Welcome - I can’t wait to start our work together. Prior to psychotherapy, my career has included public school teaching, theatre arts education, and post-secondary student advising. As passion projects, I have shared my experience of parenthood over the past decade via blog and podcast. Raising children can be wonderful, and it also comes with frustration and challenge, especially when we struggle to connect with our young humans due to high emotions or conflict. Meg and I have come to see parenting differently through our training in Internal Family Systems (IFS or ‘parts work’) therapy, and we want to share this with others. With curiosity, compassion, and creativity, I hope we will co-create space together for increasing our self-awareness and capacity for calm empathy with struggling kiddos, so we can be the reassuring, stable presence they need. Knowing what Meg will be bringing to the kids’ group each week, we will foster complementary skills and language in our adult group toward cohesion with your child as we move through the program.

I’m so excited to meet! My goal is to create a space that is warm, comfortable, and ‘compassionately curious.’ In my work with young humans, I believe that play and therapy go hand-in-hand. When we can be witnessed without judgment as fully formed, nuanced humans, the seeds for self-acceptance and self-compassion can take root. And how do we water and care for these roots? In community, of course, which is why I believe wholeheartedly in the power of groups. I use a variety of approaches in my work, including expressive arts, sandtray, internal family systems, and mindfulness.

Over the years, I have worked in a number of areas, from post-secondary education, freelance and independent journalism, and as a full spectrum birthworker supporting all bodies and outcomes. During COVID lokdowns, I offered several low- and no-cost programs for children, including Saturday Morning Crafts and Super Sibling Sessions (co-created with Emily Stegweit), a music- and arts-based program to help kiddos prepare to become siblings.

Spenser is a graduate student in counselling psychology who will be co-facilitating the children’s group as part of Common Ground. He is excited to support your little ones in developing their emotional literacy and building their confidence.

He has prior experience supporting students in post-secondary education and running leadership programs for young adults. He will be helping to keep your kids engaged with all the fun and therapeutic activities we have planned.

Photo is in progress.

Euphoria

Euphoria

Euphoria

Photo in progress.