Marly McAstocker, MSW, RSW
Marly is a registered social worker (#15169) with a master’s degree in social work. She has been providing counselling and clinical supervision for the past four years. Marly worked for a nonprofit organization for many years, providing support and services to children, youth, adults, and families.
Marly creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for those she works alongside. She is calm, inquisitive, thoughtful, and listens intently with compassion and empathy. Marly is curious about the times clients took a stance against the problems in their lives and recognizes that people are always resisting and refusing to be complicit in many stories and problems they find themselves up against.
Marly is a narrative therapist who is committed to creating and asking good questions that inspire, provoke, and elicit meaning for her clients. She believes that well-crafted questions have the power to spark rebellion within oneself, reshape the ordinary, confront and dismantle oppressive narratives, and lead us toward uncharted territories of liberation and expanded possibilities for living.
Marly also believes in the power of good documentation. As such, she will often write clients poems, stories, or letters to commemorate their time together. These documents outline the many skills, strengths, values, abilities, commitments and stories she has witnessed during time spent with clients. Marly’s poems and letters often preserve crucial words and phrases spoken during conversations in session and offer an additional layer of insight and perspective for clients.
Marly’s approach to counselling is rooted in collaboration, anti-oppression principles, trauma awareness, non-pathologizing perspectives, decolonization efforts, and feminist and LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC affirmation. These values inform every aspect of her practice, creating an inclusive and belonging environment for all who seek support.
