Counselling Practice Website
Practice Information
I provide therapy for pre-teens, teenagers, and adults who want support with anxiety, body image, burnout, and self-esteem struggles. While these challenges may seem separate, they often stem from unwanted intrusive thoughts, unsettling physical sensations, and the individual feeling lost in what will help. My approach is to give you practical skills and work with you to create action plans. I use ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) primarily and draw on other techniques to help clients find the best coping skills for them. I also use expressive arts therapy, which can be great for clients gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and want an alternative to talking for an entire session.
In our first few sessions, I will help you identify your values and strengths to create individualized goals both inside and outside of the therapy room. Therapy should provide space to talk about the hard things, celebrate wins, and connect on values, interests, and humor. I provide services both in person and online. Clients typically have 50 minute sessions, though some will come for 80 minutes as a longer time can be helpful in being able to dive in more and feel less rushed.
I enjoy working with neurodivergent clients (ADHD, Autism, ect) and support clients who have been diagnosed or self-identify with this label. I find ACT and expressive arts especially helpful in breaking away from the traditional talk therapy model to make counseling more comfortable and effective. I also work with individuals who have a history of sexual trauma to develop coping skills when memories and triggers come up.
I also work with clients who are in recovery from an eating disorder and/or live with AFRID (Avoidant Restrictive Intake Disorder). Goals for these clients may include trying out ‘fear foods', communicating with others about their needs, engaging in joyful movement, and building self-esteem outside of food and body image. I incorporate a harm reduction approach into my work and continue my education in inclusive care through Nalgona Positivity Pride and other BIPOC-led organizations. With over seven years of experience providing therapy for those with eating disorders, I now provide supervision and consultation to other clinicians in providing a social justice lens to eating disorder work.
If you or a loved one are looking for support, please reach out. I would love to connect!
My Values as a Counsellor:
Collaboration
“Will you tell me what to do?” - I’ll give you a couple of ideas, and then I’ll ask you what you think.
I see myself coming in with a lot of skills related to psychology, and my clients coming in with skills I don’t have, and I’m excited to learn about. I work with clients so they are involved in their own problem-solving and working through thoughts. This makes therapy more comfortable, helps me know my clients better, and is “practice” for doing this on your own outside of the therapy room.
Collaboration also models having respectful boundaries - I don’t push if clients say they don’t want to talk about a subject. We move on, and clients can always bring things up in the future when they are ready.
Kindness
The biggest feedback I get from people on why they liked working with me is my ability to accept them, see their strengths, and offer a lot of compassion and validation. So many of my clients struggle with their thoughts, saying things to themselves they would never say to someone else. I help clients make changes and work towards their goals where they feel accountable but not mean or overly critical.
What inspired me to become a therapist was the desire to help others and provide support as people work through internal and external challenges.
I can separate a person from thoughts they have that don’t align with their values, and I can separate them from a mistake they made and regret. A lot of people need to hear that to work through their shame.
Reliability
Part of the reason I love having a private practice is that it allows me to run a schedule and work with a lot of people without having to squeeze people in.
I keep my schedule so that if clients have the option of a ‘standing appointment’, meaning we meet at the same time weekly, biweekly, or monthly. I never want my clients to have to wait too long in between appointments and lack consistency in their care. I also have flexibility so that clients who have shift work or have to move a session due to an exam or a doctor's appointment have some options.
I also communicate through emails about upcoming times off and additional support (if requested). I let clients and their loved ones know what I can or can’t do in terms of communication, confidentiality, and availability so that there is no vagueness in my role.
Dedication
I continue learning through trainings, readings, and research to provide the best information for my clients. If a client is feeling stuck, I will brainstorm in between sessions and bring in a new ‘tool’ to try something new. I am committed to de-stigmatizing mental health and the ways people cope when the world feels like too much, both in my work as a therapist and in my everyday life.
Creativity
Creativity makes therapy more individual. Many people I work with express themselves best through their creative side, or want to develop creativity in their lives. Both are welcome and celebrated in the therapy space. My office includes art supplies, magazines for collage, and sandtray materials. Creativity also goes beyond artistic means - I have been impressed by how a client will bring in creativity to budgeting, or how a teenager and their family will find ways to still have good quality time even when there is fighting.
Humor
It’s ok to laugh in therapy. Dark, sarcastic, silly - all types of humor are welcome!
Specialized Training
- Harm Reduction in Eating Disorder Care
Nalgona Positivity Pride
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Essentials - Level 1 and 2 Certificates
Association of Psychological Therapies
- Reclaiming Life After Trauma: Healing PTSD with Yoga, Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Embodied Philosophy
- Queering Corporate: Navigating Addiction, Perfectionism, and Gender in the Workplace
Queering Mental Health
- Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family Systems
PESI Canada
- 2-Day Dr. Dan Siegel on How Attachment, Trauma & Temperament Shape Personality
PESI Canada