We are always gardening whether we realize it or not.
Right now, you’re cultivating something—in your relationships, in your responses to stress, in how you treat yourself when things go wrong. You’re not responsible for everything that’s happened to you, but you are constantly shaping aspects of what grows next through your responses and attention. This cultivation happens within a complex garden where your choices, relationships, experiences, and the systems around you all influence each other.
As a registered psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience, I’ve seen how understanding our patterns of influence changes everything. My work draws from cognitive-behavioural therapy, compassion-focused therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy—and always returns to this core question: What are you cultivating, and how can you tend it more intentionally?
This is influence work—learning to use your influence in ways that are helpful and wise.
This work takes different forms. Some people work with me individually in therapy to transform long-standing patterns. Others explore the resources in my store—guided meditation practices, seasonal reflection guides, and other tools for conscious living. Many find wisdom and support through my blog, where I share reflections such as on self-compassion, working with attention, and recognizing beauty and interconnection that surrounds us. The form varies; the core remains the same: becoming more intentional about the influence you already have.
This shift in understanding changes everything. When you recognize how influence works—how your attention, responses, and ways of being shape what grows—you discover you’re not broken. You’re already powerful. The question becomes not whether you matter, but how to use the influence you have more wisely.
I’m Tracy Riley. Whether you’re drawn to deeper therapeutic work, contemplative practices, or tools for conscious living, the invitation is the same: recognize the influence you already have and learn to use it well.
Sessions available in-person in a private, quiet setting north of Kingston, Ontario (near Sydenham, Ontario) or by video for those located across Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Ready to understand what you’re cultivating and how you are influencing?