Introducing: Andrea Nair, M.A., CCC

Andrea Nair considers all aspects of the person when she welcomes someone for counseling and when she undertakes any research, writing or speaking engagements. She works as a psychotherapist, holding credentials as a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).

Andrea admits she has always been an inquisitive soul, very aware of the importance of communication throughout her life. In particular, she is keenly aware of how the language we use affects ourselves and those around us, and how it plays a huge role in our self-esteem, the healthy development of our children, and the health of our interpersonal relationships. Not surprisingly then, these same themes have played a critical role in her own career path.

Her background and interest in coaching parents, for example, very much focuses on those with young children and parents of teenagers. While this may seem to be an odd combination, Andrea feels completely at ease with these two groups and sees them as being intrinsically linked.

Andrea knows teenagers very, very well, having lived with them most of her adult life, as a teacher for 11 years, when she taught math, science and health to junior and senior high school students in Manitoba and Alberta.

“When I would see these young adults struggle so desperately to fit in and many times, they would go off track completely with their lives, it was heart-breaking. I often thought – I wish I could have helped their parents when these children were much younger,” Andrea explains. “If their parents would have known ways to better attune, and instill self-esteem, self-confidence, and resilience in their children at a much younger age, I could just imagine how much stronger these high school students would be, much better able to withstand the stresses of teenage life.”

Andrea knew she wanted to be able to affect that kind of change, so she followed her heart towards psychotherapy about 12 years ago. She went on to complete studies in Spokane, Washington and Calgary, Alberta, earning her Master’s of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University in 2003. Since then, she has worked as a school counselor, a psychotherapist, a writer, and a parenting coach before starting her own family and relocating to south-western Ontario to fulfill a second long-held dream.

In 2009, she and her husband, Dr. Vineet Nair established The Core Family Health Centre in London, Ontario.  They both share a passion for helping and they have since gathered with them a team of like-minded practitioners. Collectively, they now offer a range of traditional medicine, physical therapy, massage therapy, and psychotherapy services.

Andrea’s success as a psychotherapist and parenting coach is very much rooted in research, supplemented with her varied life experiences. Her focus is to understand the dynamics within the family, past events, current situations and the child’s personality because that understanding of the core issues will support positive behavioural change.

Andrea has quite naturally branched out from her counseling role into speaking, facilitating and publishing her work in the field of parenting, and she has even written a fictional novel which draws on a composite of clinical situations she has gathered during her practice.

As a parenting coach, Andrea’s dream is to continue to expand her messages – empowering parents everywhere to tap into their own natural talents and strengths. She explains to parents how they can understand and overcome negative influences from their own pasts which may be impeding them, and how to use proven parenting techniques to raise self-confident and resilient children who are fully able to excel in this ever-changing world.