Counselling Services
Complex
Trauma
Healing & Connecting to the World Again
I approach trauma work with compassion, humanity and the belief that our wounds do not define us; we can find healing as we focus on our strengths and existing aspects of our lives that offer stability.
It’s daunting to feel the overwhelming and life-altering impacts of trauma, and it takes work and time to address healing. This is a journey we can walk together.
I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) Therapy and I have completed numerous advanced courses in Trauma Therapy, in Canada and Abroad.
I’m a member of the Training Faculty at the Complex Trauma Institute in York, England, creating and delivering training for clinicians, speaking at conferences and writing for academic publication.
Grief &
Loss
Loss of Health, Loved Ones, Identity: All of the Transitions in Life involve Loss & We are Required to Grieve the Losses
Loss is a factor in all lives, as we transition through our many stages of growth, relationship, health and accomplishment.
Sometimes a situation comes along that simply overwhelms and tangles our ability to perform well in our day-to-day.
Loss of loved ones, of health, of role or position, of relationship or connection – these can stir confusion, anxiety, disrupt sleep, alter our eating patterns, impact mood, or hamper our productivity. Losses can disrupt our sense of identity and how we move in the world.
I can help you make sense of loss so that you have greater insight into how this situation is affecting you and we will work together to integrate this learning into your current reality in addition to your hopes for the future. We can explore grief-work that may assist you in processing the situation, move you through your grief and help you find your grounding and feel your stride again so that your future may hold possibility and grounding again.
Anxiety &
Depression
When the World Overwhelms Us
Anxiety lives in our bodies as well as our thoughts, and it is important to work with the anxiety that resides in your body in addition to your thoughts and beliefs. This is true of depression as well. As we work together we will become curious about what is going on for you.
I can help you to take a holistic approach to understanding and working through anxiety and depression. I take an approach that considers our body responses to difficult situations or difficult relationship dynamics, in addition to looking at displaced thoughts or coping mechanisms that may be getting in the way of current well-being.
Often, anxiety and depression are linked to past trauma that is not at the level of consciousness, and it is helpful to look to the past to inform our strategies to address the present. Old patterns of thought and behaviour, that may have once been useful, could be getting in the way of your current situation, requiring new insights and skills.
Social anxiety can be a complex condition to live with, often keeping people from seeking help, because of course you have to reach out to a social situation where you would show up in a very vulnerable way. Social anxiety may develop from a variety of factors, and we will work together to find a way for you to feel greater safety in a greater number of situations. Dysfunctional relationship dynamics may contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression, and we can explore where you might want to be curious about the current situations and learn new skills to better approach others who are in your life.
We can work together to learn more about what might be happening for you, to stabilise present symptoms, naturally, and to heal into the future.
first
Responders
Specific Trauma Work, Relationship Skills, & Ongoing Mental Health Maintenance
Working together we find clarity around your many challenges and build awareness and skills toward healing, well-being & ongoing resilience.
First Responders have a unique job that requires passion, clarity and the ability to fire on all cylinders. Your daily task is to support members of our community on their ‘worst day’, and we can work together to keep you grounded, self-aware, and offering your Best Self. Often, your training is to develop skills that will allow you to over-ride, keep in check or uniquely utilize our natural responses to unsafe or dangerous situations (fight, flight, freeze). It’s important to be able to modulate this in a way that allows our bodies to find a way to rest from sustained vigilance and become aware of when we may carry occupationally-related vigilance or psychological wounds into our personal lives or daily interactions in a way that becomes detrimental. Ongoing Mental Health support helps First Responders do their jobs optimally and learn skills to help mitigate occupationally-related issues that may interfere with well-being and general comfortable enjoyment of life.
I have received specific Occupational Awareness Training to work as a Mental Health Therapist for First Responders and Front-line Workers, earning Bronze & Silver Seals of Endorsement from the BCPFFA (British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Association). I currently work with Firefighters, First Aid Medical Responders, 911 Switchboard Operators, Parole Officers, Police Officers, and Disaster Response Personnel. We can explore the areas that you are interested in addressing within your self and your life and discuss how we can put together a plan to maintain your mental well-being going forward. That way, if a ‘career-incident’ arises, we can already be working together and attend to the gravity of it right off.
