Works with

AdultsCouplesTeensFamilies

Languages

English

Areas of focus

AnxietyDepressionLife transitionsTraumaRelationship challenges & conflictEating DisordersSexual Orientation & IdentityFamily Dynamics

Types of Therapy

Individual TherapyCouples TherapyTeen TherapyAdult TherapyFamily Support

Availability

Ron is available for appointments on Mondays 8:30-3:00 pm, Fridays 10:00 am-6:00 pm, and Saturdays 8:30-3:00 pm. He offers in-person sessions at CPYC in Collingwood and virtual therapy across Ontario. He works with teens, adults, couples, and families and offers complimentary 15-minute consultations.

Ron Fast

Registered Psychotherapist

Accepting new clients
Virtual
In person

Bio At A Glance:

Therapy begins with a genuine, caring relationship where you feel understood, accepted, and supported. Using a relational and experiential approach grounded in Emotion-Focused Therapy, I help clients better understand their emotions, develop greater self-compassion, and create meaningful, lasting change that aligns with their values.

Works with

AdultsCouplesTeensFamilies

Languages

English

Areas of focus

AnxietyDepressionLife transitionsTraumaRelationship challenges & conflictEating DisordersSexual Orientation & IdentityFamily Dynamics

Types of Therapy

Individual TherapyCouples TherapyTeen TherapyAdult TherapyFamily Support

Availability

Ron is available for appointments on Mondays 8:30-3:00 pm, Fridays 10:00 am-6:00 pm, and Saturdays 8:30-3:00 pm. He offers in-person sessions at CPYC in Collingwood and virtual therapy across Ontario. He works with teens, adults, couples, and families and offers complimentary 15-minute consultations.

About my work

For me, therapy begins with a genuine, caring relationship. I aim to create a space in which you feel understood, accepted, and supported, especially during times when it may be difficult to offer yourself that same understanding.

My approach is relational and experiential. Together, we will explore not only what has happened in your life, but also what you are feeling and experiencing in the present moment. I believe emotions carry important information about our needs, values, relationships, and patterns. Rather than trying to change who you are, therapy offers an opportunity to understand yourself more fully, develop greater self-compassion, and live in ways that feel more authentic and aligned with your values.

My primary approach is Emotion-Focused Therapy, and I also draw from family-systems, psychodynamic, mindfulness-based, and attachment-informed perspectives. Where appropriate, I may integrate EMDR-informed work. Rather than relying on one specific model, I consider what is most responsive to each individual, their goals, culture, and way of making sense of their experiences.

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a classroom teacher, where I discovered that the conversations I found most meaningful were the quieter, one-to-one moments supporting people as they made sense of difficult experiences. That ultimately led me toward psychotherapy.

Having lived and worked across several countries, including maintaining a private practice in Japan, I have developed a deep appreciation for the ways culture, language, identity, migration, and belonging shape emotional life. I remain curious about how each person’s background influences both the challenges they face and the strengths they bring.

One of the greatest privileges of this work is witnessing people develop a more compassionate and honest relationship with themselves. I see my role not as directing change, but as helping create the conditions in which greater self-understanding, authenticity, and emotional growth can emerge.

  • Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
  • Family Systems Therapy
  • Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Therapy
  • Attachment-Informed Therapy
  • EMDR-informed Therapy

Ron has more than 25 years of experience working with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. He earned a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2002 and practised for most of his career as a psychologist licensed in Australia before becoming a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario.

Ron has lived and worked in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India, Myanmar, and Switzerland. His work with expatriate and local communities has given him extensive experience supporting clients from varied cultural backgrounds. He draws from Emotion-Focused Therapy, EMDR, psychodynamic therapy, family systems, and mindfulness-based approaches.

  • A warm, collaborative space
  • An engaged therapeutic style
  • Curiosity over judgement
  • Room for warmth and humour

Ron has lived in numerous countries including Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, India, Myanmar, and Switzerland. He values the perspective that comes from becoming part of unfamiliar cultures, roles, and communities. These experiences have given him a personal appreciation for the uncertainty of transition and the importance of relationships in which people can be vulnerable and increasingly themselves.

Ron also practises yoga and has participated in Vipassana meditation retreats. Both help him slow down, become more present, and make time to process experience without distraction.