For clients who are burnout, I hear this from them:

“It’s not even that others have this expectation for me, it’s me”

“I know I need a break, but I can’t stop working ...”

“Even the smallest tasks, things I don’t use to think about feels like a demand”

“I just want to withdraw and hide, go to a beach far away from everything”

“I just explode ... start yelling and crying over something small ... my partner is shocked and confused”

Burnout can come from a variety of sources, from external events like the pandemic, from the triggering of past traumatic associations, hidden believes, and certain temperaments, like being highly sensitive, puts people at higher risk. I just want to say that you can and will recover from burnout. I hold the hope for you. Working with a therapist helps to accelerate the process and to unearth any patterns that might gotten you into that place. Do reach out to me for further conversations about working together.

What to expect in a counselling session with me:

Using a gentle and attuned presence, my clients are invited into a safe relationship with me, so that they can relax and tune into what is really happening for them at their core. Our minds have a story but our bodies have one as well. By bringing a sensitive awareness to our bodies, feelings, thoughts, and choices, my clients find themselves tuning into stresses, memories, and feelings that they had not even known existed. They often express surprise to find unmet needs and longings that have been ignored for a long time or incongruent believes and hidden assumptions that have influenced their choices and actions. What is also surprising to some is the strength, solutions, and capacities that they already have. Once brought into awareness, I work with clients to rework entrenched patterns of beliefs and behaviours that keep them stuck, refine skills that serve them, while exploring new resources, tools, and alternate ways of responding. For highly sensitive persons, working on psychological and physical boundaries to create an internal buffer of calm as you move around the world has been reported to be helpful.

What can happen in therapy…

As a result of our work together, clients often say that they feel calmer and more grounded, are able to respond to challenges in ways that reflect their inner values, and feel more fulfilled and happier. The mind-body approaches have been shown to be especially helpful for those who have experienced relational difficulties in their childhood and who are currently facing conflict with loved ones, friends, and co-workers. During the pandemic, these conflicts can be further exacerbated, gaining the support of a trained therapist can be very helpful to not only de-escalate the tension but to use this opportunity to transform entrenched patterns so as to deepened connection and intimacy.

My Training

I pull from several theoretical approaches based on the needs of my clients. My trainings, besides my Masters of Counselling from City University of Seattle in Canada, and my Masters of Experimental Medicine (UBC):

EMDR ,

Interpersonal Neurobiology,

Hakomi Comprehensive Training,

Somatic Relational Psychotherapy (Dr Lisa Montimer),

Somatic Relational Transformation (Dr Sharon Stanley; similar to Somatic Experiencing by Peter Levine),

Counselling Sexual Assault Survivors (Assoc. of Alberta Sexual Assault Services),

Neurobiology of Safety: Boundaries inside and out (by Juliane Moore),

Memory Recounsolidation (Julianne Moore)

Narrative Therapy (VSNT),

Internal Family Systems (Basic),

Gottman Couples Therapy (Level 1),

Adlerian Psychotherapy,

Systematic Training for Effective Parenting

I welcome the use of faith-based worldviews for clients who would like to incorporate this lens into their healing.