrist's guidance, I gradually tapered off my medication. Within a year of my initial diagnosis, I was on the lowest dose of quetiapine and completely off of lithium. I maintained that minimal dose of quetiapine for 11 years, attributing my stability and recovery to the shifts I experienced through daily practices like yoga, meditation, breathwork, nature immersion, art making, sound therapy, and energy healing. I am now proudly celebrating two years of being entirely free from psychiatric medication.

I have experienced first hand the inadequacy of our mental healthcare system. My mission is clear: I don’t want anyone to struggle or feel lost and hopeless, like I did.

MY CREDENTIALS

Education, Certifications & Personal Practices that inform the work that I do

• Bachelors of Fine Arts, Visual Arts, Degree from York University

• Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum Certification with The Institution of Developmental Human Arts (IDHA)

• 100hr YogaFit for Warriors (trauma-Informed yoga) YTT Certification (Shaye Molendyke & Kristy Manuel): Neuroscience understanding of the psychological and physiological effects of movement, breathwork and meditation; the nuances of yoga for mental health, PTSD, addictions and recovery, emotional and physical trauma

• 200hr Hatha Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) Certification with YogaFit (Lisa Greenbaum, Joy Keller, Terra Nicole, Taj Harris, Paul Galloro) Specialties - Pre/Post Natal, Seniors, Props, Indo Board

• Mindfulness Meditation YTT Certification with YogaFit (Paul Galloro)

• Ayurveda YTT Certification with YogaFit (Tracy Jennings-Hill)

• Healthcare 1: Assessing the Physical Body YTT Certification with YogaFit (Terra Nicole & Joy Keller)

• Art of Rest (restorative yoga) YTT Certification with Scott Davis: combining Restorative Yoga principles through a Traditional Chinese Medicine lens, Qi Gong, Lymphatic Massage, Meridian Tapping Therapy

• Foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine Certification with Scott Davis

• Tao Healing Hands (soul level energy healing) Practitioner Certification with Next Level Tao, Transmissions by Francisco Quintero, Alexia Cito & Vanessa Ferraro

• Somatic Breathwork Facilitator Certification with Eddy Tony

• Formal Dance Training (jazz, contemporary, hip-hop) with Dance Extreme

• Formal Visual Arts Training (drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, animation, film, photography) with BealArt

• Thai Yoga Massage with Navina

• Irest Yoga Nidra with Dr. Richard Miller

• Axis Syllabus with Ruth Douthwright 

• Pilates & Somatic Movement with Lisa Messina

• Qi Gong with Ali Stark

• Qi Gong with Mimi Kuo-Deemer

• Integrative Holistic Psychotherapy with Amy Manusow

• Lunar Magic, Mysticism & Tarot with Sarah Faith Gottesdiener

• Ancestral Healing with Sacred Ancestry

• Crystal Healing & Kundalini Yoga with Kyle Gray

• Spiritual Mentorship with blksoltheory

• Spiritual Mentorship with Copper Lighthouse

• Reiki with raiseurvibe

• Acupuncture with Zackary Owen

• Fighting Monkey and Creative Movement with Elke Schroeder

• Cold Exposure Therapy with Breathing in Nature

• Functional Movement

• Ecstatic Dance

• Sound Therapy

• Art Therapy

• Buddhist Philosophy

• Taoist Philosophy

• Earth-Based Spirituality

• Sensory Deprivation (Float)

• Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing)