Dr. Elizabeth Wachala
R. Psych.
Dr. Liz Wachala provides individual therapy and assessment services to children and youth between 5 and 25 years of age. She also offers consultation to parents and other professionals providing care to her young clients. Dr. Wachala’s practice is grounded in a client-centred approach and is strongly informed by attachment and developmental systems theories. Depending on client need, she commonly integrates tools from cognitive-behavioural therapy, as well as motivational, mindfulness, interpersonal, solution-focused, acceptance and commitment, and play therapy approaches. Dr. Wachala has enjoyed working with clients presenting with a wide range of challenges, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, disordered eating, self-harm, school refusal, phobias, trauma, grief, identity development, goal setting, and parent-child relationship dynamics. Prior to working in private practice, she has provided individual and group psychological services in a variety of settings, including schools (elementary, secondary, postsecondary), medical clinics, and community mental health centres.
Dr. Wachala conducts comprehensive psychoeducational assessments of children and youth to identify their cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses, and to establish whether their learning is impacted by such diagnoses as learning disorders, intellectual disability or giftedness, ADHD, anxiety, or mood disorders. She has extensive experience working with teachers and school staff to implement academic accommodations that best support a student’s learning.
Dr. Wachala completed her master’s and doctoral degrees through the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Her doctoral research explored long-term outcomes for mothers and children who received early intervention for maternal substance use. Dr. Wachala moved to the island to complete her doctoral residency in the Greater Victoria Area with Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH; MCFD). In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Wachala has enjoyed teaching undergraduate psychology courses at the University of Victoria. Dr. Wachala is registered to practice clinical psychology in the province of British Columbia (#2937).