About Lilac Moon Counselling
At Lilac Moon Counselling, I offer a calm and welcoming space where individuals and couples can explore, heal, and grow. Whether you're working through trauma, deepening connection, or learning to feel more at home in your body, I’m here to walk alongside you. Using approaches like EMDR, somatic therapy, and sex therapy, I support your journey with curiosity, kindness, and a down-to-earth approach—always honouring your pace and your story.
Core Values:
1. Safety & Trust – Healing begins in a space where survivors feel safe, heard, and in control of their journey.
2. Compassion & Warmth – Trauma healing requires deep empathy and care, fostering an environment that is gentle and non-judgemental.
3. Empowerment & Inner Strength – Survivors are not defined by their trauma. Therapy is about reclaiming power and rediscovering resilience.
4. Healing & Transformation – The moon symbolizes cycles of renewal – just as healing is not linear, but a process of growth and restoration.
5. Mind-Body Integration – Using EMDR and other trauma-informed approaches to help clients process and release pain stored in both the mind and body.
Who I am
Hello, I’m Kelly Halonen. I was born and raised in Thunder Bay and have been working in the mental health field for over a decade. I have earned both my HBSW and MSW from Lakehead University.
I’m pretty laid back and use humour (as appropriate) to help counselling feel less intimidating. Having done counselling myself, I know how hard it can be to find a good counsellor whom you connect with, and I believe being nonjudgmental and down-to-earth helps ease this struggle.
I have dealt with anxiety, depression, and PTSD in my life which I feel gives me a unique lens to understand how these mental health struggles can affect some people (of course everybody’s experience is unique to them!). I am a survivor of sexual assault and have a particular interest in working with this population to help them heal and find themselves and their voice again. I am also a member and ally to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
My main area of interests are working with trauma, working with sexual assault survivors, and sex therapy. I am trained in EMDR (and multiple protocols within EMDR) to help people better process and heal from their trauma. I also use a variety of other approaches including somatic, CBT, DBT, strengths-based, harm reduction, and client-focused. I am trained in Gottman Levels 1 and 2 so I can provide relationship counselling, and I am also trained in sex therapy. I have worked both individually and, in a relationship setting, to help people explore what is affecting their sex life, sexual issues that may be present, and how to have a fulfilling sex life again either on your own or with someone.
When I’m not counselling, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, being in nature, dogsledding, and spoiling my dogs Max and Mama.
Designation: Masters of Social Work (MSW), Registered Social Worker (RSW)
Theoretical Approaches: EMDR, CBT, DBT, Somatic Therapy, Gottman Methods, Sex Therapy.
Populations: Individuals, Romantic Relationships (couples, polyamory)
