Our Team

Kara Kalin

  • A recognized thought leader and compassionate advocate in the field of mental health, Kara Kalin brings a rare blend of lived experience, clinical expertise, and visionary leadership.

    As a former national-level athlete and coach for the Canadian National Team, Kara understands the mental strain of performing under pressure. Her shift into mental health was born from that firsthand knowledge—recognizing how unprocessed stress can quietly erode even the strongest among us.

    Now a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified EMDR Therapist, Kara is deeply committed to supporting those facing intense personal and professional demands. Through Shift Change, she offers a groundbreaking model of anonymous, neuroscience-backed care—making it possible for anyone to process stress and trauma without needing to speak a word.

    Kara’s work is transforming how we understand healing: early, effective, and accessible. Her leadership ensures Shift Change is not just a service—but a movement.

Susan (Susie) Sidsworth

  • Susan “Susie” Sidsworth is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and EMDR-trained therapist with over a decade of experience guiding individuals through emotional healing and trauma resolution. As a Shift Maker and Therapist at Shift Change, Susie supports clients through EMDR therapy that helps them reprocess trauma, regulate their nervous systems, and build lasting emotional resilience — both individually and in group sessions.

    With training in EMDR, trauma-informed care, and somatic integration, Susie delivers both ASSYST and IGTP protocols with compassion and clarity. She is known for her grounding presence and intuitive support, helping clients navigate difficult emotional material while maintaining psychological safety and pacing.

    Her career includes more than 10 years in the public healthcare system, working with individuals facing stress, trauma, relational struggles, and substance use. That experience shapes her work today — blending clinical rigor with a warm, human-centered approach.

    Susie also brings a unique lens to high-stress professions, particularly among first responders. As the spouse of a frontline worker, she understands the invisible emotional burdens that come with trauma-exposed roles. This lived insight allows her to deeply support those navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, and identity-based stress — both personally and within workplace systems.

    At Shift Change, Susie is a key contributor to the group EMDR model, corporate wellness programs, and individual trauma therapy. Her work reflects the Shift Change promise: to offer mental health care that is transformational, research-backed, and deeply human.

Claire Skillen

  • Claire Skillen, MBA, MACP, B.Sc. CHR, PROSCI, RCC Qualifying is an EMDR-trained therapist with a passion for mental wellness. As a Shift Maker and Therapist at Shift Change, Claire supports clients through EMDR therapy that helps them reprocess trauma, regulate their nervous systems, and build lasting emotional resilience, both individually and in group sessions.

    With training in EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Suicide Intervention Training (ASSIST), and Internal Family Systems, Claire currently delivers ASSIST and IGTP protocols with compassion and clarity. She is known for her intuitive, collaborative, grounding presence in addition to creating psychological and felt safety in sessions to support clients in addressing past and present adverse experiences. Her career spans over 20 years in the public, private, and not-for-profit domains, encompassing roles in healthcare, the Coast Guard, BC Wildfire Management, frontline work with low-income communities, and advocacy work for women in STEM. She has worked with individuals facing stress, trauma, relational struggles, substance use, and chronic illness. Blending systems thinking and organizational change with training and experience in counseling, she takes a collaborative, human-centered, and existential approach to her work with clients.

    Claire brings a range of perspectives from her professional journey into her work, including fieldwork, experience in paramilitary environments, frontline work with marginalized communities, community development projects, a history of competitive sports, and over 10 years in the consulting and technology sector. This lived insight allows her to deeply support those navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, and identity-based stress — both personally and within workplace systems.

    At Shift Change, Claire is a key contributor to the group EMDR model, corporate wellness programs, and individual trauma therapy. Her work reflects the Shift Change promise: to offer mental health care that is transformational, research-backed, and deeply human.

Kamila Gach

  • Kamila is the organizational backbone at Shift Change, keeping operations running smoothly and efficiently. With a keen eye for detail and a calm, solutions-focused approach, she supports the CEO and wider team in everything from scheduling and communication to systems management and project coordination.

    Kamila brings heart and structure to the day-to-day, making sure nothing falls through the cracks!