Catherine Ellis-Dobson (She/Her)

Catherine has had a strong passion for working with children, youth and families for over 35 years. She has extensive experience managing a children’s mental health agency where she provided clinical supervision to the frontline staff as well as worked directly with the young people living with anxiety, trauma, mental health diagnoses, and developmental challenges. Catherine is a college professor in the Child and Youth Care Practitioner program and loves being part of the development of future professionals in our sector.

Catherine is joining Flourish as a registered psychotherapist that believes strongly in the development of a therapeutic relationship as the base for any meaningful work to be done with young people or adults. Catherine uses a client-centred, strength-based approach, meeting the young people where they are at and ensuring they lead their wellness journey. Catherine offers a variety of treatment modalities to ensure she offers an approach that fits for the young person. Her approach is grounded in trauma-informed and anti-oppressive practices focussing on assets and skills to assist the person in meeting their goals with a strong focus on finding the joy in their lives.

As a mother of a queer child, Catherine also has a strong passion for working with parents to support them to navigate the complexities of 2SLGBTQIA+ realities. Catherine ensures that therapy is a collaborative relationship lead by the person with consistent check-ins throughout the therapy process to ensure the person’s needs are being met.

Catherine has extensive experience in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Narrative Therapy as well as Mindfulness. Catherine likes to incorporate movement into their practice as she believes it is crucial to mental well-being. For fun, Catherine enjoys spending time with her partner, her boys and their partners. She has a passion for nature and being outdoors which she also includes in her therapeutic approach.