OUR TEAM
The people behind the care.
At Kaïa Psychology, we show up. We work where trauma, relationships, and systems collide. We offer therapy, psychosocial and psycholegal expertise, and community-rooted care that does not look away from complexity. We stand with individuals, families, and communities holding truth, responsibility, and humanity in balance.
PSYCHOLOGIST · CO-FOUNDER
Trauma, complex family dynamics, and psycholegal assessment. Steady and precise, she brings structure to chaotic situations including work with first responders and families navigating high-conflict or high-stakes contexts. French & English.
Supervised Clinician
Supports adolescents and adults navigating intense emotions, relationship difficulties, suicidality, and life transitions. With over 6 years of experience in DBT, she bring a warm and authentic style to help clients build insight, resilience, and lasting change. Over a decade of experience in community mental health and policy work. French & English.
Psychiatrist · MD
Dr. Joan Tucker, MD
Psychiatrist licensed in Quebec and Ontario with over 25 years of experience. Trained at McGill and the University of Toronto with a fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Provides psychiatric consultations, medical evaluations, and treatment for anxiety, depression, and complex mental health concerns.
PSYCHOLOGIST
Works with children, adolescents, and young adults. Integrative approach combining CBT and humanistic therapy with play therapy and parent coaching. Particularly attentive to cultural and identity context, with deep sensitivity to racialized and marginalized experiences. French & English.
SEXOLOGIST · OPSQ MEMBER
Member of the Ordre des sexologues du Québec. Sexology for sexual difficulties, intimate violence, sexual trauma, problematic pornography use, sexual desire, and relational challenges. Works with adults and couples. Humanist, CBT, solutions-focused. French & English.
SOCIAL WORKER · EXPERT WITNESS
Social worker with nearly 18 years at the intersection of psychosocial intervention, high-conflict family dynamics, and legal expert assessments before the Superior Court. Recognized for clarity, structure, and ethically grounded recommendations centred on the best interests of the child.
SOCIAL WORKER · FAMILY MEDIATION
Social worker specializing in families navigating separation, custody, and co-parenting. She conducts psychosocial assessments, family mediation, co-parenting coaching, and parent–child reconnection work, and also provides couples therapy on a regular basis. Her approach is rigorous, impartial, and centred on the best interests of the child favouring concrete, lasting solutions tailored to each family's reality.
SOCIAL WORKER · EXPERT WITNESS
Social worker since 2021, specializing in psychosocial expertise for child custody, high-conflict separation, parent–child relationship restoration, parental alienation, and complex family dynamics. Trained through youth protection services. French & English.
Psychosocial support worker
Orel Waknin
Social worker with over eight years of experience offering counseling and psychosocial intervention to youth and their families through some of life’s most formative and complex challenges. Specializing in identity, self-regulation, behavioural difficulties, and social development, she helps young people feel seen, understood, and equipped to navigate their relationships, communities, and sense of self, including LGBTQ+ youth and the families learning to understand them. English and Hebrew.
PSYCHOMETRIST
Vanessa Pallen
Psychometrist providing comprehensive psychological assessments with a particular focus on neurodegenerative conditions helping individuals and families understand changes in memory, attention, and thinking over time. Also offers Health & Wellness Coaching with a focus on sleep optimization.
PSYCHOLOGIST · CLINICAL SUPERVISOR
Élise-Mercier Gouin, M.Ps
Psychologist with 35 years at the Montreal Youth Center in psychosocial assessment and family mediation, primarily as an expert witness for the Superior Court. Continues to train and supervise private experts and CISSS clinicians.
Chantal Belhumeur
PSYCHOLOGIST · CLINICAL SUPERVISOR
Dr. Chantal Belhumeur, Ph.D.
Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor with over 25 years of experience, grounded in the belief that professional experience gains meaning when it is shared. Trained in educational adaptation at the Université de Sherbrooke and in psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, she also holds a doctorate in psychology and a teaching certificate in special education. Her career has led her to work across university, school, and clinical settings with children, adolescents, adults, and families.
Trauma-informed, bilingual, and uncompromising on the work that matters.
DIFFERENT CLINICIANS, ONE STANDARD OF CARE
Every member of our team is trained in trauma-informed practice and committed to working at your pace whether that's short-term focused support, long-term therapeutic work, or complex psycholegal assessments.
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR
Arielle Ruimy
BEHIND THE SCENES
Administration & Operations
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
Megane Hanan