A ministry of Steadfast Wellness
Christ-centred psychotherapy, grief counselling, and pastoral care for the whole person
Find your way forward
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
— Psalm 147:3
About Steadfast Hope
Steadfast Hope is a Christ-centred counselling practice where faith and clinical care walk together — especially in life's most disorienting seasons.
Grief does not announce itself neatly. It arrives in the loss of a person, a relationship, a role, a sense of self — and it can make the most ordinary moments feel impossible. At Steadfast Hope, we believe that healing is not a solo journey, and that genuine hope is not wishful thinking. It is grounded, relational, and possible — even now.
Whether you are navigating the death of someone you love, standing at the edge of your own mortality, supporting a family member through serious illness, or simply carrying a quiet sorrow you haven't known how to name, you are welcome here.
About Sarah Tutti
Sarah Tutti, RP (Qualifying), is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with a clinical focus in Emotionally Focused Individual and Family Therapy (EFT/EFFT), grief, trauma, and health transitions.
She is a Master of Divinity in Clinical Counselling candidate at Tyndale University, where the MDiv Counselling program integrates theological and psychological understanding of human personhood with clinical therapeutic process — preparing counsellors for ministry in congregational, clinical, and community settings.
Sarah has also undertaken specialized studies in Pastoral Thanatology — Tyndale's graduate-level program focused on the grieving process, ethical dimensions of death and dying, cultural and spiritual attitudes toward loss, and care for both the dying and the bereaved. Tyndale is the only university in Canada to offer this designation, and graduates are eligible for the Certified Thanatologist Pastoral Specialist (CTPS) designation through the Canadian Council for Professional Certification Global.
Her 30+ years in healthcare and 20+ years in organizational leadership bring a rare depth and groundedness to the therapy room.
For those for whom Christian faith is central to life and healing, Sarah integrates Scripture, spiritual formation, and pastoral presence alongside clinical therapy — not as an add-on, but as a foundation.
Loss is not a problem to be solved — it is a profound human experience that needs witness, space, and skilled companionship. Sarah's training in Pastoral Thanatology means she understands grief in all its dimensions.
Steadfast Hope holds both rigour and warmth. Evidence-based therapeutic approaches — EFT, EFFT, IFS, CBT, DBT — are woven together with pastoral care, so you receive the whole of both.
What we offer
Every service offered here is shaped by one conviction: that you are worthy of care that sees all of you — your pain, your faith, your history, and your hope.
One-on-one therapy for adults navigating grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and the tender complexity of being human. Sessions draw from EFT, IFS, CBT, and DBT within a faith-integrated framework when desired.
Families affected by serious illness, end-of-life transitions, or shared grief often find that the weight they carry pulls them apart rather than together. Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) helps restore connection and communication when it matters most.
Whether you have lost a person, a role, a relationship, a future you expected, or a sense of self — grief deserves more than time. It deserves a trained, compassionate companion. Sarah's Pastoral Thanatology training brings specialized depth to this work.
For those and families facing a terminal diagnosis or a significant health transition, Sarah offers a grounding presence. Services include bedside counselling, vigil support, advance care planning conversations, navigating the healthcare system, and family conflict mediation.
Drawing on decades of healthcare leadership and graduate-level theological training, Sarah consults with churches, faith-based organizations, and ministry teams on developing compassionate care responses to grief, loss, and end-of-life within congregational contexts.
Steadfast Hope offers structured training for pastoral care teams, healthcare workers, and lay caregivers in grief support, end-of-life care, and faith-integrated counselling. Seminars can be customized for your setting, team, or denomination.
Therapeutic approach
"One of the strongest ways to demonstrate the love of God is being present during these difficult times."
At Steadfast Hope, care is never split between the clinical and the spiritual — they are held together. Sarah works primarily from an Emotionally Focused framework, supporting clients in accessing core emotional experience, understanding how grief and trauma shape the way we attach to those we love, and rebuilding a felt sense of safety — within themselves, in their relationships, and before God.
For clients who welcome a faith-integrated approach, Christian spirituality is woven into the work not as a formula, but as a living resource — Scripture, prayer, and the formation of a theology of suffering that is honest and grounded, rather than tidy and dismissive of pain.
Sarah's Tyndale training in Pastoral Thanatology — the only program of its kind in Canada — grounds her in the full scope of what grief involves: its physical toll, its ethical dimensions, its cultural expressions, its spiritual questions, and its place in a life still being lived. This is not theory. It is a framework built for the places where hope is hardest to find.
Therapeutic modalities
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) · Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) · Internal Family Systems (IFS) · Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) · Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) · Pastoral Thanatology · Faith-integrated care
Training & education
Many pastors and caregivers find themselves walking alongside grief without having been trained for it. Steadfast Hope offers seminars and workshops designed to fill that gap — practically, pastorally, and clinically.
An introduction to the grief process, disenfranchised grief, and how congregations can build meaningful, sustainable grief support for their communities. Suitable for pastoral staff, deacons, and lay care teams.
Drawing from Pastoral Thanatology, this seminar equips participants to offer compassionate, competent presence to individuals and families facing end-of-life — including difficult family dynamics, advance care conversations, and vigil support.
For healthcare teams, organizational leaders, and those in caring professions who carry the cumulative weight of loss at work. Includes tools for processing vicarious grief and building organizational cultures of care.
For pastoral counsellors and ministry leaders seeking to integrate clinical insight with theological care. Covers attachment theory, emotion-focused skills, and how to identify when professional referral is the most loving response.
Take the next step
Reaching out is its own kind of courage. Whatever brought you here — curiosity, exhaustion, hope, or all three — there is a place for you at Steadfast Hope.
Steadfast Hope is a subsidiary of Steadfast Wellness. Sessions are available in person and virtually for Ontario residents. Sliding scale available — no one turned away for financial reasons.