Psychological assessment and treatment for adults

Areas of focus

  • Trauma and posttraumatic stress
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Persistent post-concussive symptoms
  • Functional neurological disorder
  • Adjustment after injury or illness
  • Chronic pain

Credentials

Registration
College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario
Authorised areas: Clinical psychology, rehabilitation psychology
Client population
Adults
Education
M.A. Counselling Psychology,
University of Western Ontario, 2017
Supervised practice
2017 to 2023, clinical and rehabilitation psychology
Location
London, Ontario, and by secure video across Ontario

Autonomous practice since 2023

Therapeutic Approach

Heather works with adults using a range of evidence based therapies, choosing and combining approaches to fit each person’s goals, needs, and pace. Therapy is collaborative, and the approach can shift as the work unfolds.

Her clinical work uses measured, physiological approaches alongside talking therapy, including neurofeedback, heart rate variability biofeedback and vestibular stimulation, chosen to suit the presentation rather than applied as a package. The through-line is arousal: a nervous system that has learned to brace does not stop bracing because it has been reasoned with.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT looks at the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Together, you identify patterns that keep you stuck, such as unhelpful thinking habits or avoidance, and practice practical strategies to change them. CBT is structured, goal oriented, and well supported for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and many other concerns.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT helps you build a different relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings rather than trying to eliminate them. Using mindfulness and acceptance skills, you learn to make room for what is hard while taking meaningful action guided by your own values. The aim is psychological flexibility: the ability to stay present and keep moving toward what matters.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

DBT balances acceptance and change. It teaches concrete skills in four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT is especially helpful when emotions feel intense or overwhelming, or when relationships and impulsive reactions are a source of ongoing difficulty.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is a structured, evidence based treatment for posttraumatic stress. It focuses on how a traumatic experience has shaped beliefs about yourself, others, and the world, particularly around safety, trust, control, and self worth. By examining and updating these beliefs, clients often find the hold of the trauma loosens.

Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)

DBR is a newer, body based approach developed by psychiatrist Frank Corrigan. It works gently with the earliest moments of the body’s response to a distressing experience: the initial orienting, the shock, and the bodily tension that follows, before emotion takes over. By slowing down and staying with these sensations, clients can process difficult experiences without becoming overwhelmed.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a form of brain training that uses real time feedback from brainwave activity (EEG). Sensors placed on the scalp measure brain activity, and the feedback, typically through sound or visuals, helps the brain learn more balanced and flexible patterns over time. Neurofeedback can support attention, emotional regulation, sleep, and stress resilience.

EEG, illustrative
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback

Heart rate variability is the natural variation in time between heartbeats, and it reflects how flexibly your nervous system responds to stress and recovers from it. HRV biofeedback uses a heart rate sensor and guided breathing to help you find a rhythm that supports calm and recovery. With practice, it becomes a skill you can use on your own in everyday life.

Heart rate variability, illustrative

How it usually starts

  1. You write to the office

    A short note about what is going on. No clinical detail by email.

  2. A first appointment

    Fifty minutes to work out what would actually help, and whether it is me you need.

  3. A plan you agree to

    Frequency, what we are measuring, and what would tell us it is working.