Dr. Shira Taylor (she/her)
“I love teaching people mindfulness and other skills they can use to help them find release from their suffering. I also love fostering spaces where the power of a group can support deep healing for those struggling with emotional and mental health challenges. I find much joy in seeing the transformation in peoples’ lives.”
Languages Spoken: English
Preferred Communication Method: Phone, Video Conference
Practice Model: Other
OH Region: Toronto Region (TC)
Biography
Dr. Shira Taylor has been a practising physician psychotherapist since 2014. She serves individuals struggling with a wide variety of mental health and life challenges, including depression, anxiety, complex PTSD, chronic pain, spiritual and religious crises, grief, and migration-related trauma.
Trained in several mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic modalities, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, ACT, Psychodrama and MBCT, her work is focused on teaching trauma-informed approaches to mindfulness, and drawing upon the skills and wisdom of group members to create a supportive learning and healing environment.
Dr. Taylor is a trained yoga instructor through the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization, and brings to her practice not only her medical expertise, but also the lived experience of extensive meditation and yoga training in India and Canada.
She is currently partnering with researchers at McMaster University in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour to explore the role of mindfulness in the treatment of PTSD.
Communities Served
Dr. Taylor serves an urban population. Her practice has been entirely online for the past year and a half.
In My Own Words
“I’m from a mixed religious, racial, and ethnic family. My father is Bajan (from Barbados) and my mother is multi-generation Jewish Canadian of Eastern European descent. I have lived in India and the Middle East (both in Israel and several Arab countries) and speak a small amount of Arabic. I have familiarity with Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism and have been actively involved in organizing interfaith prayer services for peace at the Parliament of World Religions. I am also a co-organizer of the Canada Camino which is a 160km annual walk to support people in reconnecting with the earth and with themselves. It also raises funds to support First Nations communities and food security initiatives. For more than ten years I have also been actively involved with a registered charity in Nigeria called Joy Village (joyvillages.org) and have supported program development as well as fundraising there. I am deeply committed to community service work and building bridges between peoples of different backgrounds and between humans and the rest of the natural world.”