About Ripple Effect Psychotherapy
A Therapy Practice Rooted In Connection, Curiosity & Care
Ripple Effect Psychotherapy is a virtual therapy practice based in Hamilton, Ontario, offering warm, relational, and attachment-focused therapy to adolescents and adults across Ontario. Ripple was created from the belief that not all therapy is the same, and that when you feel safe enough to show up as you are, without performing or having all the right words, something meaningful can begin to shift.
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Grounded
We believe there is value in slowing things down. Therapy with us is thoughtful, steady, and paced with care: creating space to notice what is happening beneath the surface without rushing you toward an answer, a breakthrough, or a story you are not ready to tell.
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Human
You are a person, not a problem to solve, and we bring our humanity into the room, too. Therapy can be warm, honest, imperfect, and real: a space where laughter, tears, uncertainty, silence, and “I don’t know” are all welcome.
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Relational
We believe the relationship is not simply the backdrop for therapy, it is foundational to the work. Healing can happen through new experiences of connection: being met with curiosity instead of judgment, having space to be honest about what you need, and discovering that relationships can hold vulnerability, boundaries, misunderstanding, and repair.
The Heart Behind Ripple Effect Psychotherapy
Ripple Effect Psychotherapy was founded on a simple belief: therapy should feel deeply human.
After years of working as a therapist, I kept returning to the same truth: healing is about more than managing symptoms. It is also about understanding the patterns, protective parts, relationships, and experiences that shaped the ways you learned to move through the world and meeting those parts of yourself with curiosity rather than judgment.
At Ripple, we support people who are navigating high-functioning anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, attachment wounds, recurring relational patterns, and life transitions. Our work is rooted in relational, attachment-based, parts-informed, and nervous-system-informed therapy, and grounded in the belief that all parts of you make sense.
We want therapy to feel warm, collaborative, thoughtful, and connected. A place where you can understand yourself more deeply, experience new ways of relating to yourself and others, and create changes that reach beyond the therapy session and ripple outward into the rest of your life.
Meet Our Team Of relational Therapists In Hamilton, Ontario
We know that finding the right therapist matters. Our team of relational therapists brings together warmth, clinical experience, and our own individual ways of being human, while sharing a thoughtful, attachment-focused approach to therapy. We provide virtual therapy to adults across Ontario, and our hope is that you can find someone here with whom you feel comfortable enough to begin.
Katelyn Kitson
Founder & Clinical Director
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I’m Katelyn, founder of Ripple Effect Psychotherapy and a registered social worker and therapist with more than a decade of experience supporting adults through anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, attachment wounds, recurring relationship patterns, and seasons of change.
Over the years, I have become especially interested in people who are very good at functioning: overthinkers, achievers, caretakers, eldest daughters, and “I’m fine” people who often understand themselves deeply and still wonder why certain patterns feel so hard to change.
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I’m also a wife, sister, eldest daughter, friend, dog mom to Bailey, and recovering perfectionist.
I love coffee, travelling, photography, painting, creativity, sunsets, and the little moments of beauty that make an ordinary life feel meaningful.
My work as a therapist is shaped by my own humanity, too… by the parts of me that are still learning, softening, growing, and becoming. I do not believe therapists need to be blank slates, and I do not believe meaningful therapy requires either of us to leave our humanity at the door.
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With more than a decade of clinical experience, my approach to therapy is warm, relational, curious, and collaborative. I draw primarily from Internal Family Systems (IFS), attachment-based therapy, Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), and EMDR therapy.
Together, we may explore the patterns and protective parts that have helped you navigate your life so far, how your earliest relationships continue to shape the way you relate to yourself and others, and what happens inside you when you feel overwhelmed, disconnected, responsible for everyone else, or afraid of disappointing someone.
The goal is not to get rid of parts of you or turn you into a different person. It is to help you understand yourself with more compassion, build greater self-trust, and create more room for relationships and choices that feel genuinely aligned with who you are.
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Education
MSW, Master of Clinical Social Work from the University of British Columbia (UBCO)
BSW, Bachelor of Social Work from the University of British Columbia (UBC)
B.A., Psychology, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
Additional Clinical Training
Internal Family Systems Level One: Internal Family Systems Institute
Certificate in Adult Attachment Psychotherapy, through SickKids Hospital, facilitated by Annette Kussin (MSW, RSW)
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Attachment Science into Practice, Dr. Sue Johnson
S.A.F.E. (Somatic and Attachment Focused) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) through Personal Transformation Institute (PTI)
Gottman Method, levels 1 & 2, Dr. John and Julie Gottman
Mackenzie Robinford
Social Worker, Therapist & Human Being
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I’m Mackenzie, a social worker, therapist, and human being who brings warmth, curiosity, and deep care to my work with clients.
I support individuals navigating anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, relational patterns, attachment wounds, and the impact of complex trauma and sexual violence. I also have a particular interest in supporting people through the tender transitions of pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting.
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I’m also a mom, partner, dog mom to Pippa, friend, eldest daughter, and deeply feeling human. My lived experience of motherhood and caregiving informs the compassion and attunement I bring to my work, especially with those who are carrying a lot, caring deeply, and trying to figure out how to make room for themselves, too.
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With over 5 years of clinical experience, my approach is warm, relational, and collaborative. My work is rooted in attachment-based, parts-informed, and trauma-informed therapy. I believe the patterns we struggle with often make more sense when we understand what they have been trying to do for us.
Together, we can gently explore those patterns, reconnect with your needs, and create new ways of relating to yourself and the people you care about.
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MSW, Master of Social Work, University of Toronto
Honours Bachelor of Arts, Specialization in Childhood and Social Institutions, University of Western Ontario
Additional Clinical Training
S.A.F.E. (Somatic and Attachment Focused) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) through Personal Transformation Institute (PTI) - in progress
Complex Trauma Certification Training Level 1 & 2
Transforming Trauma with Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), Dr. Sue Johnson
Somatic Consent Training
Bailey
Unofficial Ripple Mascot & Professional Glimmers-Finder
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I’m Bailey, Ripple Effect Psychotherapy’s emotional support coworker and professional glimmer-finder. While I may not be taking clients, I bring plenty of warmth, softness, and joy to the Ripple team.
Human First
Technically, dog first. I love swimming, kangaroo hops (iykyk), frisbees, neighbourhood walks, and reminding the humans around me to slow down and notice the little things.
Therapist Second
My therapeutic approach is simple: gentle presence, unconditional love, and helping my humans remember that connection, play, and rest matter, too.
The Heart Behind Ripple
Our mission is to create therapy spaces where you do not have to leave parts of yourself at the door. We believe meaningful healing begins when you have enough safety and support to understand yourself with greater compassion, including the parts, patterns, and protective strategies that have helped you make it this far. Our hope is that, over time, this work changes not only what you understand about yourself, but the way you experience and relate to yourself and that those changes gently ripple into your relationships, your family, your community, and the life you are creating.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Ripple Effect Psychotherapy currently offers virtual therapy for adolescents and adults located anywhere in Ontario. Our practice is based in Hamilton, and we support clients in Burlington, Oakville, Toronto, and communities across the province.
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We support adolescents and adults across Ontario navigating experiences such as anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, relational patterns, attachment wounds, life transitions, self-worth, identity, and the weight of always seeming “fine.” Many of the people we work with are thoughtful, capable, and deeply attuned to others, but may find it harder to extend that same care toward themselves.
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Our work is grounded in relational, attachment-based, and parts-informed approaches to therapy. Depending on your therapist, their areas of training, and what feels supportive for you, therapy may also draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and S.A.F.E. EMDR.
This means we are interested not only in what you are struggling with, but also in how your patterns, protective strategies, relationships, and lived experiences have shaped the way you move through the world. Rather than asking, “What is wrong with you?” our work is often guided by a different kind of curiousity: “What happened, what did you learn, and how has your system been trying to protect you?”
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A complimentary consultation is a gentle first step. It gives us a chance to connect, hear more about what you are looking for, answer any questions, and explore whether one of our therapists might feel like the right fit for you. If we do not feel like the right fit, that is okay too.
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You can book a complimentary consultation online through our booking link. Once you choose a time that works for you, you will receive the information you need for our call.
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Not at all. You might arrive with a specific experience you want support with, or simply a feeling that something is not working the way you want it to anymore. You might know the pattern but not understand where it comes from, or you may not have words for it yet.
You do not need to tell your story perfectly or know exactly where to begin. We can figure that out together.