Practice information:

My name is Jody and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with an office in Victoria, BC.  I have both in-person and online sessions available with immediate availability.

Hello, thank you for your interest in my services.  As a trauma and relationship therapist, I am passionate about helping people build robust, fulfilling lives through healthy relationships.  I empower individuals to break free from patterns of insecure attachment caused by early childhood trauma and develop the skills and awareness necessary to create strong, meaningful connections with self and others.  When we experience early childhood trauma, those experiences, and the emotions that we feel can get trapped in the body.   This results in dysregulation of the nervous system causing emotional and relational distress and anxiety.  The issues that arise from early childhood trauma include traumatic stress, substance use, affect dysregulation, anxiety, depression, grief and loss (including suicide survivors and pet loss) body image, and self-esteem issues among others.  These are many of the issues that I can help with.

My goal is to facilitate the repair of relational wounds through a Somatic Attachment lens.  This means that I use the nervous system, and the counselling relationship as a guide through the counselling process.  I draw upon concepts from Polyvagal Theory, Attachment Theory, and Interpersonal Neurobiology to assist you in feeling a greater connection to yourself and others.  Somatic counselling helps to increase self-awareness and the release of trauma in the body.  This is done through attention to emotions, gestures, and sensations in the body throughout the counselling session.  Working in this way helps to restore emotional self-regulation and resilience allowing greater capacity for presence in the body.  This goes beyond conventional talk therapy and symptom management- this is processing emotional content through the body to bring resolution to anxiety.

In our sessions together, I provide an attuned, nonjudgmental nurturing, and empathetic space for you.  If you have experienced trauma, the idea of connecting to your body may feel uncomfortable and foreign to you.  To assist the discomfort, the focus of our time together will be on building relationship, trust, and safety, going slowly, allowing space to process, to build awareness and connection to yourself.

I was born and grew up on Vancouver Island and Victoria.  I deeply appreciate the mild climate and the numerous opportunities for walking in and around Victoria.  I received a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria in 2004 and have worked in Mental Health and Substance Use for the past 14 years.  I went on to graduate with a Master’s in Counselling from City University of Seattle in 2021.  I have been operating private practice since then.

I invite you to contact me for a complimentary consultation to see if we are a good therapeutic fit.