Elisa is a Registered Psychotherapist and Certified Child and Youth Care Practitioner with over 14 years of experience supporting children, adolescents, young adults, and families. Her clinical background includes psychiatric care, crisis intervention, individual and family counselling, and group facilitation. She has experience supporting youth navigating anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, behavioural challenges, suicidality, interpersonal difficulties, and family conflict. With extensive knowledge of community resources and support services throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Elisa can help navigate and recommend additional services and resources that support individual needs and ongoing well-being.
Elisa holds an Honours Diploma in Child and Youth Care from Humber College and is registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Her additional training includes Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Trauma-Informed Care, Crisis Prevention, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, and Mental Health First Aid.
Elisa takes a collaborative, client-centred, and strengths-based approach, prioritizing authentic connection and creating a safe, non-judgmental environment where young people feel heard and understood. She balances empathy with realistic, goal-oriented support, gently challenging unhelpful patterns while encouraging accountability, resilience, and meaningful change.
Drawing on CBT, Elisa helps youth explore the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours while developing practical coping strategies. Through DBT, she incorporates skills in emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. Her passion for art and creativity informs her use of art-based therapeutic activities to support emotional exploration, self-expression, and insight, particularly when verbal communication feels difficult. Her approach is adaptable to each young person’s developmental stage, strengths, and individual needs.
Elisa brings a calm, grounded presence to challenging situations and has a strong ability to build rapport with youth. She strives to help young people feel safe enough to explore difficult experiences, supported enough to navigate challenges, and empowered to recognize their capacity for growth. She also values collaborative family involvement while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and professional boundaries.