My Approach
Throughout my career, I have had the honour of working with a wide range of individuals navigating many experiences, but if I were to simplify my general counselling approach, I would say I specialize in helping people who feel emotionally or mentally disconnected from themselves, their loved ones, and/or their lives. The therapeutic relationship is very important to me, and I am passionate about approaching treatment in ways that suit your subjective experience. This means I adapt to your capacity, your values, and the lens through which you see the world. A vital part of healing and self-development is being able to define yourself by your own standards, and to hold those definitions with agency. I work with you to hold this space in our sessions together while grounding in your own sense of meaning. While I have been trained in evidence-based modalities, I see therapy as both a science and an art, and honour the profound complexity that is being human. As such, our work will focus on your unique needs and meaning-making systems, and I adapt what I have learned from my training and experience to those needs, rather than pushing a pre-conceived framework onto you.
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I believe the power to heal ourselves and find the answers to our dilemmas already lies within us, no matter what struggle we are facing. The thing is, when we are overwhelmed by stress, trauma, grief, misaligned societal or otherwise outside expectations, or do not currently have the physical or emotional space to truly hear ourselves and process our pain, our inner voice can become quiet and hidden within our inner world. When we are not acting in alignment with this voice, internal disconnections can happen, resulting in conflict and turmoil that can be confusing and leave us feeling lost. My approach to navigating this internal conflict with you is rooted in profound compassion and non-judgment, even when responses to these conflicts can feel uncomfortable or frightening. Central to my work is the belief that our minds and bodies are doing the best they can to process through whatever difficulties we are facing, and that process deserves our recognition, honour, and respect. When there are parts of our experience that we would like to change, it is my belief that such change cannot happen until we are able to hold the uncomfortable parts of ourselves with genuine compassion and acceptance - even when our instinct is to hide or shame them away. After this, realignment, reconnection, and new discoveries can begin.
This philosophy behind my work has developed over time, and is rooted in various therapeutic approaches I have been trained/mentored in, researched, and have received personal therapy and illuminations from: Existential Therapy, Ego State Therapy and parts work, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dreamwork, Somatic work, Narrative Therapy, Dialectical-Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Emotion-Focussed-Family-Therapy (EFFT), and Play Therapy. ​
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