About Me
I am a non-binary, queer, white settler of Scottish ancestry, living on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən People - the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations – and the W̱SÁNEĆ People. I share deep gratitude for their stewardship and care of this land in which I work and live. I also recognize the violence of ongoing colonialism, and commit to engaging in anti-colonial actions in my work as a therapist and as a community member.
I have a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University (2020), and have been working with teens and adults who have experienced sexualized/gender-based violence for the last four years. I have a fierce and passionate desire for disrupting systems of injustice that contribute to cultures of violence.
When I’m not working I love to dance, put a record on, spend time in the woods and by the ocean, and share in new experiences with my partner and dear friends. I’ve spent some time this past year reconnecting with my artistic side, trying my hand at watercolour and sketching, learning to play guitar, and being humbled by the process of learning new creative endeavours.
My Approach
My approach is gentle, curious, and embodied.
Folks I work with experience me as open and non-judgemental, with an occasional spark of playfulness.
My work is trauma-informed, where I believe consent, agency and choice are the building blocks to creating and nurturing safety in our relationship.
I offer an anti-oppressive lens, which considers how we respond to, engage in, and resist systems of power that impact our connection to self and to the world at large.
Modalities
Together, we’ll collaborate to create a plan to meet your specific therapeutic goals. Here are the modalities I work with:
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP):
This modality is deeply relational and experiential. We’ll work together to look at the protective parts that you’ve developed to survive and adapt to your circumstances, and through compassionate, caring attention, support you to connect to your deeper emotional experience. In doing this together in a safe and paced way, I believe we can create new and healing experiences.
Narrative Therapy:
This modality works with understanding the meanings we give to our experiences throughout the lifetime, and how this impacts the ways we see ourselves and the world. In our work, we can seek to uncover alternate stories about yourself that may have been hidden from view, and create new experiences and stories that are value-aligned.
Somatics:
Somatic work focuses on supporting trauma recovery by working with the range of sensations we experience in the body to increase capacity to ground and heal from trauma.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):
This modality focuses on creating capacity within ourselves by noticing and being present with what life brings us as a way to move towards taking meaningful, committed actions that align with our values.