Dear Reader,
Therapy is a unique experience that depends on the connection between you and your therapist.
This letter gives a brief sense of who I am, my approach, and what it may be like to work together.
I invite you to reach out with any questions or concerns, now or at any point along the way.
My Background
Becoming an art therapist felt like coming full circle. I began my career teaching piano, helping young people connect with their inner musicality, which helped spark my interest in the mind–body connection. This led me to study psychology and later pursue social work, where I gained experience supporting children, youth, and families in therapeutic settings.
Partway through my Master’s in Social Work, I developed fibromyalgia and stepped away from my studies to focus on healing. During that time, I worked as an energy-based healing practitioner. However, in 2019, I realized I wasn’t on an authentic path and chose to close my practice.
At the onset of the pandemic, as my fibromyalgia symptoms returned, I sought support and was introduced to art therapy. This experience was transformative—it allowed me to access and process what was held in my body in a way talk therapy had not. Through this work, I felt called back to practice as a therapist, this time through art.
I completed my training at the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute (KATI) in 2024, where I experienced profound personal and professional growth. I now practice as an art therapist and therapeutic counsellor, and have begun my work as an art therapy educator, serving as a teaching assistant and research advisor at KATI.
Answering this call is an ongoing process—one that requires continual listening and attention to what arises from within. In my private practice, I support individuals in responding to their own inner call. My approach is grounded in deep listening and in helping clients reconnect with their bodies, emotions, and inner experiences.
About Me
My Approach and Theoretical Orientation
My work is rooted in a relational approach that honours the sacredness of connection—within ourselves, with others, and with the living world around us. I am guided by person-centred, humanistic, and culturally responsive values, and hold a trauma- and attachment-informed lens, recognizing how wounding in relationship can shape our sense of self and belonging.
I believe that healing unfolds within a safe and trusting therapeutic relationship—one that allows for gentle repair and reconnection with the body, mind, and spirit.
I draw from mindfulness, somatic, and neurobiological approaches, including Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy and Internal Family Systems, to support a deep listening to what lives within. Through this process, we begin to access and give voice to the many parts of the self, including the body’s inherent wisdom and authentic expression. As these parts are witnessed and integrated, a sense of wholeness and inner harmony can begin to emerge.
I am also inspired by ecological art therapy, inviting the presence of nature—through materials, imagery, and metaphor—into the creative process. In doing so, we remember our connection to the natural world and its quiet, enduring capacity to support healing and transformation.
At times, I may also attune to the subtle energetic dimensions of experience, holding space for what is felt but not always seen or spoken. When welcomed, this awareness can deepen the process of connection, insight, and integration.
What to expect:
I believe that you are the expert of your life, so you can expect an atmosphere of collaboration and a relationship based on trust, non-judgement, compassion, empathy, cultural sensitivity, acceptance, respect, and curiosity. I use theory to inform questions to help you find answers from within and am committed to offering strength based perspectives. You can expect to lead the process and explore materials at your own pace. I may offer art invitations that emerge out of your explorations and might do art alongside you, if that’s more comfortable for your process. You do not need to identify as an artist, as I believe we are all inherently creative, and I will meet you where you are. I see the art as an extension of you and so I treat the art and the artmaking process with the respect I treat you as a person.
There are little parameters around what we do in a session, but it generally holds the structure of:
· beginning with a brief check in
· moving into art making (with or without dialogue)
· then if inspired, taking time to look at the art and processing it in dialogue
Arc of Therapy:
Therapy begins with an intake session, where we connect around your history and get to know one another so that you can determine goodness of fit. Depending upon your goals for therapy, your therapeutic needs may range from needing a only a few sessions to a longer commitment and a more intensive, consistent experience. When engaging in a longer term therapy relationship, planned endings are important so that you have the opportunity for closure and experience the transition in a safe and predictable way.
It is important to note that all therapy looks different for everyone and can be experienced in nonlinear and sometimes surprising or unpredictable ways. There can be a range of responses and reactions within the therapeutic context, but the discomfort and challenges that can emerge are temporary and are met with as much gentleness and support as possible.
If this feels like something you’d like to know more about or are inspired to answer your call with me, please do reach out.