About me
Originally from England, I have lived on the lands currently known as Canada since 2011. I have been working with people healing from mental health issues since 1990, and have been a qualified professional for over twenty years.
I have worked as a therapist and clinical consultant in:
- A community HIV/AIDS organization in London, UK
- A community mental health organization in London, UK
- Universities, with both staff and students as a therapist, and as a clinical supervisor and adjunct faculty member with postgraduate trainees
- Treatment centres for people in recovery from addictions, eating disorders, and trauma
- A day hospital setting for people recovering from eating disorders
A community-based organization for young adults with complex mental health needs
As an expressive arts therapist, I am deeply committed to supporting people to heal, grow, and discover who they are through the arts (visual arts, music, dance/movement, drama, sandplay, poetry, creative writing, journaling, etc). I have a strong personal background in the arts, including music, drawing, painting, ceramics, collage, multi-media art, photography, and movement. I have had a personal daily meditation practice since 1987 and yoga since 2003.
Personal approach:
I work in a very participant-centred way, taking the lead from you and using what is happening between us in the sessions to support you to explore the issues you bring and help you move forward. I have a particular interest in the connection between body, mind, spirit, and the natural world, and completed a two-year post-qualifying training in somatic psychotherapy. I also have a strong interest in creativity and in creative arts therapies and have facilitated expressive arts therapy groups in a variety of settings.
In addition to exploring what is going on for you in the present we may also need to look at your childhood, family of origin, early relationships, and experiences of being in the world to better understand the factors that have shaped the person you have become. I will always work at a pace that feels manageable to you and respect your need to slow the process down at times if it feels too fast.
I continually strive to offer an anti-oppressive, inclusive, decolonial, trauma-informed service.
Clinical consultation:
My five-year clinical Masters degree included advanced training in the theory and clinical practice of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioural and humanistic psychotherapies and their integration into a cohesive relational clinical model. I believe in the centrality of the therapeutic and consultative relationship and work explicitly with this in clinical consultation. I am also strongly influenced by developmental, systemic, somatic, ecological, and transpersonal theories and practices, and hold a PhD in Expressive Arts Therapy. My professional training in clinical consultation was at the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust in London, UK, and my doctoral research was on arts-based clinical supervision. I am Supervision Chair for the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute in Nelson, British Columbia and previously worked as a clinical supervisor for the postgraduate Art Therapy programme at Adler University in Vancouver.
PLEASE NOTE: I mainly offer clinical consultation to Registered Clinical Counsellors and Art/Expressive Arts Therapists, or trainees on approved programs that will lead to RCC registration with the BCACC or equivalent expressive arts therapy professional bodies such as the BCATA, CATA, or IEATA.