It’s tough to know if a therapist is going to be the “right fit” for you simply by checking out their website. I understand this. It’s up to you to establish what combination of attributes (experience, education, personality,…) are important to you in determining what your “right fit” is. Sometimes, the “right fit” is decided the moment you walk into a therapist’s office…based solely on how you feel…and nothing more.
I’m qualified. I have eleven years of university education. I earned my Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, and Master of Education (Counselling Psychology) degrees from the University of British Columbia. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors. I am trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and Gottman Method Couples Therapy – both research-based approaches which help to create and maintain greater love and health in relationships and introduce carefully evaluated interventions. I have also completed the Getting the Love You Want workshop in Imago Relationship Therapy with Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt. My couples counselling services are accessible to people across race, religion, class, culture, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. I am pleased to offer the Gottman Relationship Checkup to my clients – in-depth, scientific evaluations of a relationship’s strengths and challenges. My approach to couples therapy not only supports and repairs troubled marriages and committed relationships, but also strengthens happy ones. I also offer premarital counselling to improve communication through conflict and deepen intimacy and connection between partners. I enjoy working with blended families and the unique challenges that entails. I am a Gottman Seven Principles Program Educator and Bringing Baby Home Educator.
I’m experienced professionally. I have over twenty years of experience in working with individuals, couples, and families. I have been born and raised in Vancouver and have been working all across the Lower Mainland, both in the public and private sector, with a wide range of individuals on a wide range of issues. Each client has unique needs. My counselling approach is determined by each client’s unique needs and includes, but is not limited to: Attachment Therapy, Client Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, Life Coaching, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy.
I have a lot of life experience. I grew up a first-generation Canadian. I understand what if feels like when you don’t completely “fit-in” with any particular cultural group. I am divorced and have since remarried and have been given the gift of being the stepmom of three young adults. I understand how difficult and painful it is to go through the process of divorce… and I understand how much more difficult and painful it is to be married to the wrong person. I understand what it is to be in a cross-cultural marriage and I understand the challenges of blended families. I should also mention that there were many years between leaving my ex-husband and finally meeting the true love of my life. These years were scattered with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Throughout these years, I fell many times…and I got up just as many times. Through it all, I never let go of my core hopes and dreams…and slowly…over time…they began to become realized. I had to work hard for this…and I continue to work hard every day. So, yes, I do truly understand how hard it is.
I’m easy to talk to. I consider it an honour and a privilege to be trusted with my clients’ personal stories. I listen without judgment, but with compassion and empathy. I understand that it takes courage to walk into a therapist’s office and share what is personal, private, and often painful. I understood this best when I walked into a therapist’s office for the first time myself as a client. I was terrified. I know what I needed in that moment – and I did not receive it. I strive to understand what each client needs in that moment and in the moments that follow… and I strive to offer it to them.
We should talk. Give me a call, or send me an email, to schedule a free 15-minute telephone consultation. Following that, if you wish, go ahead and book a session with me. Then, decide if I’m the “right fit” for you. I know how difficult it can be to book that first session…and that often that call is made in a time of serious need. Therefore, I do my best to schedule each client’s initial session as soon as I am able to – even if it means being flexible about my hours.