Approach

I integrate a wide range of evidence-based therapeutic modalities in my work, tailored to your unique needs and goals. Below are some of the approaches I draw from, depending on your presenting concerns:

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

As a certified EMDR therapist, I have been practicing and training in this powerful trauma therapy since 2019. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (e.g., eye movements) to help process and release emotional and psychological blockages related to trauma. EMDR has been proven to facilitate faster healing than traditional talk therapies, often resulting in deeper emotional and physical release, as well as a greater sense of joy and connection.

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

AEDP is a highly effective modality that emphasizes the therapeutic relationship as a foundation for healing. It helps clients access their innate resilience and healing potential by creating a safe and nurturing environment. AEDP is especially helpful for processing painful emotions and unhelpful coping strategies. As a Level 2 AEDP Practitioner, I support clients in reconnecting with core, adaptive feelings that guide growth and deeper connection.

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)

ISTDP is an evidence-based psychodynamic therapy designed to rapidly resolve emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, somatization, and personality disorders. It targets the root causes of self-defeating behaviours, often stemming from early life attachments, and is particularly effective for trauma recovery. I am currently undergoing a three-year Core Training in ISTDP with regular supervision.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Psychedelic-assisted therapy offers a powerful, research-backed approach to healing trauma, depression, anxiety, and existential distress. Using legally accessible psychedelics in a safe, guided therapeutic setting, this process can help unlock deep emotional processes and transformational healing. This work is done in close collaboration with a medical practitioner and includes careful screening, assessment, preparation, therapeutic support during the experience, and integration afterward.

Currently, legal psychedelic-assisted therapy options in Canada include ketamine-assisted therapy and specific exemptions for psilocybin through the Special Access Program.

Clinical Hypnosis

Clinical hypnosis is a therapeutic technique that uses guided relaxation, focused attention, and suggestions to help individuals access a deeply relaxed state, often referred to as a trance. In this state, clients are more open to positive suggestions, which can help them address a variety of issues, including trauma, anxiety, pain management, stress, and habit changes. Hypnosis can facilitate deep emotional processing, promote healing, and enhance self-regulation by tapping into the subconscious mind. It's a safe, evidence-based practice used to support personal growth and emotional well-being.

Ecotherapy and Ecopsychology

Since childhood, I have had a deep fascination with wild spaces. From exploratory play to gardening - my love for the earth came full circle after harvesting my first yield of hard neck garlic. For those who haven't witnessed the life cycle of this incredible medicine, it is planted in the fall, remains underground through the winter and it shoots out of the earth in the springtime, growing both upwards and at the bulb until harvest in the summer. This life cycle has many parallels to that of deep healing. Much like a farmer tending to her soil, we must create safety and nourishment to support the growth of roots to Self, Other, and the Earth. Once these resources are growing and accessible, we can safely come face-to-face with the dark, while knowing that growth is unfolding (even if it's not always easy to see). My nature-based therapy services are experiential and grounded in attachment theory, mindfulness, herbalism, Jungian psychology, ecopsychology, Bill Plotkin's Nature-based Map of the Human Psyche, and Joanna Macey's Work that Reconnects. I consider the Earth to be co-healer, and draw from teachings (and practices) of mutual respect, consent and reciprocity to ensure that the wild ones we encounter are also honoured and acknowledged through our presence.

Neurobiologically-Informed Approaches to Nervous System Regulation

Neurobiologically-informed approaches focus on understanding how the brain and nervous system respond to stress, trauma, and emotional experiences. These methods aim to help individuals regulate their nervous system, promoting a balanced state of arousal that supports emotional resilience and healing. Techniques such as mindfulness, breathwork, grounding, and body-based therapies are used to calm the body’s fight-or-flight response, reduce chronic stress, and restore a sense of safety and connection. By integrating an understanding of neurobiology with therapeutic interventions, these approaches help individuals re-establish a healthier relationship with their emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations.

Professional & Academic Training

I have a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in Psychology and First Nations Studies from Vancouver Island University, and a Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia.

I love to learn and am strongly committed to ongoing professional and personal development. Some of my clinical training includes:

Ongoing individual and group supervision;
ISTDP 3 Year Core Training (252 hours of training with Lisa Bendzsa R.Psych, 2022 - 2025; in progress)
Certificate in Complex Trauma and Dissociation (72 hours of training, 2020; ISSTD Centre for Advanced Studies in Trauma and Dissociation);
Advanced Certificate in Complex Trauma and Dissociation (100 hours of training, 2021; ISSTD Centre for Advanced Studies in Trauma and Dissociation);
Transforming Resistance: Specialized Core Training Group for the Treatment of Trauma using ISTDP and AEDP (150 hour - 2 year training with Dr. Steve Shapiro 2020 - 2022);
Transforming Trauma with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - Levels 1, 2 & 3 (trained by Dr. Laurel Parnell and Sean Frankino);
Trauma, the body and the brain: Restoring the capacity for Rhythm and Play (trained by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk at Hollyhock Retreat Centre);
Using Movement to Co-Create Unlikely Transformative Outcomes with Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP; trained by David Mars);
AEDP Immersion Course (trained by Dr. Diana Fosha);
AEDP Essential Skills (trained by Dale Trimble and Dr. Karen Kranz);
AEDP Core Skills (trained by Dr. Karen Kranz);
The Attachment Puzzle (trained by Dr. Gordon Neufeld);
Building Bridges by Understanding the Village (trained by Kathi Camilleri);
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety (trained by CBT Connections);
Community-Based Social Marketing: Fostering Environmentally Beneficial Behaviour Change (trained by Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr);
Connect Parent Group Facilitators Training (trained by the Maples);
Externship in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (trained by Dr. Sue Johnson)
Fulfillment and Meaning in Life: Existential Analysis Training (trained by Käri-Ann Thor and Rochelle Chapman);
Mindful Self Compassion Core Skills Training (trained by Victoria Pawlowski);
Motivational Interviewing Levels 1 & 2 (trained by Cristine Urquhart);
Pathways to Healing with Herbs - 6 month online course and ongoing mentorship (trained by Don Ollsin, Master Herbalist of Grassroots Herbalism);
Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk (trained by MCFD);
San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training (trained by the Provincial Health Services Authority);
Two-Spirit People: Then and Now (trained by Harlan Pruden and TransCare BC).

Awards and Distinctions

President's Award of Distinction, International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation, 2020
SSHRC Storyteller Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2015
Faculty of Education Research Grant, University of British Columbia, 2014
Edna Nash Graduate Scholarship in Family Education and Family Counselling, University of British Columbia, 2014
Joseph Armand Bombardier Master's Scholarship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2014
BC Student Led Research Grant, Vancouver Island University, 2010
National Millennium Excellence Scholarship, 2006
RCMP Community Citizenship Award, 2006