What influenced your decision to become a Psychotherapist?
Becoming a psychotherapist was an easy decision for me as I have a passion for people and being able to support individuals to live their best lives is my ultimate goal.
What are the top three most common issues you help clients address?
The three top concerns clients bring to counselling is mental health disorders (mainly anxiety and depression), children and youth struggling to manage their emotions, and difficulties in relationships (both family and intimate relationships).
What types of presenting concerns do you enjoy treating?
The presenting concerns I enjoy working with most is mental health. Having been passionate about this and spent majority of my career working in the field I have a great knowledge base and respect for those living with mental health challenges. Secondarily, I really like do pre-marital counselling with partners who are looking to face life together, and want to make sure they are beginning their journey in a fully open and honest way. The couples’ love and passion shines in sessions and creates a light and productive session.
What types of treatment methods/approaches do you use?
I practice an eclectic approach to treatment and counselling. I do not believe in a one size fits all approach therefore allow the client(s) to guide me to understand their situation, and we develop a plan that works for them. For some people, they are seeking more talk therapy where they lead the sessions and have a sounding board to guide them to developing their own conclusions to things. Others are seeking a more solution-focused approach which follows a more structured approach to meeting goals.
What is your treatment philosophy?
My treatment philosophy is that everyone does the best they can in every moment with the tools they have at that time. I also believe we can all learn more effective strategies to manage various moments. Additionally, I believe that people are the experts of themselves and deserve non-judgmental support for any challenges they might be facing.
What is a common question patients ask you?
A common question is how long people generally see me. And I can never answer this question with an actual time frame. I think people generally see me until they feel they have achieved their goals. Depending on the goals and the individual circumstances of the person this time varies significantly.
What is a common misconception/myth you would like to dispel?
I would say a common misconception about counselling is that is it only for a specific demographic of people. This is not true. Counselling can be for anyone and everyone; no matter their age or personal circumstances. Counselling is something that anyone can benefit from if they are open to it. There is no issue too small to bring into the session. If it matters to you it matters to me.
If you could give everyone one piece of advice this spring what would it be?
One piece of advice I would want people to have this spring is to notice how they’re feeling and behaving and whatever it is getting in the way of living their best life as their best self, do something to break down the barriers. We often put a lot of effort in to our physical self maybe going to the gym or eating healthily but we can sometimes forget we also have to work on our mental and emotional self. Since we all have a brain we all have mental health that needs tending to.
What do you like to do for fun/or tell us something most people don’t know about you?
For fun, I enjoy being outside as much as I can. This can be out with the dogs or training for my triathlon race season. With the weather heading into the warmer direction, I cannot wait to get back out on my bike, open-water swim and simply not have to bundle up!