Threshold Psychology

06/03/2026

Completing our team is the lovely Liz Ferrell (she/her). Liz has joined our team full time and is eager to accept new clients. We are thrilled to have her at Threshold Psychology. Please read her bio for more information.

​I am a Registered Counselling Therapist (candidate) licensed by the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists. I completed my Bachelor of Science (Honours) in chemistry and my Bachelor of Education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. I have always been passionate about working with adolescents so I began working as a junior high school French teacher in Hamilton, Ontario in 2016. In 2019 I participated in the CIS Ontario Supporting Student’s Wellbeing Conference and it helped cement my decision to change my career path to a focus on student mental health. Following the conference I became interested in bringing mindfulness into my school community. During the COVID-19 pandemic I ran a virtual mindfulness program for the entire school based on Dr. Laurie Santos’ “The Science of Wellbeing” course. When we returned to in-person learning I started a mindfulness club that focused on teaching co-regulation through grounding skills. From 2019 to 2021 I volunteered as a Crisis Responder with Kids Help Phone and I gained valuable experience supporting youth experiencing a variety of mental health crises. In 2021 I began my Masters of Counselling Psychology with Yorkville University. By 2022, my husband and I had moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia where I completed my practicum placement at Veith House in the North End of Halifax. During my eight months of practicum at Veith House I supported low income adults coping with complex trauma. I graduated in May 2023 and began working as a Registered Counselling Therapist (candidate) supporting children and youth, many of whom were in the temporary or permanent care of the Minister of Community Services. Through this work I became interested in using mindfulness to help children and youth cope with emotional dysregulation, attachment difficulties, anxiety, ADHD, and depression. I have done training in play therapy and emotional regulation through the Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute and I use many aspects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) in my practice. In May 2025 my daughter, Addison, was born. After a year of maternity leave I am excited to start supporting families in the Threshold Psychology community. I enjoy working closely with families to help them understand what is driving their children’s behaviour. My goal each session is to help both the child and their caregivers feel safe, seen, and supported.

06/01/2026

Threshold is honoured to welcome our “newest” associate. The South Shore just hit the jackpot. Penny has trained most of the psychologists in this province and is well known for her work ethic. She was my professor, my supervisor, and my first employer. Our latest collaboration was teaching child assessment at Dalhousie in the PhD program in 2022. Pumped we are back together again. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Welcome Dr. Corkum.

Dr. Penny Corkum
Registered Psychologist, PhD
I have had a wonderful 25-year career as an academic and a registered psychologist. My goal has been to have a synergy between my clinical work and my research so that my clinical work informs my research and my research solves problems that are important to my clients. As a researcher, I have built and evaluated programs to help children sleep better and to help teachers know how to work better with children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and Learning Disabilities. I have published over 130 scientific journal articles detailing my research. I recently received a Distinguished Research Professor award by Dalhousie University, where I have worked since 2001 (prior to this I worked at Mount Saint Vincent University where I was fortunate to supervise a lovely, smart, and clinically gifted student – Kelly – the owner of Threshold Psychology!). In addition to research, I have also taught undergraduate and graduate students about child psychology. I have trained over 175 students how to conduct child assessments, which means I have trained many of the psychologists in Nova Scotia. While working as a professor, I also was active clinically and led an ADHD Clinic in Truro for 20 years. In 2025, I was awarded the Dr. Charles J.A. Hayes Lifetime Contribution Award from the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia, which was in recognition of my work supporting the profession of psychology at the provincial, national, and international level. In 2026, I was honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association in recognition of my contributions to research, teaching, clinical practice, leadership, and the mentorship of students and early-career professionals. I recently moved to the beautiful South Shore of NS and want to continue my clinical work in this area. It feels like home to be living in the South Shore as my ancestors were among the first settlers in the region. I love the beauty of this area and spend time enjoying this, particularly on the water!

05/29/2026

Grateful to SchoolsPlus and this community for inviting me to Oak Island this morning to speak to a great group of young people. I love this community ❤️

05/26/2026

First day at our new place. I can’t express how it feels to welcome our first clients into this beautiful space. It’s been a 3 year journey of a dream that took shape many years ago. The beginning of our new chapter. So excited to welcome everyone here. Threshold Psychology is expanding and soon I will be one member of a great team of service providers. Looking forward to using our community space to host PD opportunities. There are many people to thank in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned.

05/05/2026

I have spent 25 years in classrooms from Primary through high school which means I have watched a lot of teachers do their thing. The school system is struggling. I don’t think it ever recovered from “Work to Rule”. The climate has changed, parents have changed, expectations have changed. However one thing that has remained the same is that watching a competent teacher is like watching a magic show. You have no idea how they are doing what they are doing. How they juggle the social-emotional needs of kids, the curriculum expectations, the distractions, the loud opinions of others, the lack of resources, and lack of community is beyond me. I have been privileged to share space with the most competent teachers. I know I don’t have the skills to do what they do. Most people don’t. If we want things to change let’s start with supporting them better. No teacher will stay unless they feel that what they are doing matters. Happy Teacher Appreciation week to all those teachers who have welcomed me into their classrooms, take the time to consult with me, complete long interviews with me in their free time and show up over and over again at meetings. I see you and we all appreciate you.

04/12/2026

Threshold Psychology is expanding. We are looking for Registered Psychologists and Registered Counselling Therapists who work with school-aged children and teens and are interested in conducting assessments for neurodevelopmental disorders and/or therapy. You will be working in Mahone Bay out of a brand new building which consists of 3 offices, a therapy space, 2 assessment rooms and a beautiful community space perfect for groups. We are open to casual, part time and full time associates. If you are interested please check out our website and feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] or by calling 902-514-1625. Spread the word. We are growing!

We're currently operating out of our office on Sawpit Road in Lunenburg in hopes of moving to our newly constructed purpose built clinic on Wye Street in Mahone Bay in June.

02/14/2023

On a day dedicated to love, the topic of social connection seems relevant to me. Longevity is not best predicted by physical health determinants. It’s predicted by how much we connect, engage, and mingle with each other. I believe that loneliness is the next public health crisis. We need an action plan to get us out of our houses, off technology and out in our community spending time with others. I hope that you are surrounded by people who love and care about you today.

The Italian island of Sardinia has more than six times as many centenarians as the mainland and ten times as many as North America. Why? According to longevi...

11/13/2022

So honoured to have been asked to be the Keynote Speaker in the MK Board. I can’t say enough about how lovely my audience was and how welcome the women in this photo made me feel. Visiting Cape Breton in the fall is always a real treat.

10/28/2022

Attending the 2022 Psychologists in Schools Association with Dr. Bryon McClure whom amongst his many accomplishments is a School Psychologist. So much great discussion about traditional school psychology practices, why current assessment models are failing and how we can better support our students.

10/24/2022

“Trying to live a life of certainty is an endless quest.”

The year leading up to the opening of Threshold Psychology was not an easy one. Although I so desperately wanted to take the risk, I was often overwhelmed with uncertainty: Am I worthy? Shouldn’t my current job just be enough? What if I fail? What if I end up in financial ruin?

I waited until the last moment to resign from my 21 year career in public education. I was physically sick with the endless playing of the “what if” game.

I chose to take the risk despite my mind and my body saying don’t do it. Why? Because nothing is certain. Nothing is permanent. And living a life you think is safe doesn’t allow for great reward.

One month in and I’m feeling grateful that I didn’t listen to my inner critic. Onward and upward.