About

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor and a member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counselors. I practice online from Courtenay on Vancouver Island and also from various locations around the world, providing individual adult psychotherapy, couples therapy, and family counselling.  

I obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Victoria and a Masters degree from the Adler School of Psychology.  My post-degree professional training includes Bowen Family Systems Therapy, Imago Marital & Relationship Therapy, and Attachment/Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (AB-ISTDP).

My practice is informed by Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy (ISTDP). I have trained in ISTDP with luminaries as  Dr. Robert J Norborskey, Josette Ten-Have-de Labje PSYD, Jon Fredrikson MSW. I regularly attend seminars and workshops on ISTDP and related modalties, presented by leading  ISTDP educators. 

I have a diverse background, counselling for the Vancouver Civic Employee Assistance Program (from February 2005 to September 2013), an independent society committed to the well-being of City of Vancouver employees and their families, providing short term counseling, assessment, and referral and education services. Prior to working for the VCEAP, I worked as a Volunteer Coordinator and  Hospice Grief Therapist, working with individuals and families experiencing life threatening illnesses and bereavement issues. My approach is based on Attachment Theory and Family Systems Theory, which combine my understanding of early life stresses and how we establish relationships with ourselves and others based on what we experienced or were told. I encourage my clients to become independent and self-sufficient in their abilities to manage their lives successfully.

Having experienced my own losses and transitions has given me strength, resiliency and the ability to understand and empathize with clients who are struggling with their own losses and change.