I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. I have a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University.
In my private practice, my clincial focus is the mental health and wellness of individual adults and seniors, including issues like anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, grief, relationships, communication, and personal development. I have post graduate training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I am certified by the Justice Institute of BC in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and I participate in ongoing training in the area of behavioural medicine.
I have presented and co-presented on topics like mindfulness, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, grief, and stress to stakeholders and groups including the TEC CEO Group, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and the BC Nurses Union. I have provided individual, crisis, and career counselling services and have led psychoeducational / process groups in higher-education settings. Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked for thirteen years as a litigation and historical researcher in the area of cultural genocide and transgenerational trauma.
I have a strong interest in workplace mental health, particularly as it applies to first responders, medical professionals, and other high-stress occupations. I have completed training in first responder trauma and resilience, and am endorsed as a ‘culturally competent clinician’ by the British Columbia Professional Firefighters Association (BCPFFA). I have worked with groups of medical students and medical residents addressing issues like stress, burnout, moral injury, and self-care, and I have served a supporting role in therapeutic enactment groups for military veterans.
I have two decades of experience using mindfulness, meditation, and movement to cope with anxiety and depression, raise mood, and enhance self-awareness. My graduate research investigated the skill of being mindfully detached from difficult experiences in a healthy way. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200, not active) with training in trauma-informed yoga.