I help individuals and couples create healthier, more fulfilling relationships.
If you want to process and heal following a breakup, improve or repair your relationship as a couple, or simply understand yourself better in the myriad relationships of your life, I am here to help you do that. Relationships are hard! No one has all the answers but working together in therapy offers a fresh perspective, new skills, and validation.
My work integrates the best of:
- Attachment science: how we connect to others
- Methods of leading relationship experts: Terry Real, Esther Perel, and Alexandra Solomon
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy: how to improve communication and connection
- Recovery practices: CBT and tools for behavioural change
- Mindfulness: how to live in the present.
I help clients bring new awareness and skills to themselves and their relationships and shift away from limiting beliefs and dysfunctional patterns.
“The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.” (Esther Perel)
– Individuals
I am an experienced Addiction Counsellor specializing in alcohol and cannabis.
I work with individuals who are wondering about their addictive patterns and whether something in their lifestyle needs to change.
My approach is integrative and holistic which means I draw upon a range of addiction recovery approaches and a toolbox that best matches where you are. What may be helpful in the beginning is some practical tools to strengthen your motivation to change or planning for a reset one step at a time. Addiction or dependence is never caused by one thing. I work with you therapeutically to identify and heal the issues below the surface.
"If you have this idea (even if the voice speaking to you is very small and quiet) that there might be another way to live: listen." (Laura McKowen)
– Families
I work with partners and family members of individuals struggling with addiction. You may be feeling overwhelmed and isolated as you try to navigate the day-to-day. What are you responsible for? What are you not responsible for? I provide coping skills, strategies, and education so that you can assist your loved one and take care of You.
With an objective perspective and new ideas, families usually get greater clarity about their situation and options.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is the therapeutic approach most similar to coaching. It is goal-focused and incorporates positive psychology principles. SFBT helps individuals change by developing solutions to their problems, rather than focusing their efforts on the problem itself. It helps clients discover capabilities they may have overlooked, while identifying past successes and ways to repeat them. It is an accessible and motivating approach for achieving behavioural change.
“That’s a way to see it and there is also another way to see it.” (Insoo Kim Berg)
I have a foundation in spiritual psychotherapy and appreciate the unique healing aspect of this approach. To start, it allows for a gentle, accepting way of discovering and connecting with parts of yourself you may be unaware of. This mind-body-soul orientation involves expanding your awareness and exploring those parts of you that may be hidden or holding you back. It is about uncovering the path 'home' to your true self. In coping with life's challenges, achieving outward success, or striving to meet expectations of others, we often lose connection with who we are on the inside. If you are spending your energy in ways that aren’t lighting you up, this multidimensional approach may be for you.
*Note: Spiritual Psychotherapy is soul-centred, not religious.
Brainspotting (BSP) is an approach to healing and wellness that is deeply rooted in the body's nervous system. Research studies have shown that BSP leads to transformational change that is emotional, psychological, and physical. Discovered by Dr David Grand in 2003, BSP provides a simple, neurobiological tool that can locate, process and release experiences and symptoms out of reach of the conscious mind. It is particularly effective in helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioural conditions. “Where you look affects how you feel.” (David Grand)
This approach recognizes the signs of traumatic impact and takes steps to avoid re-traumatizing people while supporting their healing from the past. Whether from adverse childhood experiences or circumstances in adult years, this is a compassionate approach that helps clients with emotional regulation, grounding and coping tools, and the deep healing provided by Brainspotting. "Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going on inside ourselves.” (Bessel van der Kolk)
Pema Chodron
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