Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) · Grief & Relationship Therapy · Ottawa & Virtual Ontario
Hi, I’m Elaine Alexander
I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) in Ontario, completing a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. I practice under the close clinical supervision of Aline Maia, RP, and am registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO #21683).
I provide virtual psychotherapy for adults across Ontario and in-person therapy in Ottawa at Maia Counselling Centre, 1900 City Park Drive, Suite 408.
What I specialize in
My practice focuses on grief, suicide bereavement, overfunctioning in relationships, and the attachment patterns that keep people stuck in the same dynamics regardless of how much they understand themselves intellectually. I also work with financial stress and the identity pressures that come with entrepreneurship and high-responsibility roles.
These are not areas I chose because they are underserved, though they are. I chose them because they are the terrain of my own life.
My background
Before training as a psychotherapist, I spent over twenty years in entrepreneurship and leadership. I know what it means to carry financial pressure while appearing completely in control. I know what burnout looks like when it arrives not as collapse but as a quiet, grinding inability to feel anything that isn't obligation.
I lost three family members to suicide. I have navigated the silence that follows that kind of loss inside a family system, the guilt, the unanswerable questions, and the way grief of that particular kind does not resolve on its own timeline or anyone else's. I have done the work of actually grieving it rather than managing it, and that distinction is central to how I work with clients.
I became a mother at forty, during the pandemic, and I have lived the experience of overfunctioning inside motherhood, marriage, and a career simultaneously. I understand what it costs to be the one who holds everything together, and I understand why putting any of it down feels dangerous even when you are exhausted.
I came to psychotherapy through lived experience first, and through rigorous training second. Both matter to the work.
Training and credentials
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (in progress), Yorkville University
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario — CRPO #21683
Practicing under clinical supervision of Aline Maia, RP
Trauma of Money Certified
Trained in Timeline Therapy and Hypnotherapy
In the media
I have spoken publicly about suicide loss and the importance of breaking the silence around it. I appeared on The Momtellectual Podcast to discuss losing family members to suicide and the healing that became possible when those conversations finally happened.
I recently did an interview with Beyond the Page Media for Mental Health Awareness Month. I chatted with T. Taylor on grief, healing and support.
More podcast appearances are forthcoming.
How I work
My approach is grounded in attachment theory and trauma-informed care. I work with what is actually present in the room: the specific loss, the specific relationship, the specific pattern that developed to keep you safe and is now keeping you stuck.
I do not move clients through stages or toward acceptance on a predetermined timeline. I work at the pace of what the nervous system can actually tolerate, which is not always the pace people want but is the pace at which real change happens.
Sessions are 50 minutes. Individual sessions are $170. Couples sessions are $170. Services are covered by most extended health benefit plans in Ontario under psychotherapy. Please confirm with your provider before booking.