About Me

A little bit about me

Something I learned at a young age is this -  there are no others. We affect each other. We are all a part of a community. Challenging times are what connect us to our humanness, and if that pain and confusion is addressed with the right supports, it can guide us to access our strength and virtue.

If a community that surrounds a child is able to provide education and tools, is able to help the child feel supported and validated, and able to work with empowering the family system then healing and resilience are way more likely. And this is what drives my passion, helping communities help little people so that their sense of belonging and connection expands.

As a child, I did not know what to do with my feelings and had no safe sense of community or support services to help express and feel validated living with my struggles. It left me feeling like something had to be wrong deep down inside of me. I felt separate and unlovable. However, when I was able to connect with others and share my story through community and my own personal counselling, it showed me I wasn’t alone.

To support you and your family my qualifications include:

• Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor
• Certified Synergetic Play Therapist
• Bachelors in Child & Youth Care,
• Masters In Counselling Psychology
• Certificate in Expressive Arts Play Therapy
• Brainstory Certification - Neurobiology of Trauma
• Supervision in Sandtray Therapy
• Filial Family Play Therapist
• Theraplay
• Interpersonal Neurobiology Year-long Intensive
• EMDR - Child Trauma Specialist & Parent-Child Attachment Specialist

I want your child to see that their story matters.

Everyone has their own experiences of trauma, but we can help children move through their difficult emotions and see them as clues that can be used to help them figure out what they need. 

Helping children understand that emotions are energy in our bodies and that we can take clues from them and move them, allows children a simple approach that gives them a feeling of self control where they begin to want to find solutions and in turn feel more competent.

My personal experiences, as well as my extensive clinical training informs the work I do today. It also makes me passionate about providing a safe place for children to connect to themselves and share their perceptions of the challenges in their world so grown-ups can understand and help.

Examples of issues and challenges I work with include:

• Emotional-Regulation - including the management of anger and aggression, anxiety, excessive fear and worry, sadness, depression, and self-harm, as well as ADD/ADHD.
• Communication Skills - including learning to effectively communicate feelings and thoughts to themselves and others and building emotion vocabulary.
• Social Skills - including learning to interact with peers, increasing self-awareness and confidence plus practicing and learning cooperation. Specific programs for children with autism and neurodivergence.
• Difficult Transitions - including death of a loved one, being removed from primary caregiver, as well as separation and divorce.
• Complex Family Dynamics - including having a loved one with a mental illness and/or addiction, having a loved one who is incarcerated, children in care, blend(ing)ed families, and the complexities that continue through intergenerational trauma.
• Trauma - including illness, accidents, sudden death or loss, witnessing traumatic events, family violence or experiencing abuse.

I also have extensive experience working with children in care and children of First Nations, Metis, Aboriginal and/or Indigenous descent.

The beauty of this work has humbled me far beyond the ability to judge anyone’s potential or to rule anybody out. Children are resilient and capable of the unexpected, especially with support and validation.

I work with families from a relational, experiential approach to help undo aloneness and create secure attachment