As a generalist I offer counselling support with a wide variety of challenges such as difficult life transitions, trauma and abuse, relationship concerns, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, toxic shame and questions around self-worth. Below are areas of my practice that I find myself particularly drawn to due to my own lived experiences and thanks to clients who gravitated towards me throughout the years of my practice.
Early Childhood Trauma
People whose childhood histories hold abuse and neglect by caregivers, challenging medical procedures, extended hospital stays, being brought up in chaotic households and communities impacted by violence and war, experience unique challenges in feeling safe in this world. These challenges can show up as persistent histories of anxiety and depression, seemingly inexpiable and sudden explosive emotional reactions, difficulties developing and maintaining close relationships, finding themselves in relationships that are not safe, a sense of disconnection from the vibrancy of life, toxic shame and chronic health conditions. My practice and training in relational and somatic therapy, professional practice of accompanying early childhood trauma survivors, as well as my own healing journey and passion for this work, support me in providing counselling to clients who did not have a chance to experience the security and care that they needed in their tender years, as they find their way to safety, connection and wholeness.
Relational Trauma
Wounds that happen in important relationships can have a lasting impact on a person’s sense of self, their being in world and relating to others. Relational trauma can be a result of physical, sexual, psychological, financial abuse, bullying, stalking, gaslighting, humiliation and neglect. I bring over 9 years of experience supporting people impacted by intimate partner violence and relational abuse in community settings as well as in private practice. What was hurt in a relationship needs to be healed in a relationship, thus I seek to co-create safe and mindful therapeutic relationships with my clients. In this work, we pay particular attention to the body process in help clients increase awareness of how the trauma is held in the body and support them in releasing it to restore their sense of safety and belonging.
Immigration
Immigration is considered to be one of the most stressful experiences a person can live through. Even under the best of circumstances getting used to a new culture and language, finding housing and employment, navigating bureaucracy, medical and social systems can take a toll on a person’s psyche and nervous system. Sometimes the severity of this stress can substantially shake up the foundations of a person’s psyche and bring up unresolved trauma. Additionally, adapting to a new place can be particularly challenging for people who were forced to flee their home countries due to threat of violence or persecution. Having physically arrived in safety, their bodies may still be experiencing the danger that they escaped. My extensive training and professional experience in trauma therapy have proven useful in helping voluntary and forced immigrant clients find their footing. As I walk the walk of an immigrant, I hold a special curiosity, tenderness and admiration for others who made this choice or had it made for them and am honoured to be of support on their path.
Identity, Belonging and Meaning
Most people come into counselling when in crisis. After the intensity of suffering subsides, some are content to move on with their lives and some discover a curiosity about themselves and their life path and a longing for something more. One of the favourite parts of my job is to sit with people as they grapple with life’s bigger questions of identity, belonging and meaning. We draw on the wisdom of the body, on story, on dreams and on whatever magic shows up when people gather together with openness and the spirit of inquiry. I cannot not claim to hold the answers and I feel fortunate when I am chosen to be a companion on a someone’s dive into what is most meaningful.