Practice information:

     From broken, back to beautiful. The Japanese tradition of Kinsugi is the reverent tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold infused with resin; transforming ugly breaks into beautiful fixes. That is what I do with clients. We will do it together so you can live a fuller life, enabling you to love your flawed self, to live bigger and kinder, to know discomfort and not run away from it. To be able to self sooth in a healthy manner. To live with integrity, to accept who you are, to stop hiding yourself and to not be defined by your past. Therapy is the opportunity to take all those shattered pieces of your life and with artful repair and gold joinery, turning your ugly breaks into beautiful fixes. You have abandoned and ignored your hurt self too long, it is time to turn toward your flawed, rejected, suffering and beautiful self. No one knows about your secrets, shame, anxiety, sadness, despair, or anger. You are frightened, you feel there is something wrong with you. You live with anxiety and do not feel worthy of kindness, love or compassion. I can teach you how to do self compassion using my compassion training with Kristen Neff. When we view ourselves through the eyes of our internal critic, we become trapped in the "trance of unworthiness", unable to see our goodness. Being unworthy means we live outside the circle of life, longing to be inside. For 35 years I have worked full time in private practice and the issue that most brings people to my door is their self critic. Many of us have been told by significant others that we are failures, and are unworthy of love. We have replaced those voices of contempt with our own.  You may medicate your pain with addictions, shopping, alcohol, drugs, sex, games, food, work success, etc. You don't know happiness. It is time you listened to your wounded self. Your scarred, armoured, fragile self, longs for a safe place to be heard. In Japan the repaired vessel is often seen as more beautiful than the original one. The same could happen for you.

     My job is to create a safe space in which to bring your wounded self. Thirty-five years ago, I obtained my Masters Degree at UBC (Counselling Psychology), and completed my training as a Certified Gestalt Therapist. EMDR (Level I and II) enabled me to work skillfully with clients living with current and past trauma. Training in EFT (Tapping) and Compassion Training (Kristen Neff) gave me tools I could use to teach clients to use on their own to self sooth. The best training I received on how to be an effective therapist, was with my long term therapist, who provided a safe non-shaming place where I could bring my shattered, lonely, lost soul and place it into the kind hands of a knowledgeable, experienced, respectful, skilled and wise therapist. I endeavor to do the same for you.