Hello!

Why I Became A Psychologist

My love of stories first drew me to the field of Clinical Psychology. An avid reader from a young age, I had an early introduction to the power of stories and relationships through a children’s book series that chronicled the unlikely friendship of a mouse (Mac) and a cat (Tab). In a shocking and traumatic turn of events, the series ends with Tab eating Mac.* I cried for days and almost swore off reading for life. Something about this experience stayed with me, though, and I pursued an undergraduate degree in English literature at the University of Toronto. I particularly enjoyed graphic novel memoirs (e.g., Fetch by Nicole J. Georges and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel) and T.S. Eliot’s poetry. As I neared the end of the degree, I realized that my love for literature was largely due to my interest in understanding and facilitating human connection.

Following this interest, I enrolled in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at the University of Toronto. As part of the MSW, I completed a transformative placement at the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Health & Wellness Centre, providing individual and group psychotherapy to university students. Listening to my clients’ experiences and helping them enter into and transform their stories was a profound privilege. It also made me realize that I wanted more in-depth training in psychotherapy and assessment.

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Consequently, I pursued a MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology at York University, working under the research supervision of Dr. John Eastwood. During my studies, my scholarship-funded research investigated what helps us be creative, and how to prevent boredom in the post-secondary classroom. I completed placements at the York University Psychology Clinic, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre's Odette Cancer Centre, and North York General Hospital’s Adult Eating Disorder Program. During this time, I also pursued my own psychotherapy, and learned from my wonderful therapist about the balance between supporting and challenging clients; dream work; and how funny, inspiring, difficult and transformative therapy can be.

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Today, it is a pleasure to draw upon my breadth and depth of training to work with the stories clients bring, and to help them re-author the parts of the stories they want to change. Although my love of stories introduced me to Clinical Psychology, it is the amazing clients I work with who have sustained my joy in the work. It is a privilege to work with such wonderful people every day.

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* The series later attempts to undo this trauma with a follow-up story where you find out that it was all a misunderstanding and Mac is alive and well. The original injury is not directly discussed or explained. Without emotional processing and thus integration of the trauma, the reader (like many who suffer unprocessed trauma) is left vacillating between dissociation and unregulated emotion.