I provide individual counselling for adults and specialize in mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, self-esteem and self-image, navigating family dynamics, trauma histories and perinatal mental health.

In particular, I have extensive experience in working with individuals who have chronic mental health conditions. I recognize and try to provide support for the nuanced difficulties of living in today’s world with ongoing mental health struggles. Beyond mental health conditions, I also offer treatment and support for those that have experienced trauma. I am well-versed in the physiological and psychological impacts of trauma and how to navigate the difficulties they bring.

I began my career working as a social worker within inpatient psychiatry with adults that had been hospitalized for acute mental illness. I became intimately familiar with the difficulties of individuals and families trying to access mental health supports. After this position I worked on a mobile crisis response team. In this position we would provide on-site support to individuals experiencing mental health crises like plans to die by suicide, self-harm, panic attacks, outbursts of anger, and the like. Beyond my work in the healthcare system, I ran a small non-profit that sought to tell personal stories of mental illness to reduce stigma. This position involved compiling the stories of diverse groups of people and learning from the experiences they shared.

I began Oaks Mental Health in May of 2018 and my private practice as a therapist in January of 2020. As the owner and lead educator of Oaks, I create and provide training opportunities on diverse mental health topics. As a therapist, I continuously seek professional development through ongoing supervision, clinical consultation, and relevant training opportunities. In regards to my education, I completed my Bachelor of Social Work in 2015 and my Master of Social Work in 2020.

My style is unstructured, conversational, and relational. I want to meet you where you are at and put aside any agenda of my own. I want you to define what healing looks like for you. Rather than lead you, my role is to come alongside you in this journey towards wellness and recovery. I believe the therapeutic relationship (i.e. relationship between therapist and person coming to therapy) is one of the most powerful mechanisms of healing in counselling. As a result, l will actively work to cultivate a healthy, supportive relationship with you as you seek to make sense of your world and how to move forward. I will strive to be collaborative with you while being responsive and attuned to your emotions moment by moment. Throughout our sessions I will explore with you the stories you’ve learned about yourself and others, your emotional experiences, how emotions feel within your body (every emotion is a physiological experience), and how you might cope or adapt to the hardships before you.

I believe people need safe spaces where they feel seen and heard while knowing they are not alone in the midst of their struggles. Shame, fear, and aloneness seem to be at the heart of most of our pain. A crucial component of feeling seen and heard is having a non-judgmental presence that helps you process and experience your emotions in a healthy way. Many of us have not had opportunities to learn how to be with and tolerate intense or difficult emotions. This leads to many of us suppressing, numbing or denying our emotions - which I believe is at the root of many of the problems we experience.

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.” - Brené Brown