My approach

I bring to counselling a warm, collaborative, client-centred perspective that honours your need to share your pain or fear and harnesses your innate capacity for growth. This fundamental relational style is backed by decades of extensive research and proven to help clients effect change in their lives. In addition, I pull from techniques from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, and existentialism.

You may be in a place where you feel there is no hope, no solution, nothing to draw on for help. Together we will rediscover and leverage your internal resources to find the answers you’ve been seeking to questions like these:

• What is that feeling in the pit of my stomach? What is it telling me?

• What is that critical voice in my head that holds me back?

• Why do I feel so stuck, when all I want to do is move forward?

I am not a fixer. I don’t have all the answers at the ready - but I can help you find your own. I am not afraid of being with you in your dark place: feeling stuck, lost, or like there’s nowhere to go. I can sit with you when your life feels like chaos and help you start to make sense of things.

My path to private practice includes substance use counselling with Vancouver Coastal Health, where I helped people experiencing addiction in many forms (opioids, alcohol, cannabis, food, gaming, etc). I also helped partners, parents, family, and friends to cope with their loved one’s substance use. Previous to that, I was a long-time advisor at the University of British Columbia. I helped youth and emerging adults navigate the stress of school, family pressure, identity issues, addiction, and finances. In particular, I worked with youth in crisis and on the University’s suicide intervention and response strategy.

Areas of practice

I think that examining how you relate to the world (how you think and process emotions) holds the key to moving towards happiness, often regardless of the problem you are struggling with. Therefore, I welcome a diversity of client problems. As a Master’s-level therapist designated as Registered Clinical Counsellor, I am trained and have experience helping clients with:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Relationship conflict

• Trauma

• Addiction (to substances, food, gaming, etc)

• Coping as a loved one experiences addiction

• Grief and loss

• Major life transitions (into adulthood, parenthood, retirement, new careers, etc)

• Stress

• Low self-esteem

• Identity issues

What I feel is most important, however, is the recognition that most clients are experiencing multiple issues at once and struggle to know where to begin. I work with my clients holistically, understanding that all of the problems above are intertwined. Together we will work to understand how these problems affect your life, and determine how you would like to prioritize and focus.