About Me
I am a registered social worker working in private clinical practice. I use a blend of traditional counselling approaches and neuroscience-informed body-mind techniques, such as mindfulness and somatic approaches, to help clients find relief from stress, anxiety, grief and trauma, and to build resilience, authenticity and connection. My professional experience and training includes workshop facilitation, applied social research, and clinical work. In my private practice, I provide brief and longer-term counselling to individual adults (aged 18+).
About My Practice
> In our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom. - Buddha
We all face challenges in life. We may experience significant life changes, relationship difficulties, or find ourselves feeling stuck or overwhelmed. We may get trapped in a loop of negative thoughts and feelings, unsure of how to move forward. Sometimes we may simply feel disconnected from ourselves and want to find new ways to approach life.
Each of us also has incredible capacity for growth and healing; that is what I am here to help with. While you are the owner of this very personal process, I am here to provide support and guidance. Together, we can discover and build on the strengths and wisdom you already have, and explore new perspectives and possibilities.
My practice is guided by these values and beliefs:
- Person-centred
- Strengths-based
- Humanistic/Holistic
- Trauma-informed
- Neuroscience-informed
- Anti-oppressive
- Culturally responsive
- Respectful of diverse spiritual beliefs and practices
- LGBTQ2SIA+ positive
I draw from a variety of theoretical and practical approaches to find a style that works for each client. This includes traditional counselling, sometimes called “talk therapy”, where we will explore what is happening for you, talk about different ways to look at things, and consider possibilities for change. I also use techniques that work more directly to calm and regulate the nervous system, and which have been shown to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety, addressing the effects of trauma and loss, and more. Working together, my goal is to help you gain a sense of relief, greater clarity around self, values and goals, an improved ability to relate with others, and new strategies for coping with stress or difficulty.
Any work we do together will be founded in collaboration and trust. We will work together to determine the approaches that work best for you.
Some of the approaches I draw from include:
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Positive Psychology
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Polyvagal Theory
- Mindfulness-based Interventions
- Triphasic Trauma Treatment
- Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT; “tapping”)
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Limitations
Counselling is a practice that can complement and enhance other health approaches, but it is not a replacement for medication. My practice is also not set up to support people who are currently in situations of crisis or emergency.
If you are in crisis right now, please reach out to someone who can quickly be there for you, such as Toronto Distress Centres: call 416-408-4357 or text 45645, available 24/7. Additional crisis resources can be found at https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/crisis-resources.
Please note that at this time all services are offered virtually only.
Fees, Taxes & Insurance
My session fee is $160 for a 50-minute session. There is no tax on Registered Social Worker (RSW) services, and sessions with a RSW are eligible for a medical expense tax credit for income tax purposes.
Session fees may be covered in full or in part by your extended health insurance or employee benefits plan. At this time I do not offer direct billing to insurance providers, but you can submit receipts from our sessions for reimbursement.
Cancellation Policy
I have a standard 24-hour cancellation policy. That means if you need to cancel or reschedule your session, you need to give notice at least 24 hours in advance, or the full fee for the session will be charged. If you are late, you can still use the rest of your remaining session time for the full fee.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is one of the most important principles in our profession but there are exceptions. These exceptions are generally safety or legally related, such as when there is an immediate risk of harm to yourself or another person, if a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm, or a judge subpoenas my records. You can also request, or consent to, disclosure. In addition, all the forms and session platforms I use are PHIPA compliant. That means your information is protected when using these platforms. Email communications, however, are not encrypted, so please keep confidential information out of all email communications.
Book an Appointment
You can book an appointment through the online booking system. I also offer a free 10-minute phone consultation, so you can see if my style and approach fit your needs (please call or email to request a time).
