Dr. Carolyne Lee, PhD, C.Psych.
Clinical Psychologist | Adolescents & Adults
Dr. Carolyne Lee is a clinical psychologist providing therapy to adolescents and adults. With nearly a decade of private-practice experience, she brings warmth, curiosity, and thoughtfulness to understanding not only what is difficult now, but what you have been carrying, how you have learned to cope, and what you would like to be different.
The ways we cope often develop for understandable reasons. Worrying, pushing yourself hard, pulling away from difficult situations, or keeping feelings to yourself may have helped you cope, succeed, or protect important relationships. Over time, however, these same strategies can leave you feeling stuck or disconnected from yourself, even when you recognize what is happening and want things to change.
You don’t have to have everything figured out before you begin. Dr. Lee takes time to understand your experience rather than assuming that because she has encountered a problem before, she already knows what it means for you. Together, you can make connections between your emotions, relationships, experiences, and ways of coping—and use that understanding to move forward. Sometimes that means exploring something more deeply, sometimes developing practical strategies, and often both.
Anxiety, OCD & Perfectionism
Dr. Lee works with a range of anxiety-related concerns, including chronic worry, social anxiety, panic, agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
At times, anxiety can begin to shape how you move through the world—what you avoid, how much certainty you need, the risks you are willing to take, or how much responsibility you feel for preventing something from going wrong. Therapy can involve understanding what is driving these responses and finding greater freedom in how you respond to fear, doubt, and uncertainty.
For OCD, Dr. Lee uses Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), an evidence-based treatment that helps people gradually face feared situations, thoughts, or uncertainty while reducing the compulsions and other responses that keep OCD going. She also integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients relate differently to unwanted thoughts and feelings and make choices guided by what matters to them, rather than by OCD.
Perfectionism, low self-esteem, and self-criticism are also important areas of Dr. Lee’s work. You may find yourself overthinking decisions, worrying about disappointing others, putting things off because they need to be done “right,” or achieving something only to focus on what could have been better. Dr. Lee works with you to loosen these tendencies without losing the ambitions or standards that matter to you.
Trauma, Self-Criticism & Emotional Patterns
Dr. Lee works with people experiencing depression, trauma and complex trauma, difficulties managing emotions, and relationship concerns. How we respond to ourselves, our emotions, and other people can be shaped by many things—including our temperament, relationships, life experiences, and current circumstances.
You may understand yourself quite well and still find yourself pulling away when relationships become close, struggling to trust others, keeping painful feelings to yourself, or reacting strongly in situations that seem to touch something deeper. Dr. Lee helps you understand what may be happening beneath these responses, make sense of emotions that can feel difficult or overwhelming, and find new ways of responding to yourself and others.
She also works with clients for whom ADHD is part of the broader picture, particularly when they are seeking support with related anxiety, emotional difficulties, self-esteem, or relationship concerns.
How Dr. Lee Works
Dr. Lee’s approach is integrative, drawing primarily from Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Her work combines attention to emotional experiences and longstanding patterns with practical approaches to change, depending on each person’s needs and goals.
Her training also includes Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD.
Culture, Identity & Belonging
Dr. Lee is also interested in how culture and identity can shape mental health, relationships, family expectations, and the experience of therapy itself. She welcomes conversations about culture, race, gender, sexual identity, and belonging when these are important to you.
These experiences can affect how you see yourself, what is expected of you, how you relate to others, and where you feel you belong. Rather than assuming what any aspect of your identity means, Dr. Lee takes time to understand its place in your own experience.
Training & Experience
Dr. Lee completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor and her accredited predoctoral residency through the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium. Her clinical experience spans private practice, university counselling, community health, and hospital mental-health settings.
During her residency at Western University’s Student Development Centre, Dr. Lee provided therapy to adolescents and young adults with a broad range of mental-health concerns. She also completed a rotation at Parkwood Institute Mental Health, supporting adults experiencing significant mental-health and substance-use difficulties as part of a multidisciplinary hospital team.
While completing her doctorate, Dr. Lee trained with Dr. Sandra Paivio, whose clinical and research work contributed to the development of Emotion-Focused Therapy for trauma.
Dr. Lee subsequently spent nearly a decade in private practice, providing psychotherapy to adolescents and adults, conducting comprehensive psychological assessments, and supervising other clinicians.
Dr. Lee is registered with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario.
Getting Started
If you’re interested in working with Dr. Lee, our care coordination team can help you explore whether her experience and approach may be a good fit.
We offer a complimentary 10–15-minute intake conversation to learn a little about what you’re looking for, answer questions, and discuss next steps.