Education, Training, Client Focus.

Education (My Story).

A bit about my journey in getting here: I started out in the arts (in painting - which I love and do now), switched degrees and finished my undergraduate degree in film, video and media arts. After working in Vancouver, BC in film and media related positions and making films in my arts practice - like my short film titled Vagina Bug, I began to do more advocacy based work. This deepened my ability to see and feel the power that creativity has in healing and connecting.

I had always been interested in the social sciences and somewhere deep down I knew I’d follow this interest when it aligned. In 2011 I moved forward (I don’t feel like it was backward) to my home city YYC. This was mostly due to my knees hit the floor moment of suffering/awakening resulting in trauma related to loss, a car accident and a relationship ending/more loss. Flash forward a bit after I began my own deeply involved work: therapy, connection, reading, self-care, time. I turned down a job in media in Edmonton (a true sliding door moment in my life) and began volunteering then becoming employed in various roles in the human service sector at a non-profit. I also began taking some undergraduate psychology courses as pre-requisites to the graduate program I began in counselling and art therapy. Alongside grad school, I continued working and learning with diverse populations in supportive roles within the human service sector. After graduating and having an incredible mentor (now colleague) who walks her talk, I began working in private practice. Within private practice l have been/am committed to ongoing education, professional development and training (a self-described life long learner) as well as trust in the value and enoughness that listening, witnessing and connecting in a safe space can have in strengths-based healing.

• MC:AT, Dual Master’s Degrees in Counselling Psychology and Art Therapy, University Athabasca and Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, AB & BC, 2014-2017

• BMA, Bachelor of Media Arts, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, BC, 2005-2008

• BFA, Commenced, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Alberta Collage of Art and Design, AB, 2002-2005

Recent Training + Partners.

• Partner Therapist with the Lionheart Foundation

• In Progress, April - June: Working with 2SLGBTQIA+ and Gender Expansive Children, Youth, and Families, Joanna Card (2024)

• Pending/Upcoming April - Heart-Centered Practices with Children & Adolescents: Blending Internal Family Systems (IFS) with Expressive Arts Therapy(EXAT), Carmen Richardson (2024)

• In Progress, April - May - Arts ReimaginED: the MAKING, Involved as a Learner and Teaching Artist, Hosted through Arts Commons (2024)

• Indigenous Healing and Wellbeing Workshop, Chantai/Seitaa Manet (2024)

• Healing from the Land: Medicine Wheel Teachings - Anishinaabe Knowledge Holder, Mary Anne Caibaiosai, Hosted through CCPA (2024)

• World Art Therapy Conference - Various Teachings within the themes: Working with Adversity, Ecological Models, and Art Therapy in the Digital Era, Hosted over a three-week span by Creative Arts Therapies Events (2024)

• Getting Ourselves Back Into the Groove by Paying Attention to the 3 Fs [Fight, Flee and Freeze] - Dawn McBride, Hosted through CCPA (2024)

• How to Become an Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Practitioner - Gina Ko, Hosted through ACTA (2023)

• Examining Counseling Knowledge from an Anti-Racism Lens - Breanna Chanelle Phillip, Hosted through CCPA (2023)

• Arts ReimaginED: the MAKING, Involved as a Learner and Teaching Artist, Hosted through Arts Commons (2023)

• Diversity in Sex and Relationship 101: An Introduction to Alternative Sex and Consensual

  Non-Monogamy in the Counselling Setting, Presenter - Emily Wasylenko, Hosted through CCPA (2023)

• Black & Racialized Youth Mental Health Learning Sessions - Took place monthly over 12 months (2022-2023)

• EMDR Advanced Training - EMDR Master Series with Ana Gomez (2022-2023)

• EMDR Basic Training with Sue Genest - EMDR Trained Therapist (2022-2023)

• Emergence: Cultivating Hope, Creating Change CATA/ACAT Conference (2021)

• Art Therapy Workshop on Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppressive Practices in Creative Therapies (2021)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Intermediate Training for Depression & Anxiety with Russ Harris (2021)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Made Simple: a Beginners Workshop with Russ Harris (2021)

• Brain Story Certification, Neurobiology and Mental Health (2021)

• Expressive Arts Therapy Intensive Training for Trauma (2018)

• Unraveling the Mystery of Memory in the Treatment of Trauma with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller (2018)

• Creative Agency & Creative Responses Through Arts Therapy, BCATA/CATA Conference (2017)

• Positive Neuroplasticity Training, Rick Hanson (2017)

Client Focus + Communities.

I work with adolecents, young adults and adults (12-years-old +). I additionally work with children (5-12 years of age) on a case by case basis.

I coordinate and facilitate independent and collaborative therapeutic workshops and creative arts workshops/classes for a variety of contexts and communities (see workshops section for current offerings).

• Anxiety + Stress Management 

• Depression 

• Transitional Periods

• Relationship Challenges

• Mindfulness + Self-Care Practices

• Self-Injury

• Trauma

• Women’s Issues and Topics (adolescent/adult identifying women)

• Body Image - Positivity, Neutrality, Dismantling Fat Phobia

• Sexuality - Sex Positive Allied + Affirming Alt. Sex and Relationships

• LGBTQ(2IA+) Allied (topics, exploring + affirming identity - including gender transitioning + affirming care, empowerment) 

• Parent Coaching and Family Support

• Grief/Loss

• Pet Loss

• Challenging the Inner Critic + Perfectionism

• Strength Based Approaches (anchoring in strengths and building resiliency)

• Time + Space for Creativity

• Employment - job loss, job search, job transition; arts-based career counselling

• Interpersonal Challenges (working with others and conflict resolution)