About

Judy Kiar has over thirty years experience working with children, youth and adults. For the last ten years she has been in private practice as an Individual, Couple and Family Therapist in the South Keys/Greenboro area of Ottawa. She has been married for over forty years and is the mother of three young adults.

In her early adult years Judy worked as a Child and Youth Worker in various treatment settings, including group homes, juvenile detention facilities and hospital programs.

From 1988 until 1996 Judy was primarily a full-time at-home parent. She volunteered in her childrens’ schools and activities as well as training to become a childbirth education and labor support provider. Judy participated in several community forums and conferences to promote family centered maternity care. Judy was also a regular contributor to Homebase magazine.

Judy returned to school in 1996. She received her BA in psychology and then proceeded to do her Masters degree in Pastoral Counselling at St. Paul University in Ottawa. After a year of clinical training working with individuals, Judy focused her study on couple and family therapy.

Judy chose to do an individual Master’s thesis. She conducted original research on the affects of early attachment relationships on womens’ adjustment to motherhood. The project involved interviewing ten women in the third trimester of their first pregnancies and again three months after giving birth to try to establish whether they were securely attached to their own parents and if this had any impact on whether they experienced postpartum depression. The resulting thesis, Implications of Attachment Relationships on Adjustment to Motherhood was extremely well received.

Judy opened her private practice in South Keys/Greenboro in September 2000 and had been working there until 2020 when she relocated to Bridlewood. She has offered postpartum depression support groups, provided parenting workshops and information sessions on postpartum depression as well as providing individual, couple and family therapy. She has also been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This is a very useful tool to help clients resolve past trauma, lessen anxiety and phobias and challenge negative beliefs about the self. Judy sees clients of all ages and backgrounds.

Judy has had therapy and appreciates the need for people to feel safe and accepted in order to open themselves up to exploration and change. She has great respect for those who engage in therapy and sees their work as courageous acts of change.

Judy is accompanied to work most days by Jessie the therapy dog. Jessie is a young golden retriever who is very calm, gentle and soothing. If you are uncomfortable with Jessie’s presence please let Judy know when making your appointment.

Emily Kiar is a graduate of the Masters of Arts in Counselling and Spirituality program at St. Paul University in Ottawa. She has considerable experience providing individual and couple counselling at the St. Paul’s Counselling Centre and her internship. She has joined her mother, Judy’s, individual, couple and family therapy practice.

Emily augments her private practice with employment in a social service agency. Emily has worked for the city of Ottawa in various roles and has a breadth of experience teaching, training, supervising and mentoring youth in her community.