Hi, I am Ellis (they/them)

I’m a therapist-in-training, researcher, and community educator. I currently offer individual, couple, and group support under clinical supervision as I work toward registration as a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in Ontario.

My background is in community psychology, human behaviour, and mental health and wellbeing research, with a focus on how people navigate relationships, gender, safety, and emotional well-being. Over the past decade, I have worked in the non-profit and academic sectors designing programs, evaluating interventions, and creating spaces for people to reflect, connect, and heal on their own terms.

Book with me

I bring curiosity, compassion, and creativity

I believe meaningful change happens when we explore the connection between how we feel, how we relate to others, and the environments we live in.

In our work together, I will support you in making sense of your internal experience, building tools for emotional safety, and exploring what feels possible now.

Who I work with

I work with people of all ages and backgrounds, including individuals, families, couples, caregivers, and those navigating big questions, life transitions, and many of the following experiences:

Feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or emotionally shut down
Struggling with self-worth, people-pleasing, or saying no
Living with chronic pain or health-related stress
Exploring your gender, sexuality, or sense of identity
Supporting others but unsure how to care for yourself
Working through family changes like divorce or separation
Navigating conflict or disconnection in your relationship
Noticing patterns like emotional shutdown, anger, or withdrawal
Caring for a child or loved one with complex needs
Wanting a space to be heard, even when words are hard to find

My Background

10+ years in research, teaching, and program development

Topics include mental health, domestic abuse, gender-based violence, trans and non-binary well-being, masculinity, peer-based support, trauma, and systemic responses to survivor needs.
Extensive training in qualitative and quantitative research methods

Taught and supervised both undergraduate and graduate-level research in psychology and health.
Experience in early childhood and residential care settings

Supported children with complex needs, including neurodiverse youth and those navigating difficult family systems.
Skilled in trauma-informed group facilitation

Designed and led peer support groups and reflective spaces rooted in compassion, relational safety, and community care.

My Story

My path to becoming a therapist has taken shape through a decade of work at the intersections of research, care work, and lived experience.

I began my academic journey studying psychology at the University of Guelph, drawn to questions about harm, power, and access to care. I later pursued graduate training in community psychology, where I focused on gender-based violence and the systemic barriers survivors face, especially those whose experiences fall outside of mainstream services and narratives.

Over time, my work expanded to include research on trans and non-binary health, masculinity, emotion regulation, and how community-based interventions can be more responsive, inclusive, and sustainable. I’ve worked with children and families in early childhood and residential care settings, supported neurodivergent youth and their caregivers, and developed peer-led support groups rooted in community needs. I’ve also taught and supervised both undergraduate and graduate students in research, and facilitated guest lectures on trauma, social determinants of health, and program evaluation.

Throughout these experiences, I kept returning to one question: what makes healing feel possible?

During the pandemic, I realized that many of the systems-level questions I was exploring were also deeply personal. I began to recognize myself in the patterns I was studying—burnout, anxiety, relational disconnection—and slowly shifted from theorizing about care to learning how to offer it, to myself and to others.

That shift brought me into clinical practice. I want to focus on ecological, mind-body, and compassion-based approaches, not just as ideas, but as tools people can feel and use. I am now grounding my work in what helps people feel safe, connected, and resourceful on their own terms.

This background shapes how I show up today: with humility, care for complexity, and a commitment to helping people reconnect with what matters to them.