About Me

I am a neurodivergent counsellor specializing in neurodiversity-affirming and informed care. I work with individuals, couples, parents, families, and professionals wishing to provide safe and inclusive care and education for all people. 

My work is strength based, trauma informed, and client centred. To my practice I bring many years as an educator, group facilitator, public speaker, singer songwriter, Music Therapist,  parent to my sweet girl, and family counsellor. 

I have worked in addiction, grief and loss, mental health, and end of life care. As a family counsellor I help parents learn advanced caregiving skills to support their children; many of whom are neurodivergent and/or experiencing severe mental health challenges. 

In my practice I provide a holistic model of therapy that draws from various evidence based models including: Adapted Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Mindfulness Based Therapy, and Polyvagal theory. Further, I bring a knowledge of sensory processing and executive functioning differences that are essential to understanding different support needs. I draw from critical theory of disability, race, and gender to support clients ready to challenge and dismantle harmful messaging often internalized by people living with marginalized identities.

I have ADHD and have lived with chronic pain most of my life, although I am relatively pain free now that I understand my own needs more correctly. I have spent my life gathering information to help myself and to try and understand why me and so many people like me suffer from chronic health conditions such as depression, addiction, eating disorders, chronic pain or chronically low energy. My research has helped me to see the connection between neurodivergence, high sensitivity and health and importantly what can help.

Part of normal human diversity is disability. We do not need to overcome our disabilities performing “normal” to live meaningful and worthy lives. We bring inherent value as we navigate our one wild and precious life.

My guiding values:

Interdependence: I believe that human beings are social creatures and that we all require one another to live a full and meaningful life, and that all support needs are worthy of being met. I challenge the belief that any of us are truly independent or that that should be the goal. 

Self-Determination: I believe that all humans deserve the right to make decisions in their life that determine how they live, receive care, learn, and play. Neurodivergent individuals often require fierce autonomy. I honour this choice, even in children. I challenge and reframe traditional western ideas of what leadership, including parental leadership, looks like. I ask, “How can we be wise elders guiding our children with respect, while honouring their autonomy?” This does not mean that I believe children should not have guidance or learn to live within boundaries, just that we must take a nuanced and critical approach when setting these boundaries. I believe we must make sure we are understanding the child’s experience so that we can truly support them in learning how to live in a way that honours their own needs and the needs of others without sacrificing either one. 

Intersectionality & Anti-Oppression: I seek to learn from disabled people with other marginalized identities in an effort to centre and uplift the most marginalized among us. I understand that the intersection between multiple marginalities creates the largest barriers and that these voices are most often unheard, most oppressed, and that their messages are paramount to our liberation. I experience that as others rise in speaking their truth and claiming space, we are all better for it. “Until we are all free, we are none of us free. ”― Emma Lazarus.  I seek to practise decolonization in all that I do and to humbly and respectfully learn from the wisdom of indigenous knowledge keepers.