Sometimes there is a gap between where we are and where we want to be or who we think we could be.

Feeling this gap can be emotionally and physically draining. It’s difficult to be present in our lives when we feel consumed by the pain within us. It’s hard to know what to do next and even when the next step is clear, it may feel impossible to take it. 

My approach to therapy is gentle, supportive, and relational with an aim to reduce the need for coping mechanisms and to heal at the source. The training that I take reflects my personal belief that therapy is a place to come back to your most integrated self.  

My work is grounded primarily in Somatic Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs). I have always been drawn to interpersonal neurobiology and the mind/body connection. This is what led me to Somatic Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Interventions. I began with MBIs by completing my formal training in MBRP (Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention), followed by MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) at the University of California San Diego.

Among many other health benefits, MBIs help us to develop self-awareness, self-regulation and self-compassion. They are also highly effective in reducing symptoms caused by coping strategies. By developing these skills, you can decrease the amount of stress in your life, alleviate depression, reduce anxiety and build confidence.

After working with MBIs to foster symptom reduction, I took a deeper look into the source of these coping mechanisms. Specifically I wondered, is there a way to get to the origin of the coping strategies? Could working with the source of these help to release the need for the coping strategies? 

That is what I found in Somatic Therapy. I completed a 3 year intensive training in Somatic Attachment Psychotherapy (2 year Bringing the Body into Practice training + 1 year of Advanced BBP training), here in Victoria, BC with Lisa Mortimer. The relational, attachment-orientated focus of this specific training, along with its foundation in neuroscience, provides the depth and embodiment required to gently work with the source of coping strategies. 

The thread found throughout all of my education, training and experience is a client-centered approach to my practice. Since each person has individual perspectives and unique experiences, I use a variety of therapeutic approaches to find the best fit for my clients. To help them get unstuck and move forward to be where they want to be and who they choose to be.

Land Acknowledgement 

 I acknowledge that I am an uninvited settler of Dane, Scottish, Mi’gmaq and Irish ancestry who lives, plays and works on the stolen traditional, ancestral lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Esquimalt and Songhees) and WSÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) People
 

With mainly European and Scandinavian ancestry, I recognize the privilege of benefitting from colonization.
 

I am learning Mi’gmaq culture, language, history, traditions, traditional lands and the ancestral grid since otherwise, as Black Elk says, “it’s an empty claim”.
 

Also learning SENĆOŦEN language, the language of this land. WSÁNEĆ culture, history, traditions, traditional lands and the ancestral grid as part of acknowledging that the home our family lives in, is on unceded land that was acquired through violence.
 

I am committed to activism around Land Back initiatives for the Indigenous right to have sovereignty over their own bodies, communities and be connected to their lands as sovereign stewards of the Earth.