What kind of counselling do you offer?

I offer individual counselling for adults and relationship therapy for partners. My approach is psychodynamic and relational, and I also bring in tools from narrative, feminist, family systems, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and motivational interviewing approaches.

I specialize in working with anxiety, stress, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions and complex grief.

Where are you located? Where do you practice?

I work in person and remotely on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I can also offer telehealth counselling to people residing across British Columbia and in some other parts of Canada on a case-by-case basis. I am also licensed as an LMHC to serve New York State residents.

There are so many options. How do I choose a counsellor?

Much of the psychotherapy research points to the importance of therapeutic alliance—the feeling that you like your therapist, that your therapist “gets” you, and that the two of you are on the same page about why you’re seeking therapy. Your first few contacts with a new therapist are a great time to trust your gut about the fit.

A body of counselling research has tried to explore the “common factors” of success in counselling. This research points to the need for something more than “supportive counselling.” A therapist should be able to provide an explanation for emotional distress that draws on psychological research, recognizes social, historical, and cultural context, and makes sense to you as a client. They should also be able to explain how that distress might change through the therapy process. It’s important to realistically recognize the difficulties and potential barriers your work will face, and it’s equally important to build hope that change is possible by being able to explain how that change might come about. I recommend connecting with a counsellor who has the capacity to answer these and other questions you might have about the process.

What do you charge? Do you direct bill insurance?

45 minute sessions are $175 CAD. Initial intake sessions run 60 minutes and are $200. Partner sessions are also 60 minutes/$200.

Counselling sessions are covered by most extended benefits plans. I offer direct billing with the following insurance companies:

• AGA Financial Group Inc.

• Alberta Blue Cross

• belairdirect

• Beneva Inc.

• BPA - Benefit Plan Administrators

• CanadaLife and Canada Life PSHCP

• Canadian Construction Workers Union

• Chamber of Commerce Group Insurance

• CINUP

• ClaimSecure

• Cowan

• Equitable

• First Canadian

• GMS Carrier 49 and 50

• GroupHEALTH

• GroupSource

• Industrial Alliance

• Johnston Group Inc.

• LiUNA Local 183 & 506

• Manion

• Manulife Financial

• Maximum Benefit

• People Corporation

• Simply Benefits

• TELUS AdjudiCare

• Union Benefits

• UV Insurance

For other providers, I am happy to provide a receipt for you to submit for insurance reimbursement. Unfortunately, MSP does not cover private psychotherapy with RCCs.

If you are seeking free or low-fee psychodynamic therapy, you might be interested in connecting with the Psychosocial Foundation Clinic. I offer some low-fee teletherapy spots as a part of the Clinic.

What are your qualifications?

I am registered with the BCACC to practice as a Registered Clinical Counsellor in British Columbia (#14001). I am also licensed with New York State as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (#004718).

I completed my MA in Counseling Psychology at Northwestern University. I have almost 20 years of experience providing psychotherapy, working at nonprofit agencies, in the public health system, and in private practice. I’ve trained in and practiced utilizing a number of evidence-based modalities: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), DBT Prolonged Exposure protocols for trauma treatment (DBT-PE), Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST), Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and the Gottman Method; I’ve also pursued psychodynamic training at New York’s Mitchell Center for Relational Studies and the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis.

My diverse training allows me to think across different theories of change and draw from a number of evidence-based modalities based on each individual client and the types of approaches that resonate with them.

Are you LGBTQIA2 affirming?

Yes. I am a part of the queer community, and I understand that sometimes it’s important to work with a counsellor who has insight into that lived experience. I support trans rights and gender self determination. I affirm both asexuality and consensual kink practices as a part of the spectrum of healthy human sexuality.

I also welcome clients who are involved in a variety of family constellations, including poly relationships and non-partnered co-parenting relationships.

What are your privacy protections?

I offer Telehealth appointments through a secure, Canadian-based platform. All of my medical records are held in a Canadian-based PIPEDA and HIPAA compliant medical records software, which stores its data on Canadian servers. I do not bring clinical files in digital or paper form into the United States.

What is psychodynamic therapy?

Psychodynamic therapy attends to emotional life, personal and social histories, growth and development through time, the dynamics of the therapy relationship, and the role of unconscious processes. While a cognitive behavioural approach is focused on eliminating symptoms and increasing functionality, a psychodynamic approach is more geared towards understanding and shifting long-standing patterns of relationship and behaviour.

This might be a good fit for you if you are looking to change stuck patterns, if you are interested in a longer process, and if you don’t want your therapist to give you a worksheet.

Psychodynamic therapy can also support your creative practice through building a stronger understanding of and connection to your unconscious life—turning with open curiosity towards dreams, fantasies, desires and fears and addressing the forces that stifle imagination, expression, and regular practice. If this is something that interests you, you might enjoy the New Yorker essay “Writing as Transformation,” in which the poet Louise Glück describes her writing practice in relation to her experience of psychoanalytic practice.

Do you use AI (Artificial Intelligence) in your practice?

I do not allow AI to listen in on or summarize therapy or supervision sessions, and I don’t utilize it for writing notes, creating website copy, or in any other part of my practice.

I choose not to use AI for a number of reasons: concerns about the theft of creative work by AI tools; its involvement in the destruction of economic opportunities for artists and writers; privacy concerns related to personal data; the failure of these tools to adequately address bias related to race, gender, and disability; the default into a both-sides, aggressively moderate style of thinking in AI intellectual products that fails to consider all possibilities; and the environmental impact of AI (including its impact on how conversations about climate change are structured).

Hey, don’t I know you from (public health organization)?

It makes my day to get updates or quick notes from previous clients. If this is you—hi! Thanks for checking out my website. If you want to reach out, it’s best to contact me through the organization where we worked together.

If you are looking for a private counsellor now, you might find it helpful to use the BCACC Find a Counsellor tool.