Welcome!
Location: My office is located in Rockingham, centrally located 15 minutes from downtown Halifax, Bedford, Lower Sackville, and Dartmouth (if driving). It is along a major bus route, near Bayer's Lake shopping.
Background: My training and experience includes topics that focus on trauma and crisis counselling, relationships, grief, and self empowerment. I have worked with thousands of youth and families who bring their own unique stories to our sessions. I support people through extraordinarily stressful circumstances, as well as through exciting but challenging goals and transitions. As a mental health counsellor, I have inside understanding of what it is like for front line workers, trying to balance personal life and goals with the demands of their jobs. I understand and witness the impacts of stress on people who are working in high-demanding public service careers, and I strive to help people's lives improve through our sessions. I also have a lot of experience supporting performers as they develop character, confidence, and show stopping choreography. I am a sexual health educator (opt certified) and this influences my work in the therapeutic setting. I work with survivors of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I am also able to support people who are ready to look at their role as offender, through a compassionate lens.
I support people from where they are at, with understanding of how family systems, culture, social media, and systems of oppression and privilege influence our psychological and personal development. I have worked for 25 years as a counsellor in BC (serving students and families in schools K-12, and in private practice), and I am dedicated to professional development that reflects the needs of my clients. My background includes working with people with addiction, complex trauma, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, anxiety and depressive disorders, self harm, disordered eating, dysmorphia, grief, family and relational conflict, burnout, codependency, and topics of self identity and sexuality. Email me for a consultation to see if we are a good fit.
Play, movement, and circus therapy For those who are wanting a different experience than narrative approaches to healing, I offer a more somatic approach to therapy and mental health. We can learn a lot about our patterns and internal barriers through play, and how we approach new experiences. Building confidence and self awareness can be a pleasurable journey, and play can make the challenging topics easier to access. Circus, in it's many forms, can help with PTSD, ADHD, and other dysregulating conditions, while also helping build confidence, communication, and self awareness skills. I have a large collection of circus gear and props for client to explore in a confidential space.
Wardrobe Therapy: Clients have the opportunity to explore a large collection of clothes and costumes to support personal wellbeing. This opportunity is for people who are interested in trying on clothes that better reflect your inner self, your authentic culture, or you simply want to broaden and explore your self concept without the restriction or pressure of peers, society, or other influences that may be holding you back. Sometimes having privacy and support in this process allows for greater exploration of personal expression, eliminating elements that may cause fear of judgment. Clients who are preparing for an event or a performance can also bring your own outfit, and our session together will allow for personal growth and confidence as we work through your inner dialogue, thoughts and feelings as you reflect while wearing the outfit. It can also be a great way to work through performance anxiety, social anxiety, and even childhood wounds! For people who are exploring gender expression and and presentation, this process can be very liberating and informative.
In person or on line
