About Me

In 2008, I founded Recreational Respite a national organization that uniquely supports the disability community, those who face mental health struggles and other vulnerable individuals. The goal of our work has been to support those facing barriers to participation by collaboratively finding ways to reduce the isolation that often accompanies these experiences. Using diverse strategies and approaches including self discovery through recreation and activity with an emphasis on building social supports, efficacy and resilience. This has contributed to my deep understanding, interventions and innovative approaches used in counselling with the compassion for navigating the emotions of profound loss, disenfranchised grief, diverse barriers, isolation, and complex relational challenges within families while emphasizing a non-pathologizing practice. My approach in counselling emphasizes integration of various humanistic approaches and interventions, based on an individual’s strengths and resources. These interventions can include (but are not limited to); attachment-informed, Polyvagal-informed eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) to process traumatic experiences, interpersonal therapy, internal family systems (IFS), cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), emotionally focused therapy (EFT), existential therapy, mindfulness practice and narrative therapy. A strong focus is on solution focused and strengths-based therapies that are offered with compassion, are culturally sensitive and are socially just. I am trauma-informed in my counselling approach and trained to support those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and or those who have had other traumatic experiences.