My approach to counselling tends to be warm, empathetic, and holistic with a spark of optimism and even humour when appropriate. I find that deep compassion with a dash of lightheartedness in the midst of painful experiences can move us out of shame. It can be a sigh of relief: to know that you are not alone in your experiences and that someone is willing to sit with you in the darkness and yet remind you of the light on the other side.

Through my approach, I do not see symptoms as something wrong to be fixed, but rather that our experience of “symptoms” are often the ways our body has learned to regulate and protect ourself in the midst of difficult or traumatic circumstances. In a safe environment, we can process these experiences and allow our body to adopt new patterns.

I am inspired by the impact of relationships and culture on your experiences and on the healing process itself. Counselling can feel like an isolated experience, and yet mental wellness doesn’t just depend on your inner experience, but also your various relationships and sense of belonging. Very often, harm is done in the context of personal relationships, and healing also occurs within relationships - both outside of the counselling room and within the professional therapeutic relationship.

For more information on the specific counselling modalities I use, please check out the Services page.

The cornerstone of my values as a counsellor is the belief in every person’s capacity to grow, and my responsibility as the counsellor to create a space that promotes autonomy and wellbeing through my own integrity and respect for all people.

I also firmly believe in my responsibility as a counsellor to continue to learn. This accountability includes my commitment to personal development, clinical supervision, and ongoing professional development. I hold strictly to the standards of ethics as determined by the CCPA and I don’t take this role lightly.

Intersectionality is integral to my approach and values as a counsellor. This term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (no, I was not named after her, but if I could retroactively choose a namesake, it would be her), and refers to the ways that every aspect of our identity forms to create our experience of the world, and the various oppression and privilege it can create. I work to be aware of my own positionality, both the privilege and oppression that my identity holds, so that I can best support every client that walks through my doors. I am committed to ongoing learning and trainings related to cultural humility and competency.

• Bachelor of Arts, University of the Fraser Valley

• Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University

• Trained EMDR counsellor, Envision training (EMDR International Association approved)

I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) in good standing with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.