About

About WISE Parenting

Stephanie Collins

With over 32 years of experience working with families, couples and children, Stephanie Collins brings the lens of social worker and educator to WISE Parenting. Through her innate talent to develop relationships with all clients, Stephanie is able to accomplish what other agencies have not been able to do – unite the modern with the traditional in families in an effort to develop long lasting solutions to age-old problems.

Stephanie began her career working with youth at risk on the streets of Toronto until she was hired as an independent parenting consultant. Rumour of her skill set caught on quickly and she was recruited to offer in-home parenting support for Peel Children’s Centre in Mississauga. Working with a highly skilled team of social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, Stephanie offered sound customized programs to families who were struggling to parent their children. She developed a group for children with siblings who had special needs and offered parenting workshops designed to support families in crisis.

Image of Stephanie Collins wearing glasses

Stephanie turned her attention to the field of education in the late 1990s, obtaining her teaching degree at the University of Western Ontario. After graduating, employers were eager to have her on their school team as she brought both a social worker and teaching framework to her classroom. Today, she continues to be sought by former students for their positive memories of her leadership in the classroom.

In 2008, Stephanie saw an opportunity to join the field of social work again, working for her local Board of Education. Administrators welcomed her in-depth knowledge of both classroom and family systems, and she was selected to work in leading roles on the Critical Incident, Multi-Disciplinary and Violent Threat Risk Assessment teams. She hosted parenting workshops, worked steadfastly to bridge the gap of services to students, and once again was able to utilize a combination of skill and compassion to stabilize the most vulnerable of the student population.

In 2018, Stephanie made the leap to begin her own private practise, extending her knowledge from children and youth to families and couple therapy. Within her practice, she discovered a long, unaddressed gap in the demand for counselling, groups, and in-home parenting intervention services. Community agencies offered limited services and long wait lists.
WISE Parenting became the answer to these problems.

You can depend on customized parenting plans, informative workshops, and supportive groups designed to meet the needs of today’s busy, modern family.

Register today

Picture of Stephie Collins with a child on the grass.

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“Reaching out for help took a lot of courage, but we are so glad we did. Our family had been struggling for a while and something needed to change. Stephanie’s approach helped us to move from a place of frustration and feeling incompetent, to feeling certain about our parenting values and excited to do things together as a family.”

R and S – Peterborough, Ontario

“When my parents split up, I felt lost. It felt like they had forgotten about me as they moved on to other relationships. I felt like I didn’t belong anymore and was a stranger in my own home. Stephanie helped me to sort out my feelings and find a way to reconnect with my parents. I had felt invisible and now they saw me as important to them. I was able to go off medication for depression and anxiety and plan a future that I (and they) could be excited about.”

James – age 15

“I contacted Stephanie due to my stressful work conditions. I was feeling trapped, not sleeping and in a constant state of worry. I was having physical symptoms of a heart attack, but I didn’t want to take time off work to see my doctor. Stephanie helped me to make some good decisions about my health, work stress, and to rethink the ways stress was hindering my life. I was able to let go of feeling guilty and ashamed of not being able to manage the load.”

Stan – age 47

“Our family was a mess. We were in a constant state of tension and on the verge of divorce. Stephanie taught us how to work as a team and take control of our destructive ways of communicating and acting with one another.”

C and F – City of Kawartha Lakes

“Stephanie has this talent of tapping into my sense of power and illuminating my long-forgotten talents and gifts. She is a gift. Her wisdom and compassion in her approach to counselling is unique. To top it off, she’s funny too.”

Marylynn – age 34