BSW, RSW, ASAT, EMDR-Trained Clinician

Why do you do what you do?

• I grew up parentified in a family with mental illness, addiction, and physical disability.  I’m in recovery for mental illness, behavioural addiction, developmental trauma + relational trauma, and grief. I also have a chronic illness, which is a whole story of its own. I didn’t always require mobility aids. Up until 2023, I was extremely active and fit. As a therapist, I can see all the intricacies and interconnectedness of it all.

• Much of the work I do is meaning-making for me. I have a drive to understand what, why, and how we - as humans - do the things we do, and what we can do to rewire, heal, and recover.

• Quite frankly, human beings and family systems fascinate me, and I’m deeply passionate about the work I do.

What are you like as a therapist?

• I’ve been told I’m casual, humorous, empathetic, compassionate, and diplomatic, yet direct when needed.

What licensing/registration/approval do you have?

• I am a Registered Social Worker (RSW) licensed with:

  • Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (#3246)

  • British Columbia College of Social Workers (#15526)

  • Alberta College of Social Workers (#17617)

• I have ‘Approval for Electronic Practice’ (virtual services) in:

  • Newfoundland and Labrador

What education, certification, and training do you have?

• Training in the ‘Best Practices in Treating Adults Enmeshed with a Parent’ facilitated by Dr. Kenneth Adams with Overcoming Enmeshment, and I’m listed as an Enmeshment-Informed Therapist.

• EMDR-Trained Clinician with an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA)-approved Basic EMDR Therapy program.

• Associate Sex Addiction Therapist (ASAT) with the International Institute for Trauma & Addiction Professionals.

• Master of Social Work (MSW) student with the University of Regina. My thesis is a qualitative, phenomenological study, focusing on the neurobiological impacts of parentification, enmeshment, and emotional incest in Canadian adults.

• Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from the University of Regina with practicums in youth detox and stabilization and adult mental health counselling.

• Intensive addictions treatment training:

  • Professionals in Residence program with Hazelden Betty Ford in Rancho Mirage, California.

  • Professional Residency program with Cedars at Cobble Hill in Cobble Hill, BC.

• Graduate level studies in counselling psychology with Yorkville University.

• 3 years of undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Saskatchewan.

• Certified in various addictions and trauma assessments.

  • Click here to learn more.

• Certificates in:

  • Healing Trauma & Addiction’ with Dr. Gabor Maté.

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Advanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

  • Mindfulness Counselling/Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

  • Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

• Licensed to provide a high conflict divorce program called New Ways for Families®.

What are your areas of specialization + interest?

• Sex, Porn, + Love Addiction and Concurrent Disorders

• Substance Addiction + Concurrent Disorders

• Family + Addiction (with a special interest in Sexual Betrayal Trauma)

• Family Systems (with a special interest in Enmeshment + Emotional Incest)

• Grief + Loss

• Relationships

• I’m informed, educated, sensitive, and experienced with queer issues.

• Although I only work with adults, I have experience working with people of all ages, various cultural and ethnical backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, + monogamous and polyamorous relationships.

What professional experience do you have?

• Medical Social Worker, in a crisis intervention/crisis counselling role, in various areas of the hospital, including: Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department, Medicine wards, Vascular/Thoracic/General Surgery wards, Acute Care Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Palliative Care, Pediatric Cardiology, and outpatient Geriatric Assessment. 

• Addictions Counsellor in detox and youth stabilization.

• Psychotherapist in private practice since 2016.

• Case Aide in Resources and Recruitment, as well as a Youth Care Worker in Long-Term Child Care with social services. 

• My employment in the healthcare/human services field began at the age of 11, where I worked as a Respite Worker and self-administered Home Care Aide.  In my late teen years, I worked seasonally in long-term care as a Recreation Facilitator. 

What approach do you use in therapy sessions?

• It really depends who I’m working with, but typically I use an eclectic approach.  As human beings, I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, so practicing eclectically for me is an incorporation of cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectic behaviour therapy, family systems theory, attachment theory, narrative therapy, motivational interviewing, the 30-Task Model, transactional analysis, and neuroscience under an integrative, trauma-responsive, and culturally-attuned lens.

What are some of your personal interests?

• Up until July of 2023, I was very active.  I enjoyed the gym and getting outdoors for walks, hikes, runs and paddle boarding, but then I non-consensually joined the chronic illness club. I have a chronic neurological disorder and still on a path to diagnosis. I’m currently learning what my new personal interests are. What I can say is, I feel most at home near a body of water.  I’m a vegetarian. I love plants. I love to learn and I’m committed to ongoing education and professional development. And, anyone who knows me knows I love dogs.  One method of emotional regulation I use personally is meditation, and I’ve completed a 10-day and 3-day silent meditation retreat at Alberta Vipassana Meditation Centre.