I am from the UK (born in Scotland, grew up in Buckinghamshire and went to university in Staffordshire), but I have called Vancouver home for 12 years now.
I initially started training in counselling skills to more effectively support the marginalized youth I worked with at an alternative education program in the UK but fell in love with the work and decided to undertake a training in Person Centred Counselling in 2008. I’ve always loved this model and was happy to see how neatly it fits with the idea in SE that the client has everything they need to heal.
When I moved to Vancouver I felt compelled to use my skills to respond to the substance use crisis, so visible in the DTES, and started working for a residential treatment program, initially as a support worker but after that as a counsellor. I was so moved by the experience of my clients and their sheer will to survive in the face of such adversity and this is where my interest in trauma and its relationship to substance use began.
I worked for many years in out patient substance use services after leaving residential and I recently shifted into full time private practice although clients who struggle with substance use issues still make up a significant portion of my practice.
I started my SE training in 2019, completed last summer and I have completed other trauma related trainings in addition- Online Touch Skills with Kathy Kain; Coupling Dynamics with Kathy Kain and Somatic Regulation and Resilience with Kathy Kain and Steve Tyrell. I find this work to be so rich and know I will be learning right along with you as an assistant!
When I am not working as a therapist, I am an artist and love spending active time outdoors doing almost any activity you can think of that the beautiful West Coast has to offer: cycling, climbing, skiing, hiking, kayaking. I also have a daily mindfulness practice of many years which I credit with supporting me in my goal of presence with my clients.