About Us
Bring Back Resilience. Embrace Change.
Embracing life’s turning points, we rise with resilience, finding strength through connection, compassion, and the courage to heal.
About our Founder:
Charlene Cunningham
Charlene Cunningham is a registered social worker with a career spanning over two decades. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Memorial University in Newfoundland in 1997 and later completed her Master of Social Work at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Over the years, Charlene has worked in a wide range of social work settings including child protection, family health teams, counseling centers in three hospitals, and long-term care—where she also earned a certificate in geriatrics.
Throughout her diverse career, Charlene discovered a powerful truth: people heal and grow best in community. Through research, she became knowledgeable about the evidence supporting the effectiveness of group work in addressing depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, and social isolation. This insight reshaped her professional approach and ignited her passion for facilitating therapeutic and psychoeducational groups.
Her Philosophy
Charlene believes that all people have inherent value. She strives, with the assistance of other like-minded individuals, to build a resilient community. Each person has a life story that has brought them to the current day. In sharing our experiences, not only can we honor people’s lives but decrease isolation.
Providing skills development and opportunities to engage in groups, we can learn as a collective. As community resources are taxed and wait lists are long, we need to think outside the box. The status quo is not adequate, and people can’t engage fully in life.
As people are often not near family, we need to create a support network where no one is left out. Charlene hopes that as we come together, we can make real change.
About the CWC
Cunningham Wellness & Connect
Cunningham Wellness and Connect is the beginning of something powerful. After years of working in mental health, group facilitation, and community outreach, Charlene Cunningham envisioned a place with easily accessible support and community for those struggling to find a place to belong.
This is not just another wellness brand. It is a movement to bring back resilience, remind people that coping is cool, and empower each person to embrace change and become the best version of themselves. At the heart of every workshop, support group, and session is a belief that healing happens together, and that even in life’s hardest moments, we are never alone.
Cunningham Wellness and Connect is just getting started, but it is already becoming a home for people seeking not just mental health resources, but meaningful human connection. As we grow, our commitment remains the same: to hold space, to lift voices, and to walk beside people on their journey toward self-worth, strength, and real community.
Our Values:
Inclusive: No one should be excluded due to gender, race, sexual orientation and economic status.
Compassion: If we base our actions on compassion, we not only change others we also change ourselves.
Collaboration: We are more powerful as a collective. People have inner strength that can be encouraged and fostered.
Empowerment: People should know that they have value and can contribute meaningfully
What We Stand For
With every group, session, and conversation, we are helping Ontarians go from surviving to thriving.
Our Mission
To empower people with positive coping strategies and mental health resources.
Our Vision:
A future where individuals take an active role in their mental health
Our Timeline
Graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work
Memorial University, Newfoundland
1997
Worked in Diverse Social Work Roles
Including child protection, family health teams, counseling and long term care
Early 2000s
Co-founded a social group in Alliston
Alongside co-leader Yvonne Conrad, hosting monthly community-building meetings.
2008
Began deep exploration into group therapy
Transitioned from skepticism to advocacy based on emerging research and professional results.
Late 2010s-2020s
Launched her first therapeutic group under her own company
Official start of her company’s group programming—focused on connection, healing, and psychoeducation.
June 15, 2025
Now
Contact Us
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