About Me

I am a registered psychologist and a member in good standing with the College of Psychologists of Ontario.  I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University where I was distinguished with a Medical Research Counsel of Canada Student Fellowship. I did my pre-doctoral internship at Riverview Hospital in Vancouver, B.C. and my post-doctoral training in psychoanalysis at the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis.

Over my 25-year career, I have held positions in university-affiliated teaching hospitals, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the University Health Network and Whitby Mental Health Centre.  I have worked in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings providing assessment and treatment services (i.e., psychotherapy) for adults with primary mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, etc.), as well as in general medical settings with adults who have psychological problems or concerns associated with a medical illness.  This breadth of experience has led to the development of a high level of competence and expertise in working effectively with people who are struggling with a range of psychological issues and conditions of varying complexities.

While I have always maintained a general practice, I am additionally recognized for my expertise in working with adult- or childhood-onset psychological trauma.  This includes complex and severe forms of posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorders, as well as severe personality disorders (borderline conditions) that can result from repeated early childhood trauma and neglect.  I am a clinical member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the International Association for the Study of Dissociation.  I am the former Deputy Clinic Head of the Psychological Trauma Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and most recently, the Psychological Trauma Clinic at Whitby Mental Health Centre.

I maintain a strong commitment to academic scholarship, and I restrict my practice to providing those models of psychotherapy that are most effective for providing sustained alleviation of symptoms and/or fostering permanent changes in thinking, mood and behaviour.