Emma Woodhead

Bio

Emma Woodhead is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Social Work specializing in Mental Health and Health from the University of Toronto. Drawing on more than a decade of experience working therapeutically with children and families, including extensive work within child welfare practice and intimate partner violence and/or coercive control, Emma offers a calm, supportive and grounded therapeutic presence.

Emma’s work focuses on supporting children, parents, and families navigating violence, conflict, separation, and the emotional complexities that often accompany these challenges. She brings extensive experience providing therapeutic and parenting support to mothers who are parenting after trauma, as well as to families and children experiencing the stressors of family court involvement. She is also particularly committed to supporting fathers in recognizing and strengthening their parenting potential, fostering confidence, connection, and meaningful engagement in their parenting role.

Emma supports families as they navigate the emotional and relational challenges associated with difficult medical diagnoses, helping caregivers and children process uncertainty, grief, and change with compassion and care.

Emma practices from a trauma-informed, equity-informed, and attachment-based lens with a strong commitment to advocacy and to advancing equity related to race, gender, sexuality, and ability within systems of care. She brings an awareness of how power, access, identity and lived experience can shape wellbeing and family relationships and she works intentionally to create a therapeutic space to explore this. Emma recognizes that clients are the experts of their own lives and empowers them towards change while honouring their strengths, identities and lived experiences.

When working with children, Emma uses art- and play-guided therapeutic strategies to support emotional expression, regulation, and healing in developmentally appropriate ways while remaining attentive to the broader social and systemic contexts impacting a child’s experience. In her work with adults and couples, she draws on elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), integrating these approaches in a collaborative and holistic manner.

Emma is deeply committed to supporting families as they work toward safety, connection, and meaningful change, and she approaches this work with empathy, care, and respect. She is known for her curious, patient and approachable demeanor, and she values meeting individuals and families where they are at in their journeys.