Samantha is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. She is currently completing her fifth-year residency with the Toronto Area Residency Consortium (TARC). Her research interests focus on key factors in long-term relationship satisfaction, masculinity and sexuality, and compulsive sexual behaviour. Her doctoral research examines how men experience the disclosure of sexual secrets to long-term partners, and how this disclosure impacts both their relationships and their self-perception. Drawing on feminist principles, she examines how gender socialization impacts men’s emotional worlds and the patterns that emerge in their intimate relationships.

Known for her warmth, openness, and authenticity, Samantha is dedicated to supporting individual adults and couples across the gender spectrum as they navigate a wide range of sexual and relational concerns. Her clinical work addresses issues such as erectile or ejaculatory difficulties, pain during sex, low desire or mismatched libidos, infidelity and trust ruptures, deepening emotional and sexual connection, trauma, sexual shame, sexual identity and orientation exploration, navigating neurodivergence in relationships and intimacy, compulsive or distressing pornography use, and challenges or curiosities related to kink or consensual non-monogamy.

Throughout her doctoral training, Samantha has worked in a variety of clinical and medical settings, including the Berkeley Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic, Tree of Life Family Wellness Center, and Medical Hill Healthcare Center, where she specialized in neuropsychological assessment. Prior to her doctoral training, Samantha spent over seven years working with a large bilingual mental health and addictions agency in Ottawa, where she researched and developed housing and substance use programs for unhoused and precariously housed communities—reflecting her longstanding commitment to social justice and systems-level change. She has provided both individual and group therapy to individuals experiencing substance use challenges and severe mental illness, working across detox facilities, harm-reduction–based transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing programs.

Samantha’s therapeutic approach is deeply relational, integrating evidence-based practices such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She honours each client’s unique capacity for self-insight and growth, while remaining attuned to the complex interplay of socioeconomic background, intersectional identity, generational history, and broader systems of oppression. She is attentive to power dynamics within the therapeutic relationship and fosters a collaborative, reflective space where clients are supported in exploring their sense of agency, deepening their emotional insight, and understanding relational patterns. Samantha also draws on her extensive training and experience as a yoga and meditation instructor to support present-moment awareness, both within and beyond the therapy room.

Samantha is supervised by Dr. Morag Yule, C. Psych. Samantha is available for virtual sessions throughout the week, with limited daytime availability, and offers appointments in the evenings and on select weekends.

Samantha Johnston is currently on leave and not taking clients.

Please note that our clinicians work with many presenting issues, some of which are not listed in this biography. Please speak to our intake team at intake@ontariosextherapy.ca for more information.