Altera Institute
A learning community for clinicians, helping professionals, and students who are committed to thoughtful practice, meaningful mentorship, and lifelong growth.
What We Offer
We believe that becoming a skilled clinician is a lifelong process. Yet much of contemporary professional training has become increasingly fragmented. Clinicians are often encouraged to collect techniques, protocols, and certifications, sometimes at significant financial cost, with relatively little attention paid to the deeper foundations of therapeutic work: clinical thinking, relationship, mentorship, and the development of professional judgment.
Many of the approaches that shape modern psychotherapy draw from decades of collective research, clinical observation, and interdisciplinary knowledge. Yet access to training is often controlled through proprietary models that require substantial investments of time and money before clinicians can teach, supervise, or pass that knowledge on to others. While high-quality training deserves recognition and compensation, we believe the future of our profession depends upon something more sustainable and collaborative.
Historically, psychotherapy evolved through lineage. Knowledge was shared through supervision, apprenticeship, observation, discussion, and an ongoing community. Clinicians learned not only what to do, but how to think, how to adapt, and how to remain responsive to the unique needs of the people sitting across from them.
At the Altera Institute, we are committed to reclaiming and modernizing that tradition. We aim to create a living lineage of learning where knowledge is shared generously, examined critically, and continually refined through practice. Our goal is not to produce therapists who can faithfully reproduce a protocol. It is to support the development of thoughtful, ethical, and deeply skilled clinicians who understand both the science and the art of therapy, and who are prepared to carry that knowledge forward for the next generation.
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Individual and group supervision for social workers, psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, students, and helping professionals at various stages of training and practice.
Supervision at the Altera Institute is grounded in the belief that clinical growth happens in relationship. In addition to individual supervision with a faculty member, supervisees are invited to participate in Clinique Altera's twice-monthly drop-in group supervision and case consultation community. These faculty-led gatherings create opportunities for rich discussion, collaborative learning, and deeper clinical inquiry across disciplines and levels of experience.
Our supervision community is intentionally bilingual, creating opportunities to learn, reflect, and engage with colleagues in both French and English while developing confidence working across linguistic and cultural contexts.
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The Altera Institute offers consultation spaces designed to support thoughtful clinical work, ongoing reflection, and the development of sound clinical judgment.
Consultation may focus on individual cases, therapeutic process, ethical considerations, treatment planning, documentation, practice management, or challenges that arise in clinical work. We also offer consultation groups organized around specific populations and areas of specialization, including:
Operational stress injuries and first responder mental health
Perinatal and postpartum mental health
Couples and family therapy
Trauma and complex trauma
Psychosocial assessments, tutorships, and psycho-legal documentation
Clinical documentation and record keeping
Integration of clinical tools and resources
Burnout and occupational stress
Nervous system regulation
Sexual and interpersonal violence
Clinical work with healthcare professionals and helping professionals
These consultation spaces are designed to strengthen clinical confidence, support ethical and effective decision-making, and foster greater clinical rigor. Whether working in community settings, public sector environments, private practice, or with specialized populations, clinicians are supported in deepening their knowledge, refining their skills, and enhancing the quality of care they provide.
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The Altera Institute offers workshops, seminars, consultation series, certificate programs, and faculty-led learning experiences rooted in relational, trauma-informed, and integrative approaches to care.
Our trainings are designed for clinicians seeking both practical skills and deeper clinical understanding. Wherever applicable, training activities may contribute toward continuing education requirements for professional orders and associations. Certain programs may also support clinicians working toward professional milestones, including requirements related to obtaining a psychotherapy permit through the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ).
Rather than focusing solely on techniques or protocols, our trainings emphasize clinical reasoning, therapeutic presence, conceptualization, and the integration of theory into practice. Our core faculty bring extensive training and expertise in psychodynamic psychotherapy, somatic approaches, couples and family therapy, transference-focused and transference-based therapies, parts work, and coherence therapy.
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The Altera Institute is committed to supporting the next generation of helping professionals through meaningful, relational, and hands-on training experiences.
Our faculty provide supervision, mentorship, and placement opportunities for students and trainees from a variety of disciplines, including:
Psychotherapy internship placements
Counselling and psychotherapy master's programs
Bachelor's and Master's of Social Work programs
Art therapy programs
Psychology and doctoral psychology training programs
Students are welcomed into a vibrant clinical community where learning extends beyond individual supervision to include case consultation, interdisciplinary collaboration, group supervision, training opportunities, and participation in the broader culture of Clinique Altera.
We believe that strong clinicians are developed through mentorship, thoughtful reflection, and exposure to diverse perspectives. Our goal is to provide learning experiences that help emerging professionals develop both competence and confidence as they begin their careers.
Clinical Faculty
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Lindsay Chipman, MA
Registered Psychotherapist
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Amanda Hankins, MSW, T.S
Registered Social Worker , Registered Psychotherapist
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Dana Schnitzer, MA
Art Therapist
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Dr. Mark C. Vail, PsyD
Psychologist
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Nadina Ramessar, T.S
Social Worker
Join the Community
The Altera Institute is still growing, and many of our programs are developed in response to the interests and needs of the clinicians we serve.
Join our newsletter to receive updates about upcoming trainings, supervision opportunities, consultation groups, practicum placements, faculty announcements, and community events. We also share reflections on psychotherapy, clinical practice, supervision, and the evolving landscape of mental health care.
Whether you are a student, an early-career clinician, or a seasoned practitioner, we invite you to stay connected and grow alongside our community.