BIOGRAPHIES

Raised in Orangeville, Elyse has extensive experience working with both individuals and families. She is a York University graduate (2000) and holds a Specialized Honours Degree in Psychology. Her undergraduate thesis found correlations between body image, self-efficacy, and disordered eating. 

Elyse completed her fourth-year practicum at the Hospital for Sick Children, utilizing a Milieu therapeutic approach (community-based therapy) with adolescents and children with eating disorders. 

Elyse is proud to have contributed to the Youth Transitions Project, gathering research for Dr. Debra Pepler and Dr. Jennifer Connelly of the Lamarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution. The successful findings of this project were published as “A Developmental Perspective on Bullying” (Pepler et al., 2006). 

Elyse has attended workshops with the Hincks-Dellcrest Institute: a research and training facility with a focus on outreach and capacity building within the children’s mental health sector. Elyse has also acquired several valuable child welfare certifications through The Children’s Aid Society and worked as a Child Protection Worker (CPW) for Dufferin Child and Family Services. 

Elyse retired from her position as a CPW after the birth of her second child, feeling she needed to be available for her own family, but also to work with children, teens, and adults in a way that included fitness, confidence-building, and fun. Her education, training, and experience have led to her life’s work as the School Director of Johanis’ Karate School.

Elyse has recently returned to school to pursue a master’s in counselling psychology.

Pepler, D. J., Craig, W. M., Connolly, J. A., Yuile, A., McMaster, L., & Jiang, D. (2006). A developmental perspective on bullying. Aggressive Behaviour, 32(4), 376–384.
doi:10.1002/ab.20136