Rebecca May, RP
Rebecca May is a Registered Psychotherapist (#18034). She completed her MA in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University and received advanced training in systemic family therapy through the Institute of Family Practice in Australia. Rebecca works primarily with adults and couples, supporting the emotional, relational, and identity transitions that often emerge throughout midlife.
Over the course of her work, Rebecca developed The Space Between Philosophy, a framework that explores what happens in the often-overlooked space between people. Rather than focusing solely on individual behaviours or internal experiences, this philosophy examines how assumptions, expectations, unspoken needs, values, communication patterns, and differing life experiences shape relationships. At its core is the belief that many relational struggles are not caused by a lack of care, but by misunderstanding what exists in the space between people.
Rebecca’s approach helps clients increase awareness of these dynamics, understand themselves more clearly, and develop more intentional ways of relating to the people who matter most.
Supporting Midlife Transitions & Managing Chronic Stress
Rebecca’s work is shaped by a rich and varied professional background. Alongside psychotherapy, she has worked as a business consultant and project manager and has spent more than two decades teaching Latin dance and Kids Hip Hop. Having navigated international relocation, major career changes, marriage, and parenting, she understands firsthand how life transitions can challenge a person’s sense of identity, confidence, and direction.
Her clients often seek support with:
- Couples therapy
- Becoming a parent
- Career transitions
- Relocation
- Separation or dating after separation
- Workplace stress and burnout
- Grief and loss
Rebecca helps clients recognize how chronic stress can accumulate over time and contribute to anxiety, low mood, sleep difficulties, emotional reactivity, and persistent overthinking. Her work focuses on helping people slow down, reconnect with their values, strengthen self-awareness, and make decisions that align with the life they want to create.
Grounded in The Space Between Philosophy, Rebecca believes that meaningful change occurs when people better understand both themselves and the relational environments they inhabit. Just as learning a dance requires awareness of one’s own movement while responding to a partner, healthier relationships often begin with understanding what is happening in the space between us.
Couples & Relationship Therapy
Working with couples is a central passion in Rebecca’s practice. Married for over a decade and raising three young children, she understands the realities of balancing careers, parenting responsibilities, household demands, and the desire to maintain a strong connection with a partner.
Many couples arrive feeling disconnected, stuck in recurring patterns, uncertain how to move forward, or longing to feel understood again.
Rebecca has specialized training in the Gottman Method and integrates concepts from systemic therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emotionally focused approaches, and strength-based practice. Her work helps couples:
- Reduce conflict and reactivity
- Strengthen emotional connection and intimacy
- Improve communication and understanding
- Repair recurring relationship injuries
- Rebuild trust and security
- Develop shared values, vision, and meaning
Central to this work is helping couples understand what is happening in the space between them. Often, the challenge is not simply what each partner is doing, but how their intentions, experiences, expectations, vulnerabilities, and communication styles interact. By increasing awareness of these relational dynamics, couples can move beyond blame and begin creating new patterns of connection.
Rebecca provides a warm, transparent, and collaborative environment where couples can learn practical relationship skills while building appreciation for one another’s strengths. She believes that even long-standing challenges can become opportunities for growth when both partners are willing to engage in the process.
The Space Between Philosophy
The Space Between Philosophy emerged from Rebecca’s observation that most relationship difficulties occur not within a person, but within the interaction between people.
Whether in couples, families, friendships, workplaces, or parent-child relationships, individuals often interpret situations through their own experiences, values, beliefs, and unmet needs. What seems obvious to one person may be invisible to another. Good intentions can coexist with misunderstandings. Care can exist alongside hurt. People can be deeply committed to one another while struggling to understand the impact they have on each other.
The Space Between Philosophy encourages curiosity about these relational processes rather than quick assumptions or blame. It focuses on increasing awareness, fostering accountability, improving communication, and helping people develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others.
Rebecca believes that when we learn to understand the space between people, we create greater opportunities for connection, repair, resilience, and growth.
Personal Background & Interests
Originally from Australia, Rebecca moved to Canada in 2012 and still enjoys returning home when possible to reconnect with family and revisit the beaches she grew up around. Outside her clinical practice, she teaches Hip Hop to children and Latin dance to adults, pursuits that continue to reinforce her appreciation for learning, connection, and personal growth.
Most importantly, she values time with her husband and their three young children. The ongoing experience of balancing family life, career, relationships, and personal aspirations continues to shape both her work and her understanding of what it means to navigate life’s transitions with intention and resilience.