You can find out more about my idea of Relational Psychotherapy on my About page and my Therapy‍ ‍page. If you want to nerd out about it, I suggest “Relational Psychotherapy: A Primer” by Pat DeYoung. She is my most influential teacher and mentor. More name dropping includes, Heinz Kohut (Self-psychology. . .relationally adjacent), Stephen Miller, Robert Stolorow, Jessica Benjamin, Donna Orange, Karen Maroda (all relational analysts and authors)

My theoretical base includes Relational Cultural Theory, Affect Regulation Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology (Allan Schore, Daniel Hill, Dan Seigel), Polyvagal Theory (Stephen Porges, Deb Dana) I could go on a little but will stop there.

I also have my training certificate for EMDR (Part 1 &2). For more about EMDR, a somatic trauma processing modality, see this short video.

I have familiarity and training in IFS but I don’t conduct a purely IFS treatment. If that is what you are looking for I’m happy to refer you to a colleague.

I have a deep personal Mindfulness practice and can help you develop your own should that appeal. See my answer below about spirituality for more information about this.

The time you invest in yourself in therapy really depends on two things. How intense is the “problem” and how “deep” do you want to go? It’s my preference and bias to work with big stuff and go deep. That is where the longer term change is. Think about it this way. . .let’s say you have chronic headaches. These headaches are from a point of tension in your shoulder (created by any number of factors including posture, lifestyle, injury, emotional stuff etc.). There are a few ways to deal with that chronic pain. The first thing is. . .nothing, just endure. That is valid but also a hard road that may have impacts in the rest of your life. The second is medication, Tylenol or stronger things. This can relieve pain but the source of the problem is still there. The third is some manual therapy (Physio, RMT, Chiro, Osteo). This also helps and can start to get to the root of it. The last thing I’ll highlight is changing your posture habits and lifestyle. I can tell you that often, to really relieve the headaches in a longer term way, most folks need some combination of medications, manual therapy and conscious change of behaviour and habits.

Therapy is like that. Medication and symptom relief from shorter term modalities like CBT, SFT and DBT are great but to really get at the root of the problem, you might need something that gets at the root of your habits. This is what a relational psychodynamic and nervous system focussed approach can offer. It does take more time, sometimes even years, but the result can be more profound and lasting.

You don’t have to do it all at once either. You have a lifetime to work on the you project. I’d love to participate.

My students have had a foundational education in counselling practice. They came to me in order to learn how to be more relational and to solidify their confidence and competence. So, while they won’t be the same as me and may offer things like CBT, ACT and Narrative therapy, I am working with them on their Relational Base Skills. It’s totally possible to do CBT in a relational way. I actually think it works better when we keep the relationship between client and therapist in mind at all times. If, at any time, you have a question about what is going on in your work with a student, I am here to support you and the therapy relationship so it can be most impactful on your life and healing.

I am a queer identified cis-gender woman and I’ve been working with folks from queer circles in all their fabulousness my entire career. I have worked with many Trans folks also. See the tab under Gender for a pretty frank statement about how I’m feeling about my calling to support that community at this present moment.

Poly? No problem. Kinky? I’ve got you. Swinger? Let’s talk.

I don’t assume you are coming to me because the above relationship choices are any sort of problem. They are part of your life so you may need to talk about them. You will find no adverse judgment here.

If you are First Nation, Métis or Inuit and you have a status number, you are eligible for fully funded therapy from this Federal program. I am on the list and can provide the service. This is the only direct billing I do. Nothing up front, just 20 sessions a calendar year.

I do not. I know that may seem weird but I’m a Relational Therapist not a Relationship Therapist. I have chosen to focus only on adult individuals. If you are looking for therapy for your relationship situation, I have good colleagues to refer you to.

This may not be a question you even thought to ask but it does inform my therapy practice. My direct blood lineage is Ashkenazi Jewish. My family on both sides escaped Europe to come to North America at the time of the Pogroms (that’s Yiddish for riding around in a town and killing the inhabitants) in Poland in the late 19th and early 20th century.

My adopted spiritual lineage is Buddhist in the Plum Village Tradition. That is the Monastery founded by the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. I have a Dharma Name in this lineage (Joyful Mindfulness of the Source) and I’m pretty into it. What that means for you is I’m grounded in compassion, even more firmly than I might otherwise be. I’m grounded in the present moment, which is the only one that actually matters for change. I’m committed to the notion of Interbeing, which is this tradition’s conception of our unavoidable interconnectedness. It’s a very humanist approach, no gods, goddesses or other divine beings. Just the teachings of the Buddha, who was a very cool human being.

If you are not interested in this coming in directly, it won’t. It really just makes me a better therapist and person.

If you are interested in talking about Dharma, I’m so here for it :).

Supervision is usually a relationship between an experienced practitioner and a student or beginning therapist. There is an element of responsibility that I take on directly for the clients’ well being. I am responsible for teaching and development of the therapist.

Consultation is collegial. The therapist is fully responsible for their own client and is expected to have the sense to take good advice and reject less optimal advice. Consultation is also offered in areas that I don’t specialize in or don’t have a credential that says I can supervise. I cannot supervise EMDR in a formal way. I can only consult, for instance.

All my Supervision and Consultation takes the same style that is parallel to my therapy practice. Our relationship is where the learning and growth sits and we care for it so it grows with the therapist. We address rifts in the manner of a relational frame and this is part of the in vivo aspect of the learning

TIRP was a beautiful little school that I trained at 24 years ago and came to work at as an instructor in 2017.

In 2025, we completed our last in person phase group year. We wound down because of a number of factors. At the base of all of them was a lack of capacity to run a small school in a big regulatory environment with too few people and resources to do it in a way that met our aspirations.

The community remains and the wonderful therapists thrive. It was sad but everything has its time.