Services
My services include individual therapy, couples counselling, and workshops for professional development.
Through individual therapy, I support my clients as they navigate their path to healing and personal development. I strive to create open, empathic and respectful spaces for us to work through challenges together.
My specializations are (scroll down for details):
- Chronic Stress/Burnout
- Depression
- Navigating Parenthood
- Substance Use
Other areas of practice include:
- Overwhelm/Anxiety
- Interpersonal conflict (colleagues/romantic partner(s)/family/friends)
- Complex/developmental trauma
1:1 sessions are collaborative and can be held in person or virtually. I offer a complimentary Discovery Call to help prospective clients see if we might be a good fit for working together. To schedule yours, click here.
Chronic Stress/Burnout
We live in times when being busy is often seen as a badge of honour. For many, the concept of ‘work/life balance’ sounds like fiction; the demands of the day are overwhelming, both at work and at home. If you’re feeling trapped on the hamster-wheel of “doing” and find you don’t have time for “being”, you may also find yourself wondering if you are on the pathway to burnout.
Indicators of Chronic Stress/Burnout
- Emotional exhaustion, feeling like you’ve cared too much for too long
- Emotional numbness, low motivation, activities are less enjoyable
- Feeling helplessness, trapped, like nothing you do matters, or like a failure
- Negative outlook, irritability
- Feeling drained/excessive fatigue
- Frequent headaches or muscle tension
- Changes in eating or sleep habits
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Procrastination
- Social withdrawal/isolation
How Therapy Can Help
The pathway to recovering from chronic stress/burnout is often not a straight line. We must be patient with ourselves and remember the condition evolved over a long period; healing will involve learning and practicing new skills, which also takes time.
Working with a therapist can help you begin to understand the root causes so that these can be addressed. Together with your therapist, you can begin to explore options related to managing stressors, exploring your values, and learn to identify what is/is not within your control. Many clients are also supported with learning new skills, such as setting and holding boundaries and to beginning to ask for support from others. We may also explore ways to avoid finding yourself feeling this way again in the future.
If this is something you would like to work on with me, I encourage you to contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.
Depression
Almost everyone experiences feeling sadness from time to time. Depression and related mental health issues are more serious, longer lasting, and have become increasingly common among Canadians over the last decade, with increased prevalence especially in young people (ages 15-24) and women*.
Signs and Symptoms of Depression
- Increased self-criticism
- Changes in sleep
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in sexual desire
- Social withdrawal/decrease in activities
- Persistent feelings of sadness/numbness/emptiness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Easily fatigued
- Feeling of heaviness in your shoulders or chest
Risk Factors for Depression
- Pervasive negative thinking
- Stress/grief from relationship changes (birth of a child, divorce)
- Stress/grief from major life changes (job loss, retirement)
- Stress/grief from physical illness/disability
- Financial stress
- Stress from global events (war, climate change)
- Traumatic event(s)
How Therapy Can Help
Coping with depression requires work both inside the counselling office and out. The journey is sure to be non-linear with some days feeling like progress and others not so much. If we were to work together while you are experiencing depression, I will take time to get to know your individual needs and we will collaborate to navigate the darkness so you can step back into the light.
Some areas we may address in our work together include:
- Reframing negative self-talk
- Recognizing any negative beliefs/ perspective taking
- Creating & upholding self-protective boundaries
- Creating strategies for when you are struggling
- Considering your "Authentic Self" and addressing any tendencies that block its expression
These skills will, over time, help reduce symptoms as we work to understand the underlying cause of the depression and work to create more balance.
If this is something you would like to work on with me, reach out for a free 15-minute consultation.
*https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230922/dq230922b-eng.htm
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Navigating Parenthood
Becoming a parent is an intense, life altering experience
Try as we might to prepare, there is no class or reading that can equip us for the life-long commitment that is parenthood. This milestone alters our relationships with ourselves and with those in our circles. And, with every stage of a child’s development, the skills required to navigate the journey change.
The parenting journey can bring intense emotions
A range of emotions can influence our self-concept, our relationship with our parenting partners, and the decisions we make with our children. Challenging emotions throughout the parenting experience (from infancy to adulthood) often include:
- Surprise/Confusion
- Fear/Helplessness
- Guilt/Shame
- Overwhelm/Exhaustion
Counselling can support you as you navigate this journey
Because so much personal growth is required in our roles, it is not uncommon to seek professional support at different times throughout the parenting journey. From infancy through to the ‘empty nest’, counselling can support parents with:
- Postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety
- Changes with sense-of-self
- Changes in relationship with intimate partner
- Setting boundaries as new family unit becomes priority (example: parents/in-laws, friends, work)
- Addressing unresolved pain from your own childhood
- Coping with emotional dysregulation
- Navigating differences in parenting styles (between partners)
- Parenting a child or teen who is struggling (mental health, substance use, issues at school)
- Parenting an emerging adult who is “stuck” (not working or furthering their education)
- Coping with relationship changes after the ‘nest’ is empty
This list illustrates just some of the complexities shared by many parents. The journey of parenthood is one of steady change, and one that has influence on all aspects of our lives. Tied to these ongoing changes is the opportunity for us to continue our own personal growth.
How Therapy Can Help
When I am working with clients on their parenting journey, I take time to explore their unique needs. This often includes exploration of the parenting you received as a child, which aspects you wish to recreate in your home and which you do not.
Other areas that may be explored include:
- Reflection on what being a “good parent” means to you
- What influence external sources (peers, religious affiliations, the wider culture) might be having on your parenting experience
- What you value in parenthood
- Processing painful childhood memories
- Identifying your “North Star” for making parenting choices,
- Learning to set and hold boundaries in various relationships
Parenting is a marathon, not a sprint. If you are looking for support in your parenting journey, I am here to help. Book a free 15-minute consultation today.
Substance Use
Substance use and mental health are deeply interconnected, and challenges often co-occur. This connection can complicate treatment and recovery, as each challenge can impact the other. For example, someone experiencing stress or anxiety may reach for alcohol or cannabis to relieve their symptoms. However, long-term use can actually worsen existing symptoms or trigger new ones, such as those connected with depression.
Risk Factors
- Biological Factors: Some individuals may have a genetic predisposition that increases the likelihood of developing both mental health concerns and substance use challenges. Additionally, changes in brain chemistry due to mental health concerns or substance use can heighten the risk of co-occurring conditions.
- Situational Stressors: Life events, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences all increase the risk for both mental health disorders and substance misuse.
- 'Self-Medication': The short-term relief experienced by 'self-medicating' can become habit forming. When substance use is the primary strategy for coping with difficult circumstances and emotions, risk is increased.
How Therapy Can Help
Substance use has been stigmatized, often leading individuals to believe they are "the problem"; this simply isn't the case. Stigma is often a barrier that keeps people from seeking support, which delays recovery and perpetuates harmful perceptions of self. In the therapy room, I offer a non-judgmental, confidential space to explore your struggles openly. We will work together to foster self-acceptance, resilience, and a sense of connection, which is essential for changing the trajectory of the struggle toward recovery and healing.
We will begin by identifying triggers and building an understanding of root causes, so these can be addressed. Together we will explore options related to managing stressors, learning more skilled coping (including emotional regulation), and repairing relationships that may have been harmed.
If this is something you would like to work on with me, I encourage you to contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.
Workshops
I offer workshops that cover a variety of topics, including:
- Youth Mental Health - This small group presentation can be adapted to suit learners from Grade 10 through to post-secondary. The focus is on empowering youth to care for their wellbeing. Topics are related to the psychological changes that occur during this developmental period. Content is delivered with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion for all students. Time for Q & A is included.
- Better Together: Shifting Cultures of Self-Sacrifice in the Workplace: This professional development experience is grounded in ‘real talk’ about workplace mental health. Participants will learn about the multifactorial nature of burnout and how to identify individual risk-factors. Focus will be given to the concept of empowering all staff to support cultures of caring by identifying strategies that increase health-promoting attitudes and behaviours among the collective. The dual aims of this presentation are to de-stigmatize burnout and to reduce cultures of self-sacrifice that contribute to the phenomenon. Content is grounded in mental health research, and informed by experiences during my 25-year career in the public sector, where I served on the front-line, in management roles, and as a Consultant with the Department of Education. Designed for educators, and adaptable to all workplace settings where burnout is a relevant phenomena.
