My name is Ashley Steeves and I am a Registered Nurse Practitioner with the College of Nurses of Ontario. I completed a Master of Nursing degree with Nurse Practitioner focus in primary health care from Athabasca University. I am also a Certified Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse in Canada with the Canadian Nurses Association. I have a post graduate certificate in depression and anxiety disorders from the University of Toronto and am continuing in Psychiatry courses there, as well as facilitating students' learning with the University in clinical practice. I have completed a number of courses in CBT, DBT, MI, ACT, Narrative and IPT counselling modalities with agencies such as the Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute, Jean Tweed, and private DBT training with the founder of the treatment Marsha Linehan. Further trainings include Working with Challenging Youth, Self-harm Behaviours, emotional eating, and an addictions seminar by the world renowned therapist and author Gabor Mate. I attended supervisory leadership training with the Fred Pryor Institute and regularly attend seminars at the annual Addictions and Mental Health of Ontario conference. I also possess training in chronic pain from the Wasser Pain Clinic; and chronic migraine training from headache specialist NP Christie Tait and Neurologist Dr. Rose Giammarco. 

     I work as the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for a large Family Health Team in Halton Region receiving referrals from up to 13 doctors and nurse practitioners. I have worked in addiction and mental health for 16 years with community outreach teams and hospitals as front line and management. I possess specialized training in substance use disorders from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, and a community of practice known as the Mentorship, Education, and Teaching in Addiction: Provincial Network Ontario which has over 250 province-wide providers collaborating and sharing information on the most up to date issues and evidence in addiction treatment. I have also trained with several experienced Addictions specialist counselors, psychotherapists, Nurse Practitioners, and Psychiatrists from Toronto, Hamilton, Halton, and Guelph. I briefly completed a rotation as the Substance Use Nurse Practitioner for Hamilton Health Sciences Emergency Department Addictions programming this past year.