My approach to therapy

Recovery and healing from trauma can be a process that changes over time, and it’s rare that there is a single approach or answer that responds to a person’s unique needs. I collaborate with people to centre their needs and use different therapeutic approaches to be responsive to dynamic changes that occur over time. I hold a strong belief that healing is always possible, and my work with many people across the years has shown a boundless capacity for change and recovery. 

In my work with individuals and couples I have a special interest in supporting people who are seeking therapy to address attachment related concerns, suicidality, self-harm, substance misuse and addiction, sexual violence, trauma that has been a single event or multiple events, and childhood abuse. 

Who I work with 

Individuals

People who work with me have diverse support needs including trauma, attachment concerns, substance use concerns, and mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The principles of trauma informed care and harm reduction guide how therapy happens, and psychodynamic approaches like parts work support exploring how past experiences can impact our sense of self, our relationships, and our internal world.  

Couples

People can show up to couples therapy for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes sessions focus on communication, resetting negative cycles, or supporting a couples’ connection through external pressures. Sometimes sessions focus on deeper attachment wounds, significant changes such as the birth of a child, or traumatic events that have impacted a couple’s shared life. I integrate psychodynamic and Gottman informed approaches in couples sessions to support a person’s connection to themselves and their shared sense of connection to each other as a couple. 

Education and experience

I have a Master of Social Work from McGill University, a Master of Education from York University, and a Bachelor of Arts Honours with a Political Science major and a Philosophy minor. I’ve continued to pursue trainings as I shifted into providing psychotherapy, my trainings are tending to veer more psychodynamic and I’m happy that I am in a field where I will always be able to learn. 

During my social work degree I had the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of teen dating violence and intimate partner violence, which built on my previous experience as a volunteer peer counsellor for the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape. My post graduate research work was with a team of researchers who collaborated with First Nations and First Nations health care organisations that were implementing Jordan’s Principle in Alberta and Manitoba. In research and clinical settings I’ve worked extensively with Métis, First Nations, and Inuit peoples.

Prior to working as a social worker I’ve worked mostly in manual labor, including community shared agriculture and as a bike courier. As a social worker I’ve worked as a counsellor in an outpatient rehab for addictions and substance misuse, in harm reduction outreach and in supervised consumption sites, and as a social worker at the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre. I cherish the work that I have done and am forever grateful for everything I have been taught by the people I have worked with.