Navigating life’s defining journeys, together.
At Defining Journeys, we believe that every journey is unique, and the support you receive should reflect that.
Life doesn’t always unfold the way we imagined. Whether you’re navigating infertility, exploring surrogacy or alternative paths to parenthood, experiencing reproductive loss, facing a cancer diagnosis or chronic illness, adjusting to parenthood, grieving a loss, or finding your way through an unexpected life transition, we believe you deserve to feel seen, heard, and supported.
Our approach brings together compassionate counselling, evidence-informed education, meaningful resources, and community connection to provide individualized support that meets you wherever you are in your journey.
Our work is grounded in compassion, integrity, inclusivity, and person-centred care.
We believe in the importance of informed decision-making, personal autonomy, transparency, healthy boundaries, and creating spaces where individuals feel safe to explore their experiences without judgment or expectation.
We recognize that there is no single right way to build a family, navigate a diagnosis, experience grief, or move forward through life’s challenges. Every experience is deeply personal, and we honour the diverse identities, family structures, backgrounds, and paths that shape each person’s story.
At Defining Journeys, we don’t believe in defining what your journey should look like. We believe in giving you the support, knowledge, and space to define it for yourself.
Your journey is unique. Your support should be too.
About Us
Marisa Bernardo
{ FOUNDER & DIRECTOR }
MSW, RSW, Registered Social Worker, Therapist, Surrogacy Specialist
MOTHER BY SURROGACY ⋒ CANCER SURVIVOR ⋒ EDUCATOR ⋒ ADVOCATE
Marisa Bernardo (MSW, RSW) is a Registered Social Worker, therapist, surrogacy specialist, and the founder of Defining Journeys, a counselling, psychotherapy, and reproductive support practice for individuals and families navigating infertility, surrogacy, reproductive loss, onco-fertility, postpartum adjustment, and the many transitions that come with building a family or facing a life-altering health experience.
Marisa's path to this work began long before it became her profession. Following a cancer diagnosis that took away her ability to carry a pregnancy, she pursued parenthood through surrogacy, ultimately becoming a mother through three separate journeys. Her first journey ended without a baby; her second journey with the help of her second surrogate brought her first son DJ in July 2023, and her third journey, with the help of her surrogate Alycia, brought her second son, West, in December 2025.
Living through that process, the uncertainty, the medical complexity, the emotional weight of relying on someone else to carry your child, showed her firsthand how isolating and difficult to navigate this path can be without informed, compassionate support close by. In 2019, Marisa was in school studying to become a social worker and psychotherapist, and as her life evolved, so did her career: Defining Journeys grew out of that gap, a practice built to offer ethical education, steady clinical care, and genuine understanding, from the earliest questions through decision-making, treatment, and life beyond.
Today, her practice supports individuals and families working through infertility, oncofertility, reproductive trauma, medical trauma and anxiety, fertility loss, embryo loss, miscarriage, postpartum transitions, parenthood after infertility or surrogacy, grief and loss, cancer, chronic illness &health journeys, life-altering diseases and diagnoses, life transitions, chronic pain, PTSD, and palliative journeys.
Marisa blends clinical therapy with education and advocacy, so clients leave feeling not only supported, but informed and equipped for whatever decision comes next.
The Details
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Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) - University of Waterloo
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Masters of Social Work (MSW) - University of Waterloo
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Registered Social Worker (RSW) - Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Worker
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Bachelor of Childhood Development - University of Guelph Humber
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Early Childhood Education Diploma, University of Guelph Humber
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Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society (CFAS) Member
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American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Member
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Chair, Canada's First Third Party Reproduction Special Interest Group, CFAS
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Board Member, Oasis Fertility Support Network
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Partner & Ambassador, Fertility Friends Foundation
Marisa's approach is client-centred and trauma-informed, shaped as much by her clinical training as by her own experience sitting on the other side of these decisions. She believes no one should have to navigate infertility, surrogacy, a serious health diagnosis, or a major life transition without someone who understands both the clinical picture and the human one.
Rather than treating therapy and advocacy as separate things, Marisa weaves them together- helping clients process grief, fear, and uncertainty while also making sense of the practical and medical decisions in front of them. Her goal for every client is to feel grounded, informed, and genuinely less alone, whether they're just starting to ask questions or are years into a journey that hasn't gone the way they expected.
Beyond her clinical practice, Marisa is an active voice in the fertility and surrogacy community. She serves as a board member with the Oasis Fertility Support Network, where she develops resources and facilitates free support groups. She is also Chair of Canada's first Third-Party Reproduction Special Interest Group with the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS), and a partner and ambassador for the Fertility Friends Foundation.
Across all of this work, Marisa advocates for greater awareness, accessibility, and equity in reproductive care. She leads and hosts many free support groups, speaks publicly on fertility and surrogacy topics, and volunteers a significant amount of her time to the community, always looking for ways to make the industry more ethical, accessible, and safe for everyone involved.
Through this advocacy and education work, Marisa has supported hundreds of patients, fertility warriors, intended parents, surrogates, donors and families directly, and reached millions more with informed, compassionate guidance shared online.
Working with Marisa means working with someone who has sat on both sides of the table- as a clinician and as a patient. Sessions are a safe, non-judgmental space to talk through the parts of your journey that are hard to say out loud anywhere else: the grief, the fear, the logistics, and the in-between moments no one prepares you for.
Marisa meets clients where they are, at whatever stage of the journey they've reached, and works alongside them, not ahead of them- toward feeling more supported, more informed, and more able to move forward.
Lindsay Clara
{ DIRECTOR }
MSW, RSW, Registered Social Worker, Reproductive Mental Health Specialist
FERTILITY WARRIOR ⋒ EDUCATOR ⋒ ADVOCATE
Lindsay (she/her) is a Registered Social Worker with over 10 years of experience, specializing in reproductive and perinatal mental health. She supports individuals and families through the emotional complexities of (in)fertility, fertility treatments, pregnancy loss, pregnancy after (in)fertility or loss, postpartum, and the transition into parenthood.
In addition to her specialized work, Lindsay supports youth, adults, and couples through some of life's challenging and uncertain moments, including navigating anxiety, depression, grief, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, self-esteem challenges, and life transitions.
Having walked her own fertility journey, Lindsay understands how complicated this experience can be. The hope of someday holding your baby alongside the fear that it may never happen. The endless waiting, difficult decisions, medications, unexpected changes, and the emotional ups and downs that can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself, your relationships, and the life you imagined.
She also recognizes that no two journeys are the same. Everyone brings their own experiences, hopes, fears, and challenges, and what feels supportive for one person may look very different for another.
Beyond her clinical work, Lindsay is passionate about improving the emotional support available to individuals and families navigating fertility care. She has contributed to the development of psychoeducational programs, resources, and workshops for both patients and healthcare professionals, with a focus on bringing greater compassion, understanding, and emotional awareness into reproductive healthcare.
The Details
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Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) - Laurentian University
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Masters of Social Work (MSW) - University of Windsor
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Registered Social Worker (RSW) - Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Worker
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Perinatal Mental Health Certification
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Compassionate Care Certification; Pregnancy Loss and Infancy Death Training
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Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society (CFAS) Member
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Director of Support and Care, Oasis Fertility Support Network
Lindsay’s therapeutic approach is grounded in relational therapy, which allows me to be present with you as an authentic human in sessions, rather than a blank slate. Lindsay’s philosophy emphasizes looking at the whole person, not just their symptoms, to promote wellness and feel equipped to navigate life with greater ease.
Lindsay’s personal experiences deeply inform my approach to therapy, bringing both passionand empathy to every session. Having navigated challenges with fertility and pursuing IVF, shewitnessed firsthand the gaps in mental health support and advocacy, particularly around
infertility, pregnancy loss, and following the transition to parenthood. These experiences inspired her to become the therapist that she once needed; someone who not only understands the clinical aspects of mental health but also provides compassionate, authentic, and validating care.
Beyond her work as a therapist, Lindsay loves finding ways to connect with and support her community. She volunteers as the Director of Support and Care at Oasis Fertility Support Network, offers workshops supporting fertility professionals’ mental health, and hosts free support groups.
Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her rainbow babies and practising yoga, a recent discovery she has quickly grown to love. Lindsay also enjoys reading such books as Fourth Wing and GILD.
Lindsay's approach is warm, relational, and grounded in the belief that connection and feeling understood are important parts of healing. She believes therapy should feel comfortable and collaborative, creating space for honest conversations, genuine connection, and understanding.
Together, Lindsay works with individuals to make sense of what they're experiencing, explore what matters most to them, and develop coping strategies that feel realistic and supportive in their everyday lives. Sometimes that means learning new ways to navigate difficult emotions, and other times it means having a space where you don't have to carry everything on your own.
Alycia King
SURROGACY SUPPORT COORDINATOR
SURROGATE ⋒ SURROGACY EDUCATOR & ADVOCATE
Alycia began her surrogacy journey years ago and has since completed two journeys as a gestational carrier, welcoming her first “belly bud,” West, in December 2025. Through her experiences, she has become deeply immersed in the surrogacy community, developing a passion for community education, advocating for ethical surrogacy practices, and supporting intended parents and surrogates throughout each stage of their journey.
Her first experience was challenging, marked by a missed miscarriage and difficulties accessing medical care, which only strengthened her commitment to supporting and advocating for surrogates facing similar struggles. For years, Alycia has hosted a free surrogate support group, and she now provides personalized one-on-one support to surrogates who are currently on their journey and seeking additional guidance.
