About Us

Cynthia Galloway, HBSc, MEd (Counselling Psychology), RD, CCC
Psychotherapist / Nutrition Therapist

Cynthia Galloway initially trained to be a registered dietitian, graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 with concurrent degrees in biology and human nutrition, after which she completed a one-year clinical nutrition internship at Hamilton General Hospital. After more than a decade working with eating disorder clients, she decided to return to school to obtain a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology in recognition of the interwoven nature of eating behaviours and psychological issues.

After obtaining her MEd, Cynthia went on to gain additional psychotherapy experience through the completion of an Advanced Training Program in Couple and Family Therapy at Family Services London. While she continued to work with eating disorder clients, she discovered her interest and fascination in working with couples. She therefore completed the Certificate Program in Couple and Family Therapy Studies at the University of Guelph, as well as numerous hours of couple therapy supervision. Since couples frequently present for counselling because of sexual issues, Cynthia also completed the Sex Therapy Intensive Training Program and additional supervision of her clinical sex therapy practice.

Cynthia’s approach thus combines aspects of Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy learned as a dietitian, as well as Family Systems Theory which recognizes families are systems of interconnected and interdependent individuals and that no individual can be understood in isolation from the family system.

In her work with couples, Cynthia incorporates principles from Gottman’s Couple Therapy Method to increase positive exchanges, avoid “harsh start ups” which trigger negative responses, improve both self-soothing and promote turning toward each other for comfort and connection. She also draws on Emotion Focused Therapy to create a shift in couples’ interactional patterns and initiate new cycles of interaction, thereby fostering the creation of a secure bond between couples.

When working with women struggling with eating disorders, Cynthia helps them to examine the effects of social expectations to enable them to assign less importance to appearance and conforming to a cultural standard and more on being themselves. She also helps clients gain insight into what purpose their food and weight-related or other problem behaviours are fulfilling and what healthier means are available to meet those needs. Work with clients often includes working through past trauma, boundary issues, interpersonal difficulties, and self-esteem and body issues.

To aid those dealing with histories of trauma, Cynthia is also trained in EMDR.