What brings you here today?

For 18 years, this has been the first question I ask my clients as I take my seat across from them.

For many, they start with a deep breath as they consider how to answer that question… often tears come before a single word…

Perhaps it’s grief that brings you here… or the profound emptiness that follows loss… or depression, or anxiety… maybe nothing makes sense anymore… you’re ‘supposed’ to be happy, but you’re not… perhaps confusion brings you here… indecision, even desperation… maybe it’s your hurt or anger over a relationship, or determination and readiness to look at past pain and how it impacts the present… Maybe the strongest part of you brings you here today…

How ever you answer this question, you will be met with compassion, acceptance, and non-judgement. I believe that psychological healing can only happen in a place of emotional safety. From that place of safety and collaboration, we then explore the parts of you that are in pain; that feel stuck. Long-hidden emotions can be felt and expressed. We also explore those behaviours, strategies, and ‘core beliefs’ that offered you safety at one time, but do not serve you anymore.

The counselling process allows you to tell your story… go back to your story… this time with compassion at your side… this time not alone. When we change the relationship we have with ourselves, there is a ripple effect. We begin to change the way we are with others and who we are in the world.

I fundamentally believe that the potential for healing is always present… always walking along side our pain. I see this everyday in everyone I work with.

I have a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, California. I have been a Registered Psychologist in Alberta since 2002. My work is influenced by several modalities and theories: Attachment theories, Trauma theories/research, Internal Family Systems, and Analytic Psychotherapy. I am certified in Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy and currently training in AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy).