About Sarah

Sarah Lesser has built her career around supporting teenagers and young adults, first as a secondary school guidance counsellor and now as a psychotherapist. She understands the rhythms of adolescence, the pressure, the self-doubt, and the quiet courage it takes to ask for help.

Her approach blends Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Strength-Based Therapy to create care that is practical, collaborative, and thoughtfully tailored to each young person she works with.

Before training as a psychotherapist, Sarah spent 17 years as a secondary school guidance counsellor, working daily with young people through academic pressures, family disruption, friendship challenges, identity questions, and the many quiet struggles that often go unseen. In that role, she supported hundreds of students through the pivotal transitions of adolescence, helping them navigate academic decisions, manage conflict, grieve losses, find their voices, and learn to trust themselves.

Having spent many years working alongside adolescents and their families in school settings, Sarah understands the important role parents play in a young person's well-being. She believes the most meaningful progress often happens when parents feel supported, informed, and appropriately involved in the therapeutic process. Her goal is to support both the young person and their family while fostering the trusting therapeutic relationship that allows meaningful and lasting change to occur.

That experience gave Sarah something that cannot be learned from a textbook alone. It provided an intuitive understanding of how teenagers think, communicate, and grow. She knows what it feels like to sit with a young person who is not yet ready to talk. She understands that trust cannot be rushed and that meaningful change develops through genuine connection, collaboration, and practical skill-building.

Sarah holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology, and a Bachelor of Education with specializations in Physical Education and Guidance. She is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and a member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).

Her commitment to professional growth reflects her dedication to providing evidence-based care for adolescents and young adults. Sarah has completed specialized training in Strength-Based Therapy with Children and Teens, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Disordered Eating through the SickKids Hospital Learning Institute, equipping her to confidently support many of the concerns affecting young people today.

What Guides Her Work

Sarah believes that every young person deserves a place where they feel genuinely heard, understood, and accepted. Her goal is to help clients better understand themselves, build on their strengths, and develop the confidence and skills they need to navigate life's challenges, both now and in the future.