Alison Pereira is the founder of Peace of Mind CBT and a Registered Psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience providing trauma-informed mental health care. Her clinical work is grounded in evidence-based practice, deep compassion, and a profound understanding of the emotional and psychological toll carried by first responders and frontline professionals.

Throughout her career, Alison has worked across a wide range of settings, including psychiatric hospitals, victim services, youth detention centres, sexual assault programs, and women’s shelters. These early and sustained experiences exposed her to the many ways trauma impacts individuals, families, and communities—particularly those repeatedly exposed to crisis, violence, and human suffering. They also shaped her lifelong commitment to supporting people who serve others in the most demanding circumstances.

Alison’s connection to the first responder community began early. In 1996, she participated in the Ontario Police College recruitment process, with the intention of pursuing a career in policing. When government cutbacks and the “Rae Days” eliminated positions, her professional path shifted toward psychotherapy—a change that would ultimately become a calling. Today, Alison considers it a privilege to support police officers, paramedics, firefighters, dispatchers, and other frontline professionals from the therapeutic side, helping them navigate the psychological demands of their work and build sustainable resilience throughout their careers.

Clinically, Alison specializes in working with PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety disorders, depression, burnout, grief, and addiction, with a strong emphasis on trauma exposure related to first responder and frontline roles. Her approach integrates Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) with trauma-focused and skills-based modalities, including Trauma-Focused CBT, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Reconsolidation Therapy™. She completed advanced training in reconsolidation therapy under Dr. Alain Brunet at McGill University, an innovative, evidence-based approach designed to transform traumatic memories and promote lasting healing.

Alison has worked closely with police officers from Hamilton Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, Peel Regional Police, and Toronto Police Service, often emphasizing family-inclusive treatment to strengthen recovery, communication, and long-term well-being. She also supports workplace injury recovery and collaborates within WSIB and CMHP frameworks as part of multidisciplinary care teams.

In addition to her clinical practice, Alison is deeply committed to education, leadership, and supervision. She holds extensive training in trauma-informed supervision, clinical leadership, and teaching, and regularly supports developing clinicians in building ethical, competent, and compassionate practices. In June 2025, Alison presented at the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Annual Conference, delivering a talk on Building Self-Efficacy in Women in Policing Administration. Her presentation addressed the often-overlooked emotional toll experienced by administrative and civilian staff in high-stress policing environments, with a focus on secondary trauma, burnout, emotional boundaries, and resilience.

Alison’s academic background includes a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University, a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Behavioural Sciences from McMaster University, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Western University. She continues to pursue advanced education and professional development, with certifications spanning trauma counselling for frontline workers, grief-informed care, suicide and self-harm intervention, couples therapy, substance use treatment, and LGBTQ+-affirming care.

At the heart of Alison’s work is a simple but powerful belief: healing happens in spaces where people feel understood, respected, and supported at their own pace. Through Peace of Mind CBT, she is dedicated to creating a safe, collaborative, and non-judgmental environment where first responders and their loved ones can build skills, restore balance, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.