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.
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.
What Olivia works with.
Areas of focus
Languages: English
Background and credentials.
Education and training
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 AssociationsOntario Psychological Association (OPA)
Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology
Halton Catholic District School Board
Surrey Place, Toronto
CertificationsEmotion-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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