Milaina Manganaro, MSW, RSW
Therapy & Coaching
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Milaina (she/her) identifies as a queer woman with ADHD, diagnosed in her mid-20s. She is a Registered Social Worker and has a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto where she specialized in social justice and diversity. She previously completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Reflecting on growing up in the chaos of a family full of undiagnosed ADHDers and persevering through many years of rigid, inaccessible education, she has unique insight into the inner world of a young person doing their best to navigate a world that wasn’t designed for them. Through her own learning and healing, she has developed the tools to support people to explore their own personal relationships with neurodivergence, gender identities, sexual orientations, cultures, and other aspects of their identity to support them in finding fulfillment and satisfaction.
Milaina's approach to therapy is trauma-informed, highly integrative, and based on each individuals’ experiences and needs. She tries hard to work from an anti-oppressive framework including anti-ableism, anti-racism, queer theory, harm reduction, and client-centredness. |
She is particularly interested in working with the following communities and therapies:
● Arts-based, nature-based, and holistic therapy tools with adults and youth
● Sexual minorities including 2SLGBQIA+, queer, closeted, and questioning individuals
● Gender minorities including non-binary, trans, genderfluid, gender non-conforming,
women, two-spirited folks, and questioning individuals
● Less conventional relationship dynamics including exploring polyamory, ethical
non-monogamy, and open relationships
● Immigrants and refugees including 1st and 1.5 generation youth navigating cultural
barriers and complex family dynamics
● Individuals with diagnosed, self-diagnosed, or suspected ADHD and/or Autism and
supporting their caregivers / families to process their own emotions and explore ways to
best support their child(ren)
In her downtime, you can usually find Milaina drawing, painting, playing board games and nostalgic
video games, and taking refreshing mid-day naps. One of her favourite things to do is to thrift for
vintage clothing that helps her express herself and her queerness while also honouring her core
value of environmentalism. Milaina adores nature and all kinds of animals, whether furry, scaley, or
slimy! She and her family have adopted many different animal species over the years, including
cats, dogs, hamsters, bunnies, guinea pigs, geckos, turtles, frogs, insects, and fish. Her two
senior cats, named Cuddles and Tinkerbell, are the loves of her life and help her stay grounded
during difficult times. Milaina's favourite video games tend to be ones that involve caring for animals
(and animaloids) including Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Pokémon, Hamtaro, Disney/Pixar
games, Neopets, and many more. Her life goal is to retire on a hobby farm with goats, chickens,
and horses, oh my!
● Arts-based, nature-based, and holistic therapy tools with adults and youth
● Sexual minorities including 2SLGBQIA+, queer, closeted, and questioning individuals
● Gender minorities including non-binary, trans, genderfluid, gender non-conforming,
women, two-spirited folks, and questioning individuals
● Less conventional relationship dynamics including exploring polyamory, ethical
non-monogamy, and open relationships
● Immigrants and refugees including 1st and 1.5 generation youth navigating cultural
barriers and complex family dynamics
● Individuals with diagnosed, self-diagnosed, or suspected ADHD and/or Autism and
supporting their caregivers / families to process their own emotions and explore ways to
best support their child(ren)
In her downtime, you can usually find Milaina drawing, painting, playing board games and nostalgic
video games, and taking refreshing mid-day naps. One of her favourite things to do is to thrift for
vintage clothing that helps her express herself and her queerness while also honouring her core
value of environmentalism. Milaina adores nature and all kinds of animals, whether furry, scaley, or
slimy! She and her family have adopted many different animal species over the years, including
cats, dogs, hamsters, bunnies, guinea pigs, geckos, turtles, frogs, insects, and fish. Her two
senior cats, named Cuddles and Tinkerbell, are the loves of her life and help her stay grounded
during difficult times. Milaina's favourite video games tend to be ones that involve caring for animals
(and animaloids) including Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Pokémon, Hamtaro, Disney/Pixar
games, Neopets, and many more. Her life goal is to retire on a hobby farm with goats, chickens,
and horses, oh my!
Groups & Classes Milaina Runs
- TBD