About me

I grew up in the Lower Mainland, am of primarily English and Irish descent. I grew up middle-class in the suburbs, though now find myself situated in the lower middle class. I identify as queer, and though I am comfortable being identified as a woman, I fundamentally feel more gender neutral.

I am lucky to live on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I recommend Angela Sterritt’s CBC podcast for those who want to learn more about the Land Back movement and Indigenous land rights. I support and am in continual learning about (de)colonization.

I have come a long way to be here. For over two decades, I struggled with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and periods of suicidality. I was chronically stressed and lived in fear.

I had no understanding of what was happening for me, and the standard explanation was that my brain chemistry was off and that there was just something wrong with me. I was the problem. Bursting into tears in my doctor’s office as a teenager, I was handed an expired sample of antidepressants with no suggestion of therapy.

Over time, I engaged in various healing modalities (including lots of talk therapy), which all provided some help. However, the big breakthrough came for me by drinking ayahuasca. I began to see and trust that I was not broken, but was instead engaging in survival strategies in an attempt to adapt to, or protest, the unhealthy circumstances in which I found myself.

As I began to accept and trust what was unfolding in my life and what it was meant to teach me, I was more able to let go of shame and self-criticism. I began to see with greater clarity what needed to change rather than believing that I was the problem.

Continuing on this path, I began to learn about somatic therapy and the wisdom of the body. I realized that I had not connected to or acknowledged my body’s sensations throughout my life. Once I started to listen to my nervous system’s communications, I developed an even deeper trust and honouring of my body’s expressions, sensations, and emotions.

Of course, my journey continues. I still experience milder waves of low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Yet, I am now able to honour these messages and be curious about what they are showing me. I view each of these emotional experiences as adaptive responses I learned early in life and am grateful to hold compassionate witness to how they are trying to help and protect me. In so doing, I am able to better understand and integrate my past and choose a safer, more nurturing future.

I now primarily practice using Internal Family Systems (IFS) and EMDR. IFS explains and teaches more of what I’ve intuitively learned over these years. This model teaches that we are not broken, but the sum of many parts which are all trying to protect and help us. Many of them are younger parts which were forced to adapt to unhealthy circumstances. As I have gotten to know my own parts and learned to hold compassionate and curious presence for them, I have increasingly been able to sit in a place of witnessing and embracing all of my experience. By strengthening our relationship with our parts, we help to unburden the parts of us that are holding extreme beliefs from childhood. IFS has helped me truly understand how to be self-compassionate. EMDR is a more recent addition, and I have found it immensely powerful in its ability to process triggers quickly.

Finally, and most recently, due to experiencing chronic fatigue syndrome, I have spent a lot of time researching metabolic health. There is much research pointing to this as the underpinning of all aspects of health. In essence, the health of our mitochondria (aka the powerhouse or the workforce of our cells) underlies all of our physiological processes, including our mental health. I have found much personal improvement in my physical and mental health by implementing lifestyle practices supportive of metabolic/mitochondrial health.

CERTIFICATIONS

Registered Clinical Counsellor, RCC #20166
Canadian Clinical Counsellor, CCC #11246517

EDUCATION

Master of Counselling (MC) with honours, City University

TRAINING

IFS: Internal Family Systems

IFS Stepping Stone course (IFSCA)

IFS Advanced Weekend - Mastering IFS (IFSCA)

Integrative Somatic Parts Work - Level 1-3 (Frances Booth, Embody Lab)

Informed IFS for Trauma and Dissociation (Joanne Twombly, IFSCA)

Intimacy From the Inside Out (Toni Herbine-Blank, IFS Institute)

EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR Basic Training Part 1 (Trauma Recovery: EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs)

EMDR & Parts Work for Treating Complex Trauma (Arielle Schwartz)

Somatic/Psychedelic

Hakomi workshops (Vancouver Hakomi Education Network)

Somatic Psychedelic Therapy Training (Ahimsa Community of Therapeutic Practice)

Psychedelic Screening Essentials (Spirit Pharmacist)

Attachment

Healing Broken Connections course (Diane Poole Heller & Thomas Hübl)

Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity Awareness Training (Dan Spring)

Authentic Relating/Circling

Authentic Relating Training (Level 1 & 2, ART International)

Circling Immersion (Level 1 & 2, Circling Canada)