Hi, I’m Vanessa.
I became a psychologist because I wanted to help people understand their own inner lives: to notice what they feel, name it, and learn to sit with things that once felt unbearable.
I specialize in the treatment of eating disorders. I have worked across every level of care: inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), and outpatient settings with young adults and adults.
I am also genuinely passionate about supporting people through depression, anxiety, self-criticism, and coming-of-age dilemmas. My approach is rooted in empowering patients to build confidence in making real changes in their lives.
My clinical training spans several settings. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Klarman Eating Disorders Center at McLean Hospital, alongside a Clinical Fellowship at Harvard Medical School.
During my clinical residency at Toronto General Hospital in the Eating Disorder Program, I provided comprehensive assessment and treatment to people struggling with eating regularly, body image concerns, difficulties with emotion regulation, and the underlying factors maintaining their disordered eating symptoms.
I also worked in the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, supporting adults who were treated for cancer in childhood or adolescence, through the challenges that follow treatment. My earlier training was at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, in both the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic and the Eating Disorders Program.
My work is evidence-based and trauma-informed, drawing on Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Schema Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills.
Underneath the approaches, I create a warm, steady environment where deeper exploration actually feels possible. In my experience, people change when they feel genuinely understood and are also challenged, kindly, by someone paying close attention.
Outside of work, I love to travel and get to know places through their food. I spend time with friends and family, I care a great deal about a good meal, and I write about the psychology of food, body image, and identity.
Education, Training, and Clinical Background
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McLean Hospital, Mass General Brigham Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow, Klarman Eating Disorders Center
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Harvard Medical School Clinical Fellow
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Toronto General Hospital Clinical residency rotation, Eating Disorder Program
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St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton Eating Disorders Program, and Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic
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Toronto Metropolitan University MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology
Massachusetts and Ontario licensure pending.
On working together
I am always glad to hear from other clinicians, researchers, and teams who care about this work as much as I do. That might be a shared case, a workshop, a talk, or something else entirely. If that sounds like you, please say hello — you can read more about consulting and speaking, or simply send me a note.
And if you are here for yourself: the first step is a free fifteen-minute call.