Frequently Asked Questions

I hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, which provided advanced counselling skills and training, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, which gave me a strong foundation in psychology and human behaviour.

I am also a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) and draw primarily from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in my work. ACT offers practical ways to respond differently to difficult or unwanted thoughts, emotions, and experiences while building greater psychological flexibility and staying connected to what matters to you.

I find ACT particularly valuable when working with chronic pain, long-term health conditions, disability, and other ongoing challenges. Some circumstances cannot be changed, including permanent or long-term conditions and the effects of systemic barriers and discrimination. Counselling grounded in ACT focuses on what is within your control, how you want to respond to what you are facing, and how you can continue building a meaningful life around what matters to you.

I support adults, including older adults, with a range of concerns, including anxiety and difficult emotions, chronic pain, medical conditions, injury or disability, trauma, and experiences related to ADHD, Autism, or AuDHD.

Counselling can also be helpful when you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected from what matters to you, or trying to adapt to circumstances that are difficult to change or cannot be changed.

My approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). We can focus on practical strategies, greater self-understanding and self-compassion, and building more flexibility in how you respond to difficult or unwanted experiences.

I also work with clients who choose long-term maintenance counselling. For some people, particularly those living with ongoing health conditions, chronic pain, disability, or other long-term challenges, counselling can provide a consistent place to check in, maintain helpful strategies, navigate changes as they arise, and stay connected to what matters to them.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based approach that combines conversation with practical exercises during sessions. The exercises are usually woven naturally into our conversations and the work we do together.

We might talk through what you’re experiencing, notice patterns in how you respond to difficult thoughts or feelings, and try exercises that involve mindfulness, perspective-taking, values, or relating differently to difficult internal experiences.

ACT recognizes that while some problems can be changed, some experiences, losses, health conditions, disabilities, or life circumstances cannot be changed. Acceptance does not mean liking, approving of, or wanting what is happening. It means making space for what is already here, while putting more energy toward the parts of your life where you do have choice and influence.

ACT also focuses on what matters to you. Together, we can explore your values and find realistic ways to move toward them, even when difficult thoughts, feelings, pain, or circumstances are present.

The goal is not to eliminate every difficult thought or feeling. It is to build greater flexibility in how you respond, so those experiences have less control over how you live your life.

Trauma-informed counselling recognizes that past and present experiences can shape how we respond to ourselves, other people, and the world around us. Rather than assuming there is something “wrong” with you, a trauma-informed approach considers how your responses may have developed as understandable ways of coping, adapting, or protecting yourself in the context of what you have experienced.

Trauma-informed counselling also recognizes your strengths, resilience, knowledge of yourself, and the strategies that have helped you through difficult experiences. We can build on what is already working while exploring whether other ways of responding might give you more flexibility, choice, or support in your life now.

In our work together, I prioritize choice, collaboration, transparency, and respect for your boundaries. You do not need to share every detail of a difficult or traumatic experience for counselling to be helpful, and we can work at a pace that takes your needs and sense of safety into account.

Neurodiversity- and disability-affirming counselling starts from the understanding that there are many valid ways of thinking, communicating, experiencing the world, and moving through life. Differences are not automatically problems that need to be fixed.

It also means recognizing that some challenges can be changed, while others may be long-term, permanent, or outside your control. That can include experiences of systemic discrimination and ableism, which are not yours to solve alone. Counselling can be a place to better understand yourself, find practical supports, build self-compassion, and make choices that work better for your needs and what matters to you.

In our work together, I respect your lived experience and your understanding of yourself. That can mean adjusting how we communicate, slowing things down when needed, making space for sensory or accessibility needs, and talking openly about experiences such as masking, burnout, stigma, ableism, or navigating systems that were not designed with you in mind.

The goal is not to make you seem more “typical” or to push you past your limits. It is to support you in finding ways of living that feel more sustainable, authentic, and meaningful to you.