Maor Bernshtein, MSW, RSW, Psychotherapist (He/Him)
Registered Social Worker, MSW, RSW, Psychotherapist
You may be holding your life together while emotions, memories, or ways of coping keep pushing you away from the person you want to be. I provide therapy for trauma, addiction, and borderline personality disorder, tailored to what you are actually going through. Together, we will look at how these concerns affect your daily life, make sense of reactions that feel hard to control, and develop practical tools for difficult moments. I draw from IFS-informed parts work, somatic and trauma-focused approaches, as well as DBT/CBT, to support greater stability, self-trust, and more honest, fulfilling relationships. Visit pathwaytoself.ca to book a free 20-minute consultation and ask any questions you have.
Client Focus
Session Format: Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult, Young Adult
Demographic Expertise: Asian, Buddhist, Jewish, LGBTQ+, Men, Middle Eastern, Military / Veterans, Native American, Persons with Disabilities, Women clients.
Languages: English, Hebrew, Russian
Treatment Approach
- Biopsychosocial Therapy Takes into account biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding mental health. It looks at the whole person, not just symptoms.
- Brainspotting A therapy that uses eye positions to access and process unresolved trauma. It helps release emotional and physical pain held in the body.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) One of the most widely used approaches, CBT helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and replace them with healthier patterns. It is effective for anxiety, depression, and many other concerns.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Combines CBT with mindfulness to help regulate emotions, tolerate stress, and build stronger relationships. Originally designed for borderline personality disorder, it’s now used more broadly.
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Focuses on strengthening emotional bonds in couples or families. It helps people identify negative cycles and create more secure connections.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) Helps clients heal by working with different ‘parts’ of themselves, like inner critics or wounded children. It fosters harmony within the self.
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Combines mindfulness practices with CBT to prevent depression relapse. It helps people notice thoughts without judgment and respond more calmly.
- Narrative Therapy Encourages people to view problems as separate from themselves and reframe their life story. It helps build resilience and self-identity.
- Object Relations Therapy Focuses on how early caregiver relationships shape current relationships. It aims to improve patterns of attachment and trust.
- Relational Psychotherapy Emphasizes the healing power of the therapist-client relationship. It uses trust and safety as a foundation for change.
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) Focuses on solutions and future goals rather than past problems. It is practical, short-term, and goal-driven.
- Somatic Therapy Helps clients notice how emotions are stored in the body. It uses breath, movement, and awareness for healing trauma and stress.
Approach Description: I take an integrative, relational, trauma-informed approach because there is no one-size-fits-all path to healing. We begin by understanding your story, the experiences and relationships that have shaped you, what is affecting your life now, and what you hope will feel different. I draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, Narrative Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, somatic approaches, mindfulness, and psychodynamic therapy, tailoring our work to your needs, goals, and pace. Sessions are flexible and may include conversation, practical tools, deeper reflection, attention to what is happening in the present, or making sense of patterns that developed through past experiences. I will meet you with honesty, compassion, curiosity, and respect, while offering guidance and challenge when it supports the work. Therapy is collaborative, and your experience remains central throughout the process.
Fees & Insurance
Fees
- Average Session Fee 140-175
- Affordable sliding scale therapy: apply if you may be eligible.
- Please reach out to me about sliding scale availability.
- Accepts Insurance
- Please reach out to inquire about the insurance I accept.
Education & Credentials
Maor Bernshtein, MSW, RSW, Psychotherapist MSW, RSW, Psychotherapist
- Male
- License # 856903
- Licensed in ON
- Practicing Since 2019
Education: I've received my Master's of Social Work from the University of Western Ontario. Before that, I've completed the Concurrent Disorders Post-Graduate Diploma in Addictions and Mental Health from Mohawk College, as well as an Honours BA in Psychology from York University.
Maor Bernshtein, MSW, RSW, Psychotherapist Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
- Available In-Person in Hamilton, ON L8R 3K8 and Hamilton, ON L8W
- Available Online for residents of Ontario
- Online Therapy Details: I offer online therapy through the Jane app's secure platform.
People often come to therapy when emotions are becoming harder to manage, past experiences continue to affect the present, or ways of coping that once brought relief begin creating problems in other parts of life. Because these concerns can affect one another, therapy needs to be shaped around how they show up in your life and what you need from the work. At Pathway to Self Counselling & Psychotherapy, I provide individual therapy in Hamilton and online across Ontario, with care tailored to your experiences, needs, and goals. I specialize in trauma and PTSD, complex trauma, borderline personality disorder (BPD), addiction and substance use, anxiety, depression, dissociation, and related concerns.
Therapy begins with understanding what brings you in, how these concerns are affecting your daily life, and what you hope will feel different. I take time to learn about your experiences, relationships, strengths, current pressures, goals, and what has or has not helped before. From there, we decide together what needs attention first and how we will approach it. Sessions may include honest conversation, practical tools, psychoeducation, emotional exploration, body-based awareness, deeper reflection, or time to slow down and make sense of what you are experiencing.
My style is active, collaborative, and direct. I listen closely, ask questions, share observations, and help you notice connections that may be difficult to see on your own. I will offer guidance when it is useful while leaving room for your own judgment, preferences, and pace. You can ask questions, disagree, change direction, or tell me when something does not fit. I want sessions to feel open and human, with room for curiosity, honesty, warmth, and humour alongside difficult conversations.
What we focus on will depend on what is affecting your life. Our work may involve managing intense emotions, grounding when you feel numb or disconnected, understanding trauma responses, reducing shame and self-criticism, or changing ways of coping that provide short-term relief while creating longer-term difficulties. We may also work on expressing your needs, setting boundaries, improving relationships, reconnecting with parts of yourself that feel distant or difficult to accept, and developing a steadier sense of who you are. The aim is to help you build greater stability, self-trust, and choice in how you respond when life becomes difficult.
Alongside my broader work with adults, I specialize in supporting people who work in high-stress, high-responsibility environments, including first responders, active military members and veterans, healthcare professionals, teachers and education workers, and people in frontline or helping roles. These roles can involve sustained pressure, exposure to crisis, trauma or loss, responsibility for others, and an expectation to keep functioning through difficult situations. Work may be part of what brings you to therapy, but it is only one part of the picture. We can also look at how it affects your sleep, emotions, relationships, ways of coping, sense of self, and life outside the job.
My practice also provides specialized, confidential counselling and psychotherapy for people facing criminal charges or other involvement with the criminal justice system. Therapy can support treatment and rehabilitation by addressing substance use, trauma, anger, emotional regulation, relationships, and decision-making, while building practical coping strategies and relapse-prevention plans. If you would like, I can collaborate with your lawyer or other professionals involved in your case and provide treatment-related documentation outlining your attendance, engagement, treatment goals, areas of focus, and progress when appropriate.
My approach is integrative and evidence-informed. I draw most often from Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed parts work, somatic and trauma-focused therapy, relational approaches, and Emotion-Focused Therapy. I may also incorporate Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, mindfulness, Polyvagal-informed approaches, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Some sessions may focus on practical strategies for concerns affecting you now. Others may explore how past experiences, relationships, emotions, beliefs, and the nervous system continue to influence the present. We will regularly discuss what is helping and adjust the work as your needs, goals, and priorities change.
In-person counselling and psychotherapy are available in Hamilton, with virtual and phone appointments available across Ontario. Visit https://pathwaytoself.ca or contact me directly to book a free 20-minute consultation. You can share what has been happening, ask questions, and get a sense of how I work and whether we may be a good fit.
Therapy begins with understanding what brings you in, how these concerns are affecting your daily life, and what you hope will feel different. I take time to learn about your experiences, relationships, strengths, current pressures, goals, and what has or has not helped before. From there, we decide together what needs attention first and how we will approach it. Sessions may include honest conversation, practical tools, psychoeducation, emotional exploration, body-based awareness, deeper reflection, or time to slow down and make sense of what you are experiencing.
My style is active, collaborative, and direct. I listen closely, ask questions, share observations, and help you notice connections that may be difficult to see on your own. I will offer guidance when it is useful while leaving room for your own judgment, preferences, and pace. You can ask questions, disagree, change direction, or tell me when something does not fit. I want sessions to feel open and human, with room for curiosity, honesty, warmth, and humour alongside difficult conversations.
What we focus on will depend on what is affecting your life. Our work may involve managing intense emotions, grounding when you feel numb or disconnected, understanding trauma responses, reducing shame and self-criticism, or changing ways of coping that provide short-term relief while creating longer-term difficulties. We may also work on expressing your needs, setting boundaries, improving relationships, reconnecting with parts of yourself that feel distant or difficult to accept, and developing a steadier sense of who you are. The aim is to help you build greater stability, self-trust, and choice in how you respond when life becomes difficult.
Alongside my broader work with adults, I specialize in supporting people who work in high-stress, high-responsibility environments, including first responders, active military members and veterans, healthcare professionals, teachers and education workers, and people in frontline or helping roles. These roles can involve sustained pressure, exposure to crisis, trauma or loss, responsibility for others, and an expectation to keep functioning through difficult situations. Work may be part of what brings you to therapy, but it is only one part of the picture. We can also look at how it affects your sleep, emotions, relationships, ways of coping, sense of self, and life outside the job.
My practice also provides specialized, confidential counselling and psychotherapy for people facing criminal charges or other involvement with the criminal justice system. Therapy can support treatment and rehabilitation by addressing substance use, trauma, anger, emotional regulation, relationships, and decision-making, while building practical coping strategies and relapse-prevention plans. If you would like, I can collaborate with your lawyer or other professionals involved in your case and provide treatment-related documentation outlining your attendance, engagement, treatment goals, areas of focus, and progress when appropriate.
My approach is integrative and evidence-informed. I draw most often from Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed parts work, somatic and trauma-focused therapy, relational approaches, and Emotion-Focused Therapy. I may also incorporate Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, mindfulness, Polyvagal-informed approaches, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Some sessions may focus on practical strategies for concerns affecting you now. Others may explore how past experiences, relationships, emotions, beliefs, and the nervous system continue to influence the present. We will regularly discuss what is helping and adjust the work as your needs, goals, and priorities change.
In-person counselling and psychotherapy are available in Hamilton, with virtual and phone appointments available across Ontario. Visit https://pathwaytoself.ca or contact me directly to book a free 20-minute consultation. You can share what has been happening, ask questions, and get a sense of how I work and whether we may be a good fit.