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When school and clinical psychologist Katelyn Bryant began working with children and families through Western’s Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic (MJW-CYDC), she expected big emotions and tears would follow a child’s psychological diagnoses. What she was surprised to find was that in some cases, the tears were happy.   “It’s a display of gratitude that families are finally able to get the answers they’re looking for. It’s rewarding to put parents’ minds and hearts a little bit at ease with the work we’re doing,” said Bryant, assistant director at MJW-CYDC, a training and community psychology clinic within Western’s Faculty of Education. Since 2017, the clinic has offered psychological assessment, intervention and consultation services to over 1,700 families in London, Ont., and surrounding area.   Psychological services are typically very expensive to access in Ontario, with a recent survey of psychologists across the province suggesting that typical fees for assessment, intervention and consultation exceed $230 per hour. The MJW-CYDC offers these services at a reduced cost, with subsidies available for families in financial need, and with shorter wait times compared to private psychological care.  In addition to providing services directly to families, the clinic works in partnership with community agencies to address gaps for children and youth struggling to access needed psychology support.   The MJW-CYDC is also a training ground for graduate students learning to become psychologists through Western’s school and applied child psychology program.   

Care in practice 

Throughout her childhood, Western PhD student Abigail Withers looked up to her mother, a kindergarten teacher. After volunteering in her mother’s classroom, Withers discovered a passion for working with children. She was particularly drawn to deeper one-on-one work with individual children and their families, which can be limited in a teaching role. A simple Google search containing “jobs where you work with kids” helped guide her career path into psychology.   Now in the third year of her PhD in school and applied child psychology at Western, Withers is a graduate student clinician at MJW-CYDC. There, she – and her fellow graduate students – work alongside community partners, including London Health Science Centre (LHSC) and Vanier Children’s Mental Wellness (Vanier), to provide psychological services for children and families in need.   “It’s been quite moving for me to see how taking our time and really building relationships can be so impactful, especially for young kids,” said Withers.  

 

Joint Western, hospital assessment program 

Western PhD students in school and applied child psychology, supervised by registered psychologists at the MJW-CYDC, aim to address service gaps for children and youth while gaining hands-on training.  

“A lot of what we do is make recommendations, but we are really interested in getting curious. We’re kind of like detectives.” – Abigail Withers, PhD student in school and applied child psychology

As a graduate student clinician, Withers works in two of MJW-CYDC’s community partnership programs, the Kids Interdisciplinary Developmental Insights (KIDI) project with LHSC and Early Intervention Program with Vanier, all under the supervision of clinic directors Katelyn Bryant and Colin King.  The KIDI program pairs the psychology team at MJW-CYDC with developmental pediatricians at LHSC to offer expedited psychological assessments for children with suspected developmental disabilities. Psychologists provide critical testing that other health professionals can’t offer.   Without that testing administered by psychologists, medical providers are unable to make life-changing diagnoses, such as intellectual disability.  After diagnosis through KIDI, families can also access needed follow up through MJW-CYDC.    

Early Intervention Program with Vanier 

Vanier’s Early Intervention Program offers an alternative kindergarten for children whose needs challenge the capacity of their community schools. Full-day educational programming is run in three classrooms with up to six students per class, alongside support from mental health professionals who provide daily support and regular therapy.   Before the MJW-CYDC team joined in 2023, Vanier’s Early Intervention Program did not have a dedicated psychologist.  

“It’s helpful to identify and start supporting or intervening with those issues as early as possible. The sooner we start providing support, the sooner we understand what’s going on and the more likely it is we can actually change kids’ trajectories.” – Katelyn Bryant, assistant director, Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic

The MJW-CYDC psychology team works in collaboration with Vanier to offer insight into why children may be struggling with behaviour and what approach may be most effective. They also offer psychological assessments to children who may benefit from early identification and diagnostic services.    As well as providing accessible essential services, psychology students are gaining hands-on experience working in a clinical environment.   “I’ve really been able to see the impact. Just being with the kids, that relationship can be healing for some children,” said Withers.

 

Collaborating so ‘all kids can access supports’ 

Withers and Bryant hope initiatives like KIDI and the Early Intervention Program can reshape how children and families access psychology support in London, Ont. and beyond.   For Withers, the impact is rooted in relationships built in the community. She recalled her work within the Early Intervention Program. Initially, she stood back, watching the activities and students, so they would learn to see her as a consistent presence in the classroom.   “I spent probably the first six months just going and being there, observing and watching,” said Withers. “Fast forward to now, I’ve fostered relationships that are supportive and connected, with not only the children but the staff as well.” That experience reinforced for Withers how important it is to move at the child’s pace, prioritize patience and focus on building strong relationships. She also stressed the need for early identification and intervention, increased accessibility and multi-disciplinary collaboration to improve and expand child mental health care.   The average wait time for a psychological assessment in the Thames Valley District School Board has doubled since 2025. Bryant said this trend is a small example of the broader difficulties families face when trying to access community-based psychology assessments.   With programs like those offered by MJW-CYDC, psychological care becomes more accessible to more families. Withers said she hopes students will be able to carry forward what they have learned through these programs to make a difference in the local community and beyond.  For Bryant, the clinic’s work reinforces the vital role psychologists can play in community education and health-care systems.  

“One of the things we can uniquely offer as psychologists is the ability to try to put together a variety of different aspects of kids’ emotional, social, behavioral and developmental functioning. Then, we’re able to understand kids more holistically, so we’re not just seeing one piece of the puzzle.” – Katelyn Bryant, assistant director, Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic

Bryant hopes the partnerships between Western, LHSC and Vanier can inspire broader collaboration across sectors that serve children and youth.   “We need to work together and do things differently so all kids can access supports they need in a timely way.”  Learn more about how Western is optimizing health for all.