About Maggie Stein Jamieson
Registered Social Worker | DBT & Trauma-Informed Therapy in Pickering & Ajax
When therapy hasn’t helped the way you hoped
If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’ve already tried therapy. Maybe more than once. You may be carrying a long history of emotional pain, crisis, or exhaustion—either your own, or alongside someone you love.
You’re not here because you’re broken. You’re here because you’ve been doing your best to survive something that has been genuinely hard.
My work is for people who are ready to approach therapy differently: with structure, honesty, and a focus on building skills that actually translate into daily life.
Who I Work With
I work with big feelers—children, teens, adults, and families who experience emotions deeply and intensely, and whose struggles often show up in repeated patterns rather than isolated moments.
Adolescents (13–18) struggling with emotion dysregulation, self-harm, eating disorders, and behavioural challenges
Young adults and adults (19+) navigating borderline personality disorder, chronic self-harm, eating disorders, trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, and relational instability
Parents and caregivers carrying fear, grief, burnout, and uncertainty while supporting a child with mental health challenges
Families caught in cycles of conflict, disconnection, or misunderstanding who need more than individual therapy to create lasting change
Athletes, coaches, and sport organizations navigating performance pressure, injury, transitions, and the mental demands of competitive environments
I work with neurodiverse clients and provide gender-affirming care. My clients come from many backgrounds, but they tend to share one thing: they have been holding a lot, for a long time, and are looking for a more structured, honest way forward.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy with me is not about fixing who you are or talking endlessly about what’s gone wrong. It’s about understanding how your patterns developed—and learning how to respond differently when emotions, relationships, or stress feel overwhelming.
My work is grounded primarily in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), along with Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and trauma-informed approaches. While not every client requires adherent comprehensive DBT, DBT principles—skills, structure, and a balance of acceptance and change—inform all of my clinical work.
Together, we focus on:
Increasing emotional awareness and regulation
Reducing behaviours that keep you stuck or unsafe
Strengthening communication and relationships
Building practical skills that can be used outside the therapy room
You don’t have to minimize what you’ve been through to heal. There is a way forward that doesn’t require becoming someone else.
Why I Became a Therapist
My path into this work was shaped early by growing up alongside mental illness in my family and by my own experiences of emotional pain. I learned firsthand how confusing and isolating it can feel when emotions run high and support systems don’t yet have the tools to respond effectively.
Those experiences don’t replace clinical training—but they do shape how I sit with people: steady, respectful, and grounded when things feel overwhelming.
Returning to education in my early twenties changed the direction of my life. Studying psychology and later social work helped me make sense of experiences that once felt unmanageable and gave me a framework for understanding why people struggle the way they do.
I do this work because I’ve seen what’s possible when people are given the right support, structure, and time. And because no one should have to navigate this alone.
My Therapy Style & Approach
My style is active, collaborative, and grounded. I'm warm and direct, and I will challenge patterns when it's clinically appropriate. Sessions are structured and purposeful, with attention to both emotional safety and meaningful change.
We don't rush the work, but we also don't avoid what matters.
You'll leave sessions with a clearer understanding, practical strategies, and a shared sense of direction. Therapy is not something done to you; it's something we build together.
The expectation isn't perfection, just a willingness to keep showing up, even when it's uncomfortable.
My Clinical Philosophy
I work from the belief that people develop coping patterns for understandable reasons — and that lasting change comes from learning safer, more effective ways to respond when emotions run high.
My work is grounded in DBT and EFFT, with a focus on building practical skills, increasing emotional awareness, and strengthening relationships. Therapy with me is collaborative, structured, and active. I do not approach therapy as fixing what is "wrong," but as supporting people in developing greater stability, agency, and self-respect.
Expertise & Training
I am a Registered Mental Health Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and hold a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto. I spent over seven years providing clinical services at an established Dialectical Behaviour Therapy clinic in Toronto before founding my own practice.
My training includes:
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
DBT for Children (DBT-C)
DBT for Adolescents (DBT-A)
Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT)
DBT-Prolonged Exposure for trauma (DBT-PE)
Multidiagnostic Eating Disorder DBT (MED-DBT)
Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Reaching out can feel daunting, especially if you’ve been struggling for a long time or have tried therapy before without relief.
If you're ready to begin building a different relationship with your emotions and your life, book a free 15-minute consultation to see if working together feels like the right fit.