After 27 years as a registered psychotherapist, Stacey Stemplowski has opened a wellness studio on Mary Street where clients can access therapy, yoga classes and nutritional support under one roof.
The Balance Collective opened Saturday at 232 Mary St., Unit 9, as a sister location to Stemplowski’s existing Grounding Balance clinic in St. Catharines. With six or seven instructors and roughly 35 classes a week, the studio directly addresses the mental health demand Stemplowski has watched grow across Niagara since COVID-19.
“The intake and the clientele is definitely busier than it has been in years, unfortunately,” said Stemplowski. “But I think the plus side to that is it’s breaking down a lot more of the stigma.”
She believes isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic pushed more people to seek mental health support, but job losses and high inflation rates have been increasing stress and anxiety levels ever since. Clients now want practical coping tools for daily life, she said, alongside traditional counselling.
“I really wanted to create a space that works as a holistic umbrella, a one-stop shop for wellness,” Stemplowski said. “It’s not just about the body, it’s about the overall person.”
Over the past 15 years, Stemplowski has seen a greater number of young adult clients seeking mental health support, and speaking about anxiety and depression more openly than previous generations.
Stemplowski builds her treatment around each individual client, drawing from therapeutic approaches like DBT, EMDR and EFT as well as holistic methods such as reiki, breath work and mindfulness.
“It’s not one-size-fits-all,” she said.
Niagara-on-the-Lake residents have told Stemplowski that tourism-season traffic often grinds on them daily, so she has built breath work techniques into her classes that locals can use behind the wheel.
“You’re at a stop sign, you’re waiting for traffic, you can do these tools and strategies, and it’d be hugely effective without even recognizing it,” she said.
The idea for The Balance Collective started in January after Stemplowski struggled to find slower-paced wellness programming for herself in Niagara-on-the-Lake. She said many studios now focus on high-intensity performance classes, while she wanted a quieter environment built around routine and consistency.
“I wanted to bring those two worlds together,” she said.
The studio also offers pilates, somatic breath work and reiki sessions. Stemplowski said clients increasingly want spaces where they can disconnect from constant pressure and set aside time for themselves without judgment.
“I hope that people feel that they belong here,” she said. “We’re all so busy in so many different areas that being able to carve out an hour a day or a couple hours a week is important.”
The Balance Collective offers classes seven days a week and the first one is free. The full schedule is available on the studio’s website.
