Practice information:

Welcoming You...Thank you for taking a moment to learn about me and how I work.  For what seems to be most of my life, I've been centered in a strong and heartfelt motivation to really contribute in this world.  I love what I do.  

I recognize that each of us struggles from time to time.  We're human.  We experience adversity.  We experience life's transitions.  It's all part of living and being in this world.  I also appreciate that it can take some courage to ask for help, especially if this is the first time you are contemplating the experience of counselling.

As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, I meet each person with openness, respect and high regard.  My approach is to work together with others...to look at your struggle with you, decide what would be most helpful to you and work to achieve the outcomes that fit well for you.  Each of us has our own unique lived experience, an experience that I both honour and respect throughout the counselling process.  Effective counselling is growth-oriented, goal-directed and strengths-based, so we won't simply 'talk about it'.  A key outcome in my counselling approach is to help you experience the changes that not only resolve the struggles or issues you are experiencing but also increase your self-worth so you feel more capable and confident.

I opened my private practice in 2003 and I continue to offer counselling to youth, adults, couples and families.  As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, I seek to create a context of safety and confidentiality in a welcoming and comfortable office space in Coquitlam, B.C.  I also bring with me over two decades of service working with youth, families, foster parents and employees in both paid and volunteer roles with the not-for-profit sector.   With a central focus on interpersonal communication and relationships, I believe that we experience and learn much about ourselves through relating to and with others.  I offer help with struggles such as:

• Meeting new demands on flexibility and tolerance
• Identifying patterns and resolving conflicts
• Preparing for and adjusting to changes in a couple's relationship--moving in together, marriage, unexpected life crises, separation, and divorce
• Parenting, including foster parenting
• Supporting the process of working through loss and grief
• Managing transitions from childhood to adolescence, and from adolescence to the early years as adults--either as a parent or as a young dependent
• Meeting the challenges of caregiving.

As a Registered Clinical Counsellor (# 1954) I abide by the Code of Ethical Conduct and Standards of Clinical Practice of the B.C. Association of Clinical Counsellors.  I am also a Clinical Member of the Satir Institute of the Pacific.  I am a daughter, a partner as well as a parent of two young adults.  I continue to expand and deepen my skills and knowledge through my life experiences and ongoing professional development.

Thank you for your time, and I welcome your enquiry.

"Honour Your Humanness...Each of us is a Learner in this life...change and growth is possible."

--Moira Haagen