ASPIRATION & DISCOVERIES - Key Persons
Dr. Porter is a Registered Psychologist with a private practice in Clinical and Counseling psychology. Dr. Porter is currently working primarily in the field of Autism and Acquired Brain Injury.
As our clinical psychologist, Dr. Porter consults with families and our programs and groups as well as oversees programs for both funded and non-funded-clients. Dr. Porter also consults and supports us in regular staff development and parent training events, to ensure we continue to deliver a quality service with an experienced team of professionals. Dr. Porter is also available through Aspirations & Discoveries to conduct diagnostic and psychoeducational assessments.
Rachel has been working with individuals with Autism and other developmental disorders across preschool, school age, as well as adolescence to adults for over 15 years. Rachel graduated from York University with a Specialized Honor major in Psychology and continued to pursue post-graduate study at Seneca Collage with the Post-Graduated Autism Behaviour Science Certificate from Seneca College. To further enhance her ABA knowledge, Rachel completed her Master of Science Degree with specialization in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) at St. Cloud State University and finished all course work of Master of Psychology Degree at Adler Graduate Professional School, she is currently in the process of registering with the College of Psychology.
Additionally, Rachel attained certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), a certified CBT Therapist as well as an MYmind instructor (a specialized mindfulness program for children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD). Rachel is also the Chair of Autism Advisory Committee in Seneca College, and members of different professional associations. Rachel has devoted much of her time developing various professional training workshops, parent coaching programs, evidence-based staff training model.
Rachel's passion is to develop an innovative and effective environment for children and parents to learn together, as well as focus on ongoing professional staff development to support more professionals to work and help in the field. She actively attends and present research in numerous conferences across Canada, USA and Europe, and also appears as a guest speaker in various television and radio interviews to advocate effective evidence-based interventions, mental health issues, and community awareness and acceptance.