Getting to know me

Welcome.  I am Registered Clinical Counsellor (#3637) in Vancouver with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. I have my Masters in Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia. I have worked in the Substance use, trauma and mental health field for the past 20 years with a focus on teens, young adults and their families. The last 5 years I have spent mostly working with young adults, adults and parents supporting a child with a mental health concern. I am a member of EMDR Canada and have been endorsed by the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association at the Silver Level for First Responder Training.

My family is of British, Welsh and Irish descent and I live in the beautiful and unceeded Territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm - Musquem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-Squamish and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ -Tsleil-Waututh Nations. I am also the mom of a teenager and a tween and live with my husband and my dog who keeps me learning every day :)

Throughout my life I have had this openness to speak to others and hear their stories. I savoured hearing my grandparents tell stories of their childhoods, their family secrets and their yearnings. People seemed to talk to me, walk up to me, on the bus, in a café and people would tell me their stories. Now, helping people tell their stories is my life’s work.

In the beginning, clients I support often reach out because of feelings of low self-worth, nagging anxiety, conflict in relationships, and lack of meaning and purpose. They may blame themselves, or feel resentful and angry, or just feel numb.

At their core, my clients are often coping with hurt, grief and loss, and which can lead to disconnection from themselves, their families and culture.

Maybe this describes the way you’re feeling too?

For many who find me, there is often an intergenerational story of pain, survival and strength. Strength and resiliency have enabled them to survive and manage until things start to fall apart and they are left feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and cope in ways that are no longer helpful. 

Who I work with

Teens, adults and families come to me to uncover and acknowledge those strengths as well as work together on tools, skills and perspectives that can help you be present in the moment.

I can support you during the storms of supporting a loved one with an addiction, trauma or serious mental health concerns. Partner, parent, sibling, colleague, friend or child, there is a web of people affected when these problems show up in our relationships. 

As a frontline substance use and mental health counsellor for many in years in the community I also know the first hand impacts of occupational stress in the workplace and the resiliency that workers have in various fields to do their jobs. My hope is to support you in building your resiliency so that you can continue to do the work you want to do.

Some of the reasons people come see me:

·     Trauma

·     Substance Abuse and Compulsive Behaviours

·     Relationships 

·     Depression and Anxiety

·     Transition into Parenting

·     Occupational Stress

·     And others…….

How I Work

You will find that I am compassionate, non-judgemental, and skilled at supporting you and I am committed to supporting you through the storm. The first step is moving out of the shadows, so that you can reach out and connect. 

My therapeutic approach starts with relationship building. I will collaborate with you on what it is you need, and listen to what you’ve already done to solve these problems living in your life. At my core, I work from a client-centred, holistic, trauma-informed, strengths based approach.

Based on the issues you present with I draw from different therapeutic approaches I have been trained in such as: 

·      Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT)for unhooking from painful thoughts, feelings, sensations and behaviours by learning to be in present moment/mindfulness and building a rich and meaningful life

·      Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)for depression and anxiety

·      Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills (DBT) for working with out of control emotions, difficulty in relationships, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and learning to build a life that is worth living.

·      Motivational Interviewing for working with addictions and any behaviour change you want in your life

·      Trauma informed practices such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Attachment Theory and psycho-education about neurobiology and neruoplasticity.

My style is warm and open. With your permission, I use active and experiential approaches that target the concerns you want to address. My experience and my theory of change is that if you want transformational change it needs to be experienced on all levels of awareness: body, mind and heart.

I believe we often need to look at root causes and patterns of your current difficulties. When we have the whole picture we can better understand negative beliefs we learned from experiences in our past and develop helpful and positive beliefs about your self in the present. We do this by tapping into internal resources and strengthen your connection to them through your body, emotions and mind. 

I then support you to move forwards so that you can take action that brings you closer to the person you want to be. You will learn to live in the present moment and cultivate a rich and meaningful life

I believe change is possible and I think all people are doing the best they can. Two opposing truths can be true at the same time! 

Sometimes you don’t know if you are ready for change, but I think if you are reading this you are seriously contemplating something so let’s connect and discuss your needs.

Read more about my Core Values that guide my work.