ABOUT SUZANNE (SUE) MCDERMID | Hons B.A., B.Ed., OCT, MSW, RSW
I believe people do better when they feel seen, safe and like they belong.
I’m Suzanne (Sue) McDermid, a therapist, registered social worker and registered secondary school teacher in North Bay.
Across education, social work and community-based settings, my work has always centred on children, teens and their families.
Riverway Therapy brings those worlds together in one place, with counselling shaped around the person in front of me rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
My hope is simple: that people of all ages and abilities can walk into Riverway and know they are welcome exactly as they are.
MY STORY
Riverway Therapy was a happy accident that became something much bigger.
Riverway began during COVID in response to a need in the local community. What started unexpectedly has continued to grow each year. But the ideas behind Riverway started much earlier.
Since high school, I’ve believed that people, particularly children, students and individuals living with disabilities, deserve spaces where they feel valued, capable and included. I want people to know they are brilliant and that they do not need to change who they are in order to fit in or belong.
I deeply enjoy watching those who have been underestimated or misunderstood find their purpose and thrive. That belief has followed me throughout my career and continues to shape the work I do at Riverway Therapy every day.
People do better when they feel safe, respected, connected and like they belong.
LIVED EXPERIENCE MATTERS TOO
Some of my most important lessons didn’t come from a classroom.
Professionally, I have also worked as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, child and youth worker and rehabilitation support worker. I have done this work in a variety of settings, including schools, community settings, secure custody and mental health.
Personally, I was a treatment foster parent to more than 30 children, all of whom are now adults. And I was also a youth that lived independently without support. That experience shaped who I am and what I do today. Riverway Therapy was born out of the fire that drove me all those years ago.
Fostering changed the way I understand families, trauma, parenting and support.
I learned what it feels like to parent a child who lives with challenges or has experienced trauma. I learned humility in the moments when I did my very best and still wondered whether it was enough.
I also came to understand how powerful the ties to family can be and how important it is that families receive support rather than judgment.
I no longer foster children, but what I learned from my kids and their families continues to shape the therapist I am today.
EXPERIENCE THAT SHAPES MY WORK
I bring more than one lens into the therapy room.
My clinical, educational and lived experiences all influence the way I support children, teens, adults and families.
01
THERAPIST
Relationship comes first.
My clinical practice is grounded in creating a space where people can feel comfortable being themselves. Therapy can involve conversation, play, a cuddle with a canine, or a customized intervention or skill-building activity.
02
REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER
I look at the whole picture.
I am a registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. My social work background helps me consider the relationships, family experiences, schools, communities and systems that may also be part of someone’s story.
That includes system advocacy. I can help families understand their child’s IEP and navigate across the systems they may be involved with, such as education, child welfare and community-based supports. Or I can help a family that is new to the world of OAP funding develop a plan that works for their child and family.
03
REGISTERED TEACHER
School is part of the story too.
I am a registered secondary school teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers and hold a Bachelor of Education. My background in education gives me another perspective when supporting children, teens and parents navigating learning, behaviour, relationships and belonging at school.
Much of my work sits where education and mental health meet. When we first take care of a child or teen’s mental health, the learning will come. Supporting their wellbeing is also supporting their learning.
HOW I APPROACH THERAPY IN NORTH BAY
Belonging is at the heart of Riverway.
I believe people learn, grow and heal differently when they genuinely feel that they belong.
“You should not have to change who you are in order to belong.”Sue
At Riverway, therapy can look different for different people. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes play is a better way to express what is happening. We can incorporate movement, or, for some clients, work alongside one of Riverway’s therapy dogs.
If something feels uncomfortable, we do not have to force our way through it. We can slow down, shift direction and return to it when it feels safer.
Common reasons people reach out
Counselling and therapy for children, teens, adults and families in North Bay, Ontario, including support for:
NEURODIVERSITY-AFFIRMING SUPPORT
Therapy shouldn’t ask you to hide who you are.
Riverway supports children, teens and adults living with ADHD, anxiety and autism. My goal is not to make someone appear more typical or hide parts of themselves to fit someone else’s expectations.
The work is about understanding what is happening, building tools that genuinely help and creating more room for connection, confidence and belonging.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATION
Clinical experience supported by education.
Master of Social Work
Clinical and Research
Wilfrid Laurier University
Bachelor of Education
Secondary Social Studies
University of Calgary
Bachelor of Arts, High Honours
Law and Sociology: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Carleton University
CONTINUED LEARNING
Training that supports the work I do.
Continued learning is part of my professional practice. My additional training, certifications and workshops include:
01
Play therapy and animal-assisted work
- Foundations of Play Therapy
- Advanced Theories and Techniques (Play Therapy)
- Treatment of Trauma Using Play Therapy Skills and Techniques
- Including Animals in Play Therapy Practice
- Canine-Assisted Interventions
-
Medical Play Therapy
- Improved Coping for Vaccinations Through Medical Play Therapy
- Understanding and Support Students with PANS/PANDAS or other Medically Complex Children
02
Crisis, trauma and safety
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- TCI-F (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families)
- Traumatic Events Systems Crisis Response Training
- Violent Threat Risk Assessment Training
- Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour
- TAPP-C (The Arson Prevention Program for Children)
- Human Trafficking
- Trauma & Attachment
03
Mental health, neurodiversity and brain injury
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, DBT-A
- Disordered Eating
- PEERS (Social Skills Training for Adolescents with ASD)
- Structured Sensory Interventions
- Neurorehabilitation, Level One
- Children and Youth with Acquired Brain Injury
DIRECT BILLING
Making care a little easier to access.
Riverway offers direct billing through the following programs and providers.
- Victim Services
- Victim Services ICE Program
- Victim Services Nipissing District
- Métis Nation of Ontario
- NIHB
- Medavie Blue Cross (CAF)