Autonomous Psychologist
Clinical, Health and Neuropsychologist
Dr. Rachael Lyon
PhD, C.Psych
Most families arrive at a moment when something feels too big to carry. Maybe it's a new diagnosis. Maybe it's a child who's struggling and no one seems to understand why. Dr. Rachael has a way of making that weight feel more manageable from the very first conversation. For families navigating medical challenges, health-related fears, or anything that sits at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing, she offers something rare.
Living in Melbourne ruined me for coffee in the best possible way. I've been searching for a worthy Toronto cup ever since.
You don't have to have it figured out.
How Dr. Rachael works
Dr. Rachael's work is rooted in relationship. She creates a space where children and families feel safe enough to bring the hard things, and where genuine connection is the foundation everything else is built on.
Her work spans therapy and assessment across a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, low mood, OCD, trauma, emotion regulation, and neurodevelopmental differences such as autism and ADHD. She also supports children navigating neurological conditions, acquired brain injury, learning and attention challenges, and the cognitive effects of illness. Alongside her practice at Whole Kids Health, Dr. Rachael holds a staff position at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in the division of Haematology/Oncology. Her training spanned some of the most complex paediatric settings, and that breadth shapes how she approaches every child she works with.
For families navigating medical challenges, Dr. Rachael brings something especially distinctive. She supports children and families coping with diagnoses, treatment, hospitalizations, procedural anxiety, medical trauma, and adjustment to illness, and she consults with medical teams, school staff, and allied health professionals to make sure no child falls through the cracks.
"A first session with Dr. Rachael feels more like a conversation than an appointment. She is warm, unhurried, and sometimes a little silly when it fits. She pays close attention to what's showing up in the moment and what's getting in the way — and she has a way of finding flexibility and curiosity in children who arrived convinced there was none."
Clinical approach
Evidence in hand. Heart in the room.
Dr. Rachael's therapeutic approach is tailored to each child and family's unique needs and goals. She takes a whole-child approach, drawing on a child's strengths and the full context of their life to understand what they need and how best to help. She sees therapy as an opportunity to ease distress, build resilience, and help families find as much calm, joy, and freedom as possible.
Dr. Rachael is particularly drawn to working with children navigating medical challenges and the fears, grief, and uncertainty that come with them. Her expertise in health and neuropsychology gives her a distinctive lens for understanding how physical health, emotional wellbeing, and cognitive functioning are interconnected. She also works closely with parents throughout the process, because supporting a child means supporting the whole family.
The goal isn't to make hard feelings go away. It's to help young people understand them, hold them more lightly, and find their way back to what they care about.
What Dr. Rachael works with.
Areas of focus
Languages: English
Background and credentials.
Education and training
PhD, Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Clinical Neuropsychology track · York University
MA, Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Clinical Neuropsychology track · York University
BA (Hons), Psychology
York University
BSc (Hons), Life Sciences
Queen's University
Professional AssociationsCollege of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO)
Ontario Psychological Association (OPA)
International Neuropsychological Society
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto
Health Psychology · Clinical Neuropsychology
Predoctoral Residency
Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto
Additional Placements
Toronto Western Hospital · CAMH · Private Practice · York University Psychology Clinic
CertificationsChildren's Grief and Bereavement Certificate
SickKids CCMH Learning Institute
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)
Yale Child Study Center
ADOS-2 Training
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