I'm Laura MacLachlan, a Registered Psychotherapist helping adults understand the patterns that keep them stuck — and find new ways of responding to themselves, their emotions, and their lives.
Registered Psychotherapist (RP) • CRPO Registered • Virtual psychotherapy across Ontario
10+
Years of Experience
10+
Years of Experience
I'm Laura MacLachlan, a Registered Psychotherapist, and I've spent more than 10 years helping adults better understand themselves and make meaningful changes in their lives.
I'm particularly interested in the patterns underneath the problem that brings someone to therapy. Anxiety might look like constant overthinking, avoidance or a need for certainty. Relationship difficulties might involve people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries or repeatedly finding yourself in familiar dynamics. Emotional eating might be less about food itself and more about what food is helping you soothe, escape or avoid.
My approach is warm, collaborative and curious. Rather than judging a behaviour or immediately trying to get rid of it, I want us to understand what it's doing for you. Often, patterns that are causing problems now developed for understandable reasons — and recognizing their function can give us a much better starting point for change.
From there, therapy is about more than insight. Depending on what you need, we might work on relating differently to difficult thoughts and emotions, building practical skills, becoming more aware of your needs and patterns, practising self-compassion, or experimenting with new ways of responding in everyday life.
I want therapy to be a place where you feel genuinely understood, but also somewhere that helps you move. I'll listen closely, ask questions, share observations and gently challenge you when it feels useful. There's also room for humour, personality and being human along the way.
I have a longstanding interest in emotional eating and the complicated relationship many people develop with food. I view emotional eating on a continuum — you don't need to meet criteria for binge eating or an eating disorder for food to have become a source of distress.
My approach moves away from shame, rigid food rules and the idea that you simply need more willpower. Instead, we can become curious about what is happening underneath the eating. Food may offer comfort, distraction, relief or a temporary way to move away from difficult emotions.
I'm also interested in how our relationship with food can reflect broader patterns in our lives. Someone who spends the day rushing, ignoring their own needs, striving to meet expectations or caring for everyone else may notice similar patterns around eating.
My interest in this work is also personal. I know what it's like to have a complicated relationship with food, and to discover that what appears to be about eating can actually be connected to something much deeper. In my own experience, food became intertwined with emotional disconnection, a need for control, and finding ways to manage difficult feelings. That experience has shaped the compassion and curiosity I bring to this work, while recognizing that every person's relationship with food has its own story.
Our work can involve building awareness of these patterns, developing greater emotional flexibility, approaching difficult feelings with curiosity rather than avoidance, and cultivating a more compassionate relationship with yourself. Changing your relationship with food often begins with changing the relationship you have with yourself.
Professional qualifications to support your journey.
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
Adler University, 2015
Intuitive Eating, CBT, DBT, ACT
All virtual sessions are confidential and secure
If you're ready to take the next step, I'd be glad to support you. The first step is just reaching out — no commitment required.