Michael Lum

About Me

I’m Michael, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), MACP, and I offer virtual therapy across Ontario. I work with people navigating grief, loss, trauma, emotional overwhelm, and major life changes, especially when those experiences leave life feeling unfamiliar or difficult to put into words.

My approach is rooted in a psychoanalytic foundation and integrates CBT, mindfulness, and person-centred care. In practice, that means I pay attention to the deeper emotional patterns, relationships, and experiences that shape how you move through the world, while also helping you develop practical ways to cope, reflect, and respond to what is happening in the present.

I aim to offer a space that is thoughtful, steady, and non-judgmental. Therapy with me is about making room for what is true, understanding what you are carrying, and working toward meaningful change at a pace that feels right for you.

Why This Work Matters to Me

This work is shaped not only by professional training, but also by personal experience. After the death of my wife, and in learning to navigate grief as a widowed parent, I came to understand more deeply how loss can touch every part of a person’s life.

That experience did not give me answers for anyone else’s pain, and I do not assume that my story is the same as yours. What it has given me is a deeper sense of compassion, humility, and respect for the uniqueness of each person’s process.

I also know how job loss, career transition, relationship loss, and other major life changes can affect identity, stability, and hope. These experiences continue to inform the care, steadiness, and respect I bring to this work.

Experience and Background

My professional experience includes psychotherapy at The Mind People, crisis intervention at Distress Centre Halton, grief support with Bereaved Families of Ontario, and hospice care at Dorothy Ley Hospice.

These roles have allowed me to support people facing acute distress, emotional pain, bereavement, illness, caregiving, and the realities of loss. I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) from Yorkville University. Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years in another career and later experienced the disorientation of career change myself. That background continues to shape my appreciation for the courage it can take to begin again when life no longer feels familiar.