Raised in Ottawa and having worked first-hand with children and families for over 20 years, I’ve seen the substantial need in our community for mental health services. I believe child and play therapy services are especially needed.

I have a special interest working with children, young adults, and families facing various challenges and concerns with life stages, development, relationships, thoughts, emotions and behaviours. My goal is to provide meaningful psychotherapy services that make lasting improvements to mental health, relationships and emotional well-being.

I take a collaborative approach; the approach and interventions must be tailored to the unique needs and ways of being of each family.

Qualifications

I am a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO).

I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of Ottawa, where I concentrated my studies on child, adolescent and family development. I volunteered and conducted research in the fields of attachment theory, family systems and cognitive development.

I then completed my Master of Education degree in Educational Counselling at the University of Ottawa, where I did my psychotherapy internship training at Nepean High School and at The Counselling Group, a community mental health agency.

I then worked at The Counselling Group providing low-fee psychotherapy services to individual counselling and play therapy services to many children, youth, families and young adults. I also founded a Children and Youth Social Skills Group and Anger Management Group to help children develop the self-regulation and social skills necessary for healthy peer relationships and friendships.

I specialize in working with children, youth and families who need support managing the negative impacts of anxiety, depression, trauma and other mental health concerns on their sense of self, their relationships, their learning and/or work, etc.

In addition to my education and training, I have experience working with children and families in various settings: with at-risk children and youth in recreational programming, with children and families in palliative care, in mentorship and tutoring positions, and providing supervised visitations to children and their parents.

I am a founding partner at Village Professional Services in Barrhaven, which is a group of independent practitioners (clinical psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists and tutors) who also work primarily with children and families.

My previous non-clinical roles include a long career at the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association in the areas of professional regulation/certification, ethics, and advocacy. I have also volunteered as a Board Member with the Anxiety Disorders Association of Ontario and Canadian Toy Testing Council.

Additional Training

Here is a brief overview of some of my additional trainings in clinical practice with children, youth, and families, as well as supervision:

• Foundational Play Therapy Training Levels I-III (2012-2015), Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy
• Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (2013), BC Play Therapy Association in partnership with the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas.
• Theraplay Level I and II (2016 & 2021), Theraplay Canada
• EDUC 5850: Supervision Theory and Practice (2022), University of Lethbridge.

Clinical Supervision

I often work with children and families who face complex and challenging concerns, who have already seen a variety of professionals before they meet with me. I work consultatively with a clinical child psychologist with extensive experience in school psychology and and child and family mental health. I also engage in supervision as needed for individual cases or developing my skill set.

Although the opportunity to consult with the child psychologist about the services provided to a child is purely at the parent/caregiver’s discretion, I strongly believe in the value of supervision and consultation. I find that it and enhances the services that I provide by offering fresh and alternative perspectives to often very complex challenges. Many parents see this as an opportunity to have a number of professionals invested in the well-being and growth of their child through therapeutic intervention.

There is no additional fee to supervision, and all information remains strictly confidential as per the standards of our regulatory bodies and applicable legislation.