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Registered Social Worker
Adults & Couples Social Worker Ontario
Virtual Therapy
Virtual
Tuesdays / Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m
English
WARM+ CURIOUS + GENUINE
Hi, I am Emma
(she/her)
When conflict arises, do you find yourself reaching for connection and resolution, or pulling away becasue the conversation feels overwhelming?
Relationships can bring out both, deepest need for connection and our strongest instinct to protect ourselves. When disconnection or conflict occurs, one person may push harder to be heard while the other pulls away to avoid feeling criticized or overwhelmed. Over time, this cycle can leave both partners feeling alone, misunderstood, and unsure how to reach each other.
I understand how confusing relationships can become when trust, communication, and emotional safety have been disrupted. Relationship difficulties are rarely as simple as knowing what you “should” do. Whether you are healing from an unhealthy relationship, struggling with your own reactions, or trying to change a recurring pattern with your partner, meaningful change begins with understanding what is happening beneath the surface.
This understanding shapes how I support individuals and couples. I look beyond the surface-level conflict to help clients understand the emotions, attachment needs, and past experiences influencing their current patterns. Our work is not about assigning blame or assuming that both partners are equally responsible. It is about developing greater clarity emotional safety, healthier boundaries, and more intentional ways of responding and connecting.
This is a safe space where you don´t have to hold it all together, censor your feelings, or carry the weight of expectations alone. You don’t need to have all the answers before you walk through the door. Together, we will move past simply pushing through the week, helping you untangle heavy emotions and reconnect with a deep, lasting sense of inner peace.
How I Work
As a Registered Social Worker, I work with couples and individual adults navigating relational challenges, anxiety, emotional disconnection, attachment wounds, communication difficulties, and recurring patterns that feel difficult to change. I also provide LGBTQIA+ affirming and neurodiversity-affirming care, recognizing that identity, lived experience, and differences in communication or emotional processing can meaningfully shape relationships.
My approach is relational, attachment-based, and trauma-informed. In couples therapy, I draw from Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) to help partners identify the cycle they become caught in and understand the more vulnerable emotions and attachment needs beneath their reactions. Rather than viewing one partner as the problem, we examine the pattern between you while still recognizing the importance of individual responsibility, boundaries, and emotional safety.
Client Focus:
- Adults
- Couples
Areas Of Focus:
Relational Challenges: Learning how to set healthy boundaries and communicate your needs without fear of rejection or guilt..
Attachment Wounds: Unpacking deep-seated fears of abandonment or rejection that make it difficult to feel safe and secure in close relationships.
Communication Breakdowns & High-Conflict Cycles: Moving couples from “gridlock” to productive dialogue.
Reconnecting and Restoring a deep bond: Navigating the painful dynamic of pushing away or pulling back, guiding partners toward shared safety, mutual understanding, and lasting connection.
Emotional Regulation: Learning to navigate overwhelming feelings and sudden shifts in mood so you can respond intentionally rather than react out of stress.
Self-Worth: Navigating major life transitions and shifts in roles so you can rediscover who you are outside of expectations, culture, or past labels..
Grief: Carrying the heavy weight of loss, whether of a loved one, relationship, or life path, while finding gentle ways to process pain without losing yourself.
ADHD Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Neurodivergence : Transforming feelings of being ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’ into a clear understanding of your unique brain wiring and core strengths.
Personal Growth & Resilience: Building the “life skills” needed for long-term emotional and professional mastery.
What to Expect in our session:
Sessions with me are warm, conversational, and collaborative. You bring your knowledge of your own life and relationships, while I bring clinical insight, curiosity, and tools to help us understand what may be keeping you stuck. I take an active approach by asking thoughtful questions, reflecting patterns I notice, and helping you connect what is happening in the present with the experiences and emotions beneath it.
In couples therapy, we slow down communication breakdowns and examine the cycle unfolding between you. We may notice one partner pursuing the conversation or becoming reactive while the other withdraws, shuts down, or becomes defensive. Understanding what each person is protecting and needing can support safer, more connected communication.
RELATIONAL + ATTACHMENT-BASED + TRAUMA-INFORMED
My Approach
Relational
Therapy happens in connection, not in isolation. We look closely at how you relate to yourself, to me as your therapist, and to the important people in your life.
Attachment-based
We explore the roots of your emotional blueprints. By identifying your attachment style, we work to heal old wounds, calm your nervous system, and help you feel more secure and confident in your close relationships.
Trauma-Informed
Trauma is not just what happened to you, but how your mind and body adapted to survive it. A trauma-informed approach prioritizes your safety, trust, and bodily autonomy above all else.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
By gently exploring how past experiences shape your emotional world, we help you look beneath automatic defenses to heal old wounds and build deeper, more authentic connections.
Behavioural
By connecting your thoughts, feelings, and actions through practical approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, we give you clear tools to manage difficult emotions and make choices aligned with what matters most to you.
Couples Approaches
By integrating Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method, we help you and your partner break hurtful communication patterns, understand underlying emotional needs, and rebuild a deeper, more resilient connection.
Trauma-Informed
Working at a pace that honors your safety and comfort, we explore how past trauma impacts your nervous system and relationships, helping you restore a sense of trust, control, and self-compassion.
Education & Qualifications
Education
- Master of Social Work, Yeshiva University.
- Certificate in Gerontology and Palliative Care Practice Bachelor of Health Science, Western University Sexuality and Women’s Studies
Training
- Dr. Sue Johnson’s Intensive Course in Emotionally Focused Therapy: Attachment-Based Interventions for Couples in Crisis
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy for Attachment Trauma
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Level 1 – in progress
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Level 1, SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Certification Training
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, and personality disorders
- Changing the ADHD Brain: Moving Beyond Medication
- Grief Educator Certification, David Kessler
- Building Clinical Capacity for Trauma Intervention in Emergency and Crisis Situations Certification, ATTCH Niagara
- The Suicide Prevention, Risk Assessment, and Management (SPRAM) Training Program, Recovery Alberta Mental Health and Addiction Services
- Mandated Reporter Training: Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Maltreatment, New York State Office of Children and Family Services
- San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, Provincial Health Services Authority Indigenous Health Program
Professional Memberships
- Registered Social Worker (RSW), OCSWSSW Registration #864104
- OASW Registration #29451
Personal Highlights
Outside of the therapy space, I value the relationships, routines and simple moments that help me feel grounded. When I am not working with clients, you can usually find me:
Spending time with my dog, family and friends.
Recharging in nature especially near a lake or at a cottage.
Trying a new recipe in the kitchen.
Moving my body through a workout, Pilates or Yoga.
Unwinding with a comforting show or a good reality television series.
Outside of Session
I believe that feeling grounded often comes from returning to the people, places, and routines that help us feel most like ourselves.
Let’s Connect
Book a free 15-minute consultation to share what you’re looking for, ask any questions about my approach, and let´s explore how we can navigate your path forward together.
You can email me at : emma@canadianpsychotherapycentre.com
Get in touch – I’d love to hear your story.
