Psychotherapy and Education

Get to Know Me

Hello! I’m Andrea.

It’s nice to meet you! I founded Practice Gap to assist others with finding fulfillment, balance and enjoyment in their work, relationships with others and themselves.

Early in my career, I noticed that working with people was both easy and difficult. As a Physiotherapist, I was trained to help others achieve better function, but I was completely unprepared to face the sometimes harsh reality that my patients were up against.

Andrea Meade PT, MEd

Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (University of Victoria) (1999)
Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy (University of Toronto) (2002)
Registered Physiotherapist (2002)
Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physiotherapy (American Physical Therapy Association) (2012)
Certified Coach (University of British Columbia) (2017)
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (Qualifying member) (2025)
Master of Education (University of Toronto) (2024)

When I NEEDED TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE ON A DEEPER LEVEL…

things would start to glitch.

Check out these 3 events that left me confused and curious:

During an hospital internship, I watched a patient crash and code. Although we students were sent home early for the day, debrief and discussion did not appear to be an option.
A senior colleague commented: “Andrea, one day you’ll wonder whether anything you’re doing is making a difference in this job.” I had no idea how to respond and quickly changed the subject.
A distressed patient had a “meltdown” during a session and left the clinic, never to return. Feeling embarrassed and unsure what she could have done differently, their well-meaning therapist (my colleague) was frazzled for weeks afterward.

A RECURRING THOUGHT WAS

“Something’S missing.”

With only basic therapy skills under my belt, I was finding it hard to help others, and it wasn’t long before work started to become joyless for me.

At the same time, I began to realize I wasn’t the only one feeling lost. When co-workers would freeze or flounder (naturally!) during conflict situations or when emotions were running high at work, I immediately understood their distress.

My search for a solution inspired me to learn about coaching, mindfulness, meditation, and psychotherapy to acquire essential skills that - in the beginning - I didn’t even know I needed. It turns out we all need these skills to be able to grow and flourish.

AFTER THAT, I Couldn’t Un-see it.

The truth is a lot of helping jobs are hard work. It requires us to be “on” at all times, and responsive to the needs of others. We also need to set boundaries under difficult conditions, we’re exposed to human hardship most days of the week, and we work amidst intense emotion and extreme uncertainty.

The work is can be draining.

But when we acquire the essential skills for self-care and emotional regulation, not only do we do great work but at the end of the day we feel better too.