Rachael Morgan is a Doctoral Associate at Laksman Doell Psychology, who is currently completing the final stages of her PhD in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She has completed all of the coursework required for her doctoral degree and is currently finalizing her research and clinical training, prior to proceeding with registration as a psychologist with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. Rachael specializes in adult mental health, and she is committed to fostering a comfortable, affirming, and nonjudgmental space for individuals to safely express and to better understand themselves.
Rachael works with individuals who are presenting with a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression and low mood, trauma, difficult life transitions, interpersonal and relationship difficulties, work and performance-related stress, self-criticism and low self-esteem, and sexuality and gender exploration.
Rachael is particularly passionate about working with young adults who are in transitional periods of their life. Not the polished version of transition that gets celebrated on social media. The real kind. The kind that is disorienting, that makes you question the things that you thought you’d already figured out, that asks you to build confidence and to shed self-doubt at the same time as you’re managing more than you ever have before. That’s exactly who she does her best work with. Young adults who are looking to feel more at ease in themselves, more grounded in who they are, and more capable of meeting new and evolving demands without losing themselves in the process. Complementing this interest, Rachael also enjoys working with parents and caregivers who are navigating new and evolving parenting demands. The particular exhaustion of trying to show up fully for your child while also trying to hold onto yourself. Of working to find the balance between supporting your child while prioritizing your own well-being amid heightened periods of overwhelm. This is hard work, and she takes it seriously. Inspired by her research, Rachael also has a special interest in working with LGBTQ2S+ and gender diverse individuals. Adults who are navigating challenges of identity and belonging, and who are quietly holding it all together amid the daily stress of work, relationships, family, and major life events. She recognizes that figuring out who you are and who you want to be is shaped by these complex experiences, and not apart from them. This work is about creating space to make sense of your story in your own way. Reclaiming parts of your identity that may have once felt shamed or misunderstood, but that now need nurturance and care. Helping to find strength in your personal story. Honoring what you’ve been through, who you are, and where you are going.
Rachael prioritizes a client-centered therapeutic approach that is specifically tailored to the unique needs and preferences of each client with whom she works. Her approach is integrative, primarily drawing from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and complemented by Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and compassion-focused techniques. She values both skill-building and process-oriented work, finding value in raising awareness into the dynamics in session as an insightful point of reflection.
Rachael completed her Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Ottawa in 2022, and is completing her PhD at McGill University, where she holds a 4.0 GPA. She has received training in Ontario and Quebec across both private practice and community settings, where she worked with children, adolescents, and adults presenting with diverse and complex concerns. She has also served as a clinical supervisor to graduate practicum students at McGill University.
Rachael recognizes the importance of research and practice informing one another, and she remains actively engaged in both. Since 2022, she has been a research trainee at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), contributing to the development and piloting of an intervention for youth with complex mental illness and co-authoring a psychoeducational manual for families and caregivers. Her doctoral research examines the links between homophobic discrimination, externalizing symptoms, and suicidality amongst sexual minority youth across adolescence and the transition to early adulthood. Her research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Tomlinson Doctoral Fellowship, the highest internal academic award for doctoral students at McGill. She has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and has presented at national and international conferences, including invited talks at McGill’s Tomlinson Fellowship series and the Society for Research on Adolescence.
In the fall of 2026, Rachael will commence her clinical residency at Laksman Doell Psychology, with a general rotation in adult mental health, accompanied by focused rotations in anxiety disorders and Emotion-Focused Therapy for interpersonal distress. These aren’t incidental placements. They are a direct extension of the clinical work that she is already doing and the areas where her training, her research, and her genuine interest converge. At the end of her residency, she will have completed both a rigorous and individually-tailored training path. One that has been carefully designed in order to complement her previous training and to prepare her to excel as an early-career psychologist in Ontario.
Rachael is a member of the Ontario Psychological Association, and continues to engage in ongoing professional development activities.