About Me
I’ve always enjoyed talking to people. There is magic in the art of listening well, and asking good questions. Developing my capacity to love and be loved, to deepen connection while nurturing autonomy, has moved me in the direction of healing in my life and work.
In 2013 I began my private practice, and from 2016 to 2018 I also worked part time alongside the psychiatric team at the Mood Disorder Association of BC. At MDABC I worked with complex cases of depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, Bipolar, and personality disorders. To meet the needs of my growing private practice, I left MDABC in 2018. A full list of my training and professional experience is detailed below.
I have years of experience and well developed skills working with the issues that bring many people to therapy, such as trauma, anxiety, depression, loneliness, relationship/intimacy struggles, grief/loss, and spiritual alienation.
As a spouse, mother, sister, and daughter, I have navigated conflict, losses, and disappointments. Competing needs are inevitable in long term relationships. Mindfulness helps me to resist getting recruited into avoidance or reactivity so I can communicate effectively. Because I go through this process myself, my understanding and compassion for my clients relationship difficulties is genuine.
How I work
Psychotherapy is an integration of neuroscience, creativity, intuition, and skill. As humans, we operate on multiple levels simultaneously. Being emotionally attuned requires very good timing and astute observation. Sensitivity to tone of voice, facial expressions, movements, beliefs, and emotions, works in tandem with understanding a person’s capacity and goals. To help each client, I ask myself: “What needs to happen in this relationship right now, and how can I facilitate that?” (Maroda, 2010). The positive changes I see in my clients is rewarding and meaningful to me. I feel privileged to earn my clients trust.
I work well with many types of people, including even those who are reactive, dismissive, withdrawn, or hold tightly to irrational beliefs that perpetuate pain and suffering. By being present, I can help you see yourself in a new way. As Moshe Feldenkrais says, “When you know what you are doing, then you can do what you want.”
I am committed to improve my skills and competency. I engage in ongoing clinical supervision, and professional training that is evidence-based and attachment oriented.
Some of the modalities that inform my work are:
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy/Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Internal Family Systems Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization Therapy
Click here to read more about my philosophy and approach
More About Me
I love writing, and appreciate a good story, especially one in which the heroes go through very difficult experiences and persist. Each of us is somewhere on our own hero’s journey. I enjoy adventures to new places both out in the world, and within myself as I ride a bike, climb a mountain, dance, sing, pick up a pen, paint brush, or try something totally new!
My long term relationship with Eastern philosophy, meditation, and yoga began when my mother went to India when I was six years old. I am grateful for my powerful, and loving lineage. My grandparents on both sides studied yoga, and pursued healing through meditation and natural foods. One grandmother who survived the Holocaust became a yoga teacher to heal her body and her heart. My other grandmother read Louise Hay, and sought solace in prayer.
Being a spouse and parent is both rewarding and demanding. I have two sons, one on the Autism Spectrum. As my children grow, their needs can sometimes outweigh my available energy. Like most of us, when the stress of life reaches a critical mass, I can hit a wall. I am learning to see my mistakes as teachers. When I can be more accepting of myself, I can love well, and this is my most important legacy.
Professional Credentials
I am registered clinical counsellor, member #11405 in good standing with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC).
Having accrued over 1200 hours of yoga training and clinical experience, I am registered with the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
My yoga therapy expertise has deepened through training in the Vipassana tradition, sound healing, and other expressive arts healing modalities.
This range of options give me a palette of tools to provide clients with an integrated therapy experience which is potent and transformative.
For a detailed description of the therapeutic perspectives that inform my work, please visit My Philosophy & Approach.
Summary of Training
Experiential/Attachment Oriented Therapy:
April, May 2022 – Treating PTSD with ISTDP with Joel Town, 14 hrs.
January, April 2022 – ISTDP Core Training with Diane Byster & Eval Gol-Oz, 48 hrs.
February 2022 – Working in the Transference with the Fragile Patient with Joel Town, 7 hrs.
January 2022 – Recognizing and Resolving Sexual Conflicts in ISTDP with Patricia Coughlin, 8 hrs.
October 2021 – An Audio Visual Introduction to Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy with Marvin Skorman, Jackie Meltz, and Johannes Kieding, 6 hrs.
October 2021 – The Power of Small Wins in ISTDP with Reiko Ikemoto-Joseph, 3.25 hrs.
September 2021 – Waiting for the Emotion Revolution with Allan Abbass and Les Greenberg, 3.5 hrs.
June 2021 – Moderate and High Resistance in ISTDP: A 3 Day Immersion with Allan Abbass, 3 X 7 hrs.
Feb 2021 – Mastering the Art of the Trial Therapy with Patricia Coughlin, 8 hrs.
Jan 2021 – Working with Adolescents and Youth using ISTDP with Allan Abbass Course, 3 hrs.
Oct 8, 2020 – Working with Splitting and Dissociation in a Fragile Patient, with Jon Frederickson – 8 hrs.
Sept 06, 2020 to the Present- Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy with Veronica Kallos-Lilly (20 hrs as of May 2021.)
Jul 28- Sep 29, 2020 – ISTDP. Experiential Dynamic Therapy: The Theory and Technique of Emotion-Focused, Experience-Near Psychodynamic Psychotherapy an Introduction, with Lindsay Chipman MA and Mark Vail Psy D – 20 hrs.
Jul 8-11, 2019 – Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples, Externship with Vancouver Couples and Family Institute, with Yolanda von Hockauf and Veronica Kallos-Lilly
Sep 2018 – AEDP Master Class: Fierce Love with Sue Anne Piliero
Feb 2018 – July 2018 – AEDP Core Skills Training
Feb 2017 – AEDP Immersion with Diana Fosha, Vancouver, BC.
Sep 2017 – AEDP Master Class: Spirituality in Psychotherapy with Danny Leung, Vancouver, BC.
Nov 2014 – Therapist & Client Actively Directing the Process of Neuroplasticity – Beatriz Winstanley, M.Ed., Psych, Van, BC.
Oct 2014, Jun 2014, Nov 2016 – AEDP Cascadia Community Presentations, Vancouver BC.
Aug 2014 – AEDP Workshop: Struggling with Transformance, Vancouver, BC
Oct 25, 2013 – Catalyzing Secure Attachment (AEDP) with Benjamin Lipton, Vancouver, BC.
Case Management:
Jul 2015 – DSM 5 Overview Course, Adler University, Van, BC.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
May 2016 – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Training
Dec 2016 – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Training
Supervision:
Jul 2018 – Present – ISTDP Supervision with Jessie Langlois
Jul 2016-Jan 2019 – AEDP Supervision with Richard Harrison, Dale Trimble, Patricia Rowe, Maria Angelina
Jun 2014 – Supervision and Group Training in Gestalt with Dr. Bea Mackay, Phd, Vancouver, BC
Trauma:
Feb 15 – 16, 2020 – Andrew Leeds, Defenses and Affect Restructuring with EMDR, Vancouver BC.
Apr 29-30, 2019 – Janina Fisher, Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Transformational Approaches to Treating Complex Trauma
Oct 2017 – EMDR Basic Training, Vancouver, BC.
Apr 2013 – Bessel Van Der Kolk, New Frontiers in Trauma Treatment, Vancouver, BC
Nov 2013 – Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1, Vancouver, BC
Sep 2012 – Apr 2013 – Motivational Dialogue, Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT), Marital & Family Therapy, Group Work with Teens, The Power of Connection, Assisting Survivors of Trauma (30 hrs), Share Family Services Internship Training Program, Port Moody, BC.
Neuro & Gender diversity:
Feb 13 – 14 2013 – Zooming in on Social Communication, Richmond, BC.
Feb 15, 2013 – Friend 2 Friend Facilitators Workshop, Van, BC.
Apr 2012 – Transgender Positive Practice , Vancouver, BC
Expressive & Play Therapies:
Nov 23, 2019 – Lisa Dion Synergetic Play Therapy Workshop
Conferences/Presentations:
Feb 2019 – Trauma Informed Care for Registered Massage Therapists. I presented at Vancouver College of Massage Therapy
Nov 2019 – Wired Together: Self, Science and Society, Richmond, BC. I presented on Fierce Love: Therapist Presence in the Face of Passive Suicide.
Apr 2018 – Mindful Parenting. I presented at BCACC’s Mindful Living.
Feb 2017 – Body Centered Psychotherapy. I presented at BCACC’s Mindful Living.
Feb 2016 – Mindfulness For Managing Stress. I gave this workshop at Kwantlen College.
Jun 2015 – Mindfulness At Play. I gave this workshop at Stretch Yoga.
Feb 2015 – This is Your Brain on Mindfulness: The Science and Practice of Mindfulness for Optimal Health & Well Being. I gave this workshop at Stretch Yoga.
May 2012 – Narrative Therapy Conference. I attended this workshop in Vancouver, BC.
Volunteering
Oct 2014 – Oct 2015 – Vancouver Coastal Health. I was a SMART Recovery Facilitator, and yoga teacher for those struggling with substance abuse.
Feb 2014- Jun 2015 – Friends For Life. I provided counselling for those in treatment for cancer ALS, and AIDS.
To book a session with me, click here.