My Clinical Approach
My clinical approach
I am an integrative therapist who uses a combination of different approaches and techniques tailored to your specific needs.
As a foundation, I use the interpersonal process approach. This is a relational approach that is grounded in attachment theory. This perspective emphasizes the role of relationships, that we are social beings who thrive when our relationships are supportive.
Creating a supportive therapeutic relationship is the start of our work together.
I help you explore different aspects of the problem you are facing so you can better understand it and what you might like to do about it. I gently challenge you to try new ways of thinking.
If you like metaphors: the process is like a tangled ball of yarn that we unravel together, looking at the different "strands" of the problem, so that you can have a clearer understanding. With understanding, you can make choices that best support you in your life.
Through our work together, my approach may be informed by one or more of the following therapy models and theories:
Emotion-focused Therapy
Attachment Theory
Interpersonal Process Approach
Emotion-focused Therapy
Attachment Theory
Interpersonal Process Approach
Tri-phasic Trauma Recovery Model
Feminist Theory
Existential Therapy
Tri-phasic Trauma Recovery Model
Feminist Theory
Existential Therapy
Tri-phasic Trauma Recovery Model
Feminist Theory
Existential Therapy
While these six models are central to my overall approach, I also use techniques and tools from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), internal family systems, and somatic experiencing.
Whatever model or technique being used, our time should feel like an ongoing conversation in which we work together in a collaborative way to help you get where you want to go.
In This Together
“We are all in this together and there is no therapist and no person immune to the inherent tragedies of existence.”
- Irvin Yalom
My designations, training, and presentations
My designations and training
Registered Clinical Counsellor BC Association of Clinical Counsellors
Master of Arts, Counselling Psychology University of Victoria (CACEP accredited)
Bachelor of Arts, Music University of Ottawa
Recent professional development activities I've participated in to strengthen my clinical knowledge and skills:
May 2024: 35th ANNUAL BOSTON INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA CONFERENCE: Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Restoration of the Self (22 CEC credits):
Why Nothing Matters: Introducing Neglect-Informed Psychotherapy, with Ruth Cohn, MFT.
Transcending Trauma with Internal Family Systems Therapy, with Frank Anderson, MD.
Neuroscience: The Neurobiology of Self in Context, with
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Wendy D'Andrea, PhD, Marlen Gonzales, PHD, Sherain Harricharan, PhD, Breanne Kearney, Minwoo Lee, Ellen Yates.
The Evolution, Neurology, and Clinical Assessment of Chronic Loneliness, with J. Walter Frieiberg, III.
Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment and the Restoration of the Self (Part 1):
Stress Impairs Prefrontal Cortical Working Memory and Top-Down Control: Neurobiological Mechanisms and Strategies for Treatments, with Amy Arnsten, PhD.
Psychedelics: Brain Mechanisms, with Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD.
Divided Mind, Divided Body: Parts Work Through the Lens of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, with Pat Ogden, PhD.
Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment and the Restoration of the Self (Part 2):
The Generalized Unsafety Theory of Stress: Leveraging Findings from the Autonomic Nervous System to Understand Chronic Adversity and Historical Trauma, with Julian Thayer, PhD.
People Need People: The Double-Edged Sword of our Social Nervous System, with Marlen Gonzalez, PhD.
Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment and the Restoration of the Self (Part 4):
How the Body Remembers: From the Neuroimaging Lab to the Therapy Chair, with Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Lived Experiences of Trauma and Restoration via Expressive Arts: Using Arts-Based Research (ARB) to Evaluate Outcomes, with Cathy Malchiodi, PhD
Nov 2023: BCACC CONFERENCE - Counselling in a Changing World: Re-imagining Our Environments (12 CEC credits):
Belonging Leads to Becoming: The Alliance in Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), with Dr. Sue Johnson.
Trauma, Resilience and the Brain: From Neuroscience to Clinical Practice, with Dr. Pia Pechtel.
Learning to Work with IBPoC Youth in the Current Climate, Dr. Lisa Gunderson.
Complex Trauma and Parenting, Dr. Maya Misic.
Attachment Styles, Social Media Use and Mental Health, Susie Lang-Gould, RCC.
PRESENTATION: Not Only Evidence-Based: How Lived Experience Impacts Clinical Insight (Lightning Round). I shared my expertise to help therapists better understand the lived experience of sexual violence and how they can help their clients.
Jan 2022: Queering Your Practice: Working Competently, Affirmingly and Confidently with LGBTQ2IA+ Clients, Alice Curitz, MA, founder and clinical director of Our Landing Place, specializing in diversity, equity and inclusivity education (3.5 CEC credits).
Nov 2021: Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals (EFIT): Leveraging Attachment Theory, Sue Johnson, EdD, lead developer of EFT and Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) and Dr. Leanne Campbell, certified EFT trainer and supervisor (6 CEC credits).
Dec 2020: Ten Ways to Enhance Emotions in Therapy: The Transforming Power of Affect, Dr. Leslie Greenberg, C.Psych, Co-creator of Emotion-Focused Therapy (6 CEC credits).
Oct 2020: Busting Myths About Male Sexuality: Implications for Therapy with Men, Women and Couples, Dr. Joe Kort, clinical sexologist, (7 CEC credits).
April 2020: Counselling at a Distance: Using Video Telephone and Text-Based Methods to Connect with Clients, Lawrence Murphy, MA (3 CEC credits).