Doctoral Associate

Olivia Dobson

M.A.

Sessions with Olivia tend to feel like effortless conversations rather than appointments. Her warm, energetic presence puts children at ease quickly, and families often leave feeling like she genuinely got to know them and their child on a deeper level. For families who are nervous about starting therapy, that ease makes all the difference.

I grew up on the East Coast, which means I have a lifelong allergy to lobster. The irony is not lost on me.

You don't have to have it figured out.

How Olivia works

Olivia works with children and adolescents navigating anxiety, social difficulties, emotion dysregulation, ADHD and executive functioning challenges, and neurodevelopmental differences including autism. She also has a particular expertise in needle fear and phobia, and in health-related anxiety, supporting young people whose worry is tied to medical settings or physical symptoms.

At the core of how Olivia works is a belief that children's behaviour always makes sense when you look beneath it. Every response, every reaction, every moment of shutting down or acting out, there is something underneath it worth understanding. She approaches that with genuine curiosity rather than a checklist, and she brings warmth and energy into sessions that makes even hard conversations feel manageable.

In practice, Olivia is always paying attention to two things at once: moments to zoom in on emotional experiences together, and moments to zoom out and see the bigger picture. Sessions with her are active and engaging, moving between skill-building, curious exploration, and interactive activities that help children better understand themselves and what matters to them. She follows the child's lead and gently guides them toward understanding their emotions and planning what comes next.

Olivia works closely with parents throughout the process, offering practical parenting support and behavioural strategies that extend the work beyond the session and into everyday life.

What to expect

A first session with Olivia feels more like getting to know each other than sitting down to work. She brings genuine curiosity to understanding your child and your family, and most people leave surprised by how quickly the hour passed.

Clinical approach

Every feeling has something to say.

Olivia's approach is rooted in the belief that emotions are the doorway to everything else. When a child feels genuinely understood , when there is real space for what they are carrying, something shifts. Self-awareness grows. Coping becomes possible. Confidence follows. She works to create that space in every session, with every child.

She draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), integrating these flexibly based on each child's interests, needs, and natural way of engaging. Sessions can look like structured skill-building, open-ended exploration, or play, often all three within the same hour. What stays constant is Olivia's genuine curiosity and her attention to what each child is actually showing her.

Olivia is particularly drawn to neurodiverse youth and to children who experience emotions deeply. Her doctoral research at the University of Guelph focuses on supporting autistic youth in coping with needle procedures, and that research sensibility runs through her clinical work as well.

In child therapy, I am not just listening to words. I am listening to the silence, the energy, the play, the movement, and everything in between.

CBTACTEFFTDBTPlay-Based

What Olivia works with.

Areas of focus

AutismADHD & Executive FunctioningNeedle Fear & PhobiaHealth-Related AnxietySocial Anxiety & Friendship DifficultiesEmotion RegulationGeneralized & School-Related AnxietyParenting Support

Languages: English

Background and credentials.

Education and training

Degrees

PhD, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

University of Guelph

In progress

MA, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

University of Guelph

BA (Hons), Psychology

Acadia University

Professional Associations

Ontario Psychological Association (OPA)

Clinical Training

Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology

Halton Catholic District School Board

Surrey Place, Toronto

Certifications

Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)

Emotion-Focused Therapy for Youth (EFT-Y)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ADOS-2 Certification

ADI-R Certification

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Let's find the right fit.