Whether you're navigating a specific issue, feeling stuck or overwhelmed, or seeking longer-term support for more complex challenges, therapy is a courageous step toward greater clarity, personal growth, and forward momentum — in a way that feels right for you.
Approaches I Use
An Integrative Approach
I use an integrative approach in counselling, meaning that I combine multiple therapeutic strategies to best suit your needs. This approach allows me to be flexible and adaptive, using the most appropriate techniques based on your unique challenges, goals, and preferences. Whether you're dealing with anxiety, relationship issues, addiction, or life transitions, we’ll work together to create a therapeutic plan that draws from a range of evidence-based methods.
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A Personalized, Flexible Approach
Therapy is not one-size-fits-all.
I offer a personalized approach, tailored to your unique needs and goals. Whether you’re seeking short-term support to tackle a specific challenge, flexible counselling on an as-needed basis, or a deeper therapeutic process to explore patterns, emotions, and past experiences, I’m here to guide you. Some may find practical, solution-focused strategies most helpful, while others may benefit from a more reflective, exploratory process. Whatever your path, together we’ll find the right approach for you.
Solution-Focused Approach
The solution-focused approach is centered on finding practical, actionable solutions to present challenges. Instead of focusing on past difficulties, this approach looks at what is already working well and explores ways to build on those successes. It encourages setting clear, achievable goals and developing strategies to move forward, promoting a sense of progress and purpose.
Strength-Based Approach
A strength-based approach focuses on identifying and building upon your existing strengths, resilience, and past successes. It emphasizes recognizing the skills and resources you already possess to help you navigate challenges with greater confidence. This approach encourages self-compassion and fosters the belief that you have the inner resources necessary to thrive, promoting long-term growth and empowerment.
Collaborative Approach
Therapy is a partnership between you and me. In a collaborative approach, we’ll work together to understand your goals, explore different options, and co-create a plan that fits your unique needs. Your insights, knowledge, and values are essential to the process, and I’ll support you in taking an active role in your healing and growth.
Mind-Body Approach
The mind-body approach recognizes the deep connection between our physical bodies and emotional experiences. This approach integrates a range of techniques—such as mindfulness, breathwork, and somatic therapy—to help individuals develop awareness of how their emotions manifest physically. By tuning into the body's sensations and reactions, clients can learn to release tension, reduce stress, and promote emotional regulation. It empowers clients to restore balance and build resilience by acknowledging that true well-being involves the integration of mind, body, and spirit.
Supportive Approach
A supportive counselling approach is one that focuses on providing clients with emotional support, validation, and encouragement in a non-judgmental and empathetic space. This approach emphasizes listening deeply and offering practical guidance for managing emotional difficulties, stress, or life challenges. It helps clients feel heard, understood, and empowered to explore their emotions, strengths, and coping strategies in a safe and supportive environment.
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In a supportive counselling approach, the therapist’s role is to assist clients in developing their emotional resilience and building a foundation of self-worth. This approach can be especially effective in situations where clients need to regain stability after life transitions, emotional upheavals, or personal losses. It’s not about giving advice, but rather helping clients reconnect with their inner strengths and resources, while supporting them in processing emotions in a healthy and constructive way.
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A supportive counselling approach is gentle, encouraging, and focused on validating your experiences as you work toward healing and change. It’s ideal for those who may be experiencing stress, burnout, or need extra emotional support without needing to dive into more intensive therapy techniques.
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Client-Centered Approach
The client-centered approach, developed by Carl Rogers, is based on the belief that you are the expert in your own life. In therapy, I aim to create a warm, accepting, and non-judgmental environment where you can feel comfortable expressing yourself fully. This approach focuses on building trust and fostering a therapeutic relationship that empowers you to explore, heal, and grow in a way that feels authentic to you. With this approach, the pace and direction of therapy are always guided by your needs and goals, helping you move toward greater self-awareness and personal transformation.
Holistic Approach
A holistic approach to counselling recognizes that we are complex beings made up of body, mind, and spirit, and that healing and growth happen when we address all these interconnected aspects of who we are. In therapy, this means I consider not just your thoughts and emotions, but also the physiological and environmental factors that shape your experiences.
Rather than focusing solely on symptoms, a holistic approach aims to create lasting change by helping you understand and work with the underlying causes of distress, while supporting your overall well-being. This approach honors your strengths and resources, empowering you to find balance, resilience, and peace as you work toward change.
Culturally Sensitive Approach
Everyone’s experiences are shaped by their cultural background, identity, and lived experiences.
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Culturally sensitive counselling acknowledges and honors these influences, ensuring that therapy is not only tailored to your individual values, beliefs, and worldview but also respectful of your cultural context. This approach creates an inclusive, affirming space where all perspectives are valued, and each person is seen, heard, and understood. By integrating cultural awareness and humility into the therapeutic process, the focus remains on exploring challenges in a way that aligns with your identity, community, and personal experiences.
Modalities I Use
Online Counselling Availability
(or Phone)
I offer online counselling to residents of British Columbia, Canada, providing accessible therapy no matter where you are located. Whether you're in the heart of Vancouver, on Vancouver Island, or in a more rural or remote area of BC, you can access virtual therapy from the comfort and privacy of your home—or any space where you feel most at ease. This flexible approach ensures that therapy is accessible to you, regardless of your location.
Online therapy can be just as effective as in-person counselling, allowing us to connect face-to-face through secure video conferencing or over the phone, while ensuring you have the flexibility to attend sessions from a location that works best for you. Whether you're at home, at work, or travelling, online therapy provides you with the opportunity to prioritize your mental health with minimal disruption to your daily life.
Technology also means no need for long drives, finding parking, or waiting in office lobbies—helping you feel more relaxed, present, and ready to focus on yourself.
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Note: All online sessions are conducted via a HIPAA-compliant, secure platform to ensure your privacy and confidentiality.
Rates
Sea Horizons Counselling Session Rates
50-minute session- $170
75-minute extended session- $255
90-minute extended session- $305
Sliding scale rates are available on a limited basis, starting at $150 for 50-minute sessions.
BC Registered Clinical Counselling is exempt from GST.
The BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) recommends a fee range of $150–$250 per 50-minute session, depending on the counsellor’s years of experience and areas of specialization. As an experienced Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), my rate falls within this recommended range. Most insurance plans cover counselling with Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC).
For more information on how therapy works, what to expect during sessions, or answers to other questions, visit the FAQ page here.
Areas of Practice
Women’s Mental Health & Wellbeing
Women's health and wellbeing has historically been under-researched across psychology, neuroscience, and physical health, leading to a limited understanding of how mental health conditions uniquely affect women. Recent advancements in neuroscience have provided important insights into the unique challenges women face, including hormonal fluctuations, societal pressures, and the expectations placed on women in various aspects of life. Research shows that women are more likely to experience conditions like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, and that these often manifest differently or more intensely compared to men. There has also been a growing body of research focusing on the impacts of perimenopause and menopause on mental and emotional well-being, highlighting the importance of addressing these specific challenges.
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Given how broad the counselling field is and the rapid changes it undergoes, staying up to date is crucial to providing the best care possible. For this reason, I continue to adapt my practice, ensuring I integrate the latest scientific insights into my work. By drawing on the latest evidence and research, I aim to support you in addressing these challenges with compassion, helping you cultivate resilience and reconnect with your authentic self.
Anxiety
GAD, Panic Attacks, Phobias, OCD, & Social Anxiety, & Agoraphobia
Anxiety can take many forms—Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, OCD, Perfectionism, Social Anxiety, and specific Phobias. No matter the type, anxiety often leads to a constant feeling of tension, worry, and fear that can interfere with everyday life, relationships, and personal well-being. Neuroscientific research reveals that anxiety is frequently rooted in an overactive stress response system, where the brain’s fight-or-flight mechanisms are triggered inappropriately, even in non-threatening situations. This can create a cycle of fear and avoidance that feels overwhelming and difficult to break free from.
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In therapy, we’ll work together to understand how your brain and body react to stress and fear and identify the underlying triggers that contribute to your anxiety. By bringing awareness to how your thoughts, physical sensations, and behaviors interact, we can create a personalized approach to managing anxiety. We’ll utilize evidence-based techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to challenge and reframe unhelpful thought patterns, Exposure Therapy to gradually confront and reduce avoidance behaviors, and mindfulness-based strategies to build emotional resilience and present-moment awareness.
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Counselling can help you regain control over your anxiety, allowing you to experience life with calm and confidence. Whether you're dealing with constant worry, panic attacks, or intrusive thoughts, together we’ll work to help you reclaim your life and find a sense of peace in the midst of uncertainty.
Body Image / Disordered Eating / Eating Disorders
Body image issues, disordered eating, and eating disorders often stem from complex interactions between psychological, emotional, and neurobiological factors. Research shows that the brain’s reward and emotional regulation systems can become tangled in these patterns, making it harder for individuals to break free from negative body image and unhealthy eating behaviors. This can create a cycle where negative thoughts and feelings about food, weight, and appearance become deeply ingrained, making it difficult to feel at peace with one’s body and relationship with food.
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Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, are characterized by a preoccupation with food, weight, and body image, often leading to harmful behaviors and significant distress. However, eating disorders come in many forms, and not all fit neatly into these categories. Many people experience unhealthy or disordered eating behaviors without meeting the formal diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder, but still face significant distress and preoccupation with food, body image, and self-worth. These patterns can be just as consuming and disruptive to one’s well-being.
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Struggles with food and body image can show up in many different ways. Everyone’s relationship with food and their body is unique. In our work together, we’ll explore how these patterns developed specifically for you—how past experiences, emotions, and your brain’s response to food and body image have impacted the way you view and relate to food. Therapy will focus on understanding and rewiring unhealthy thought patterns, while also creating space to develop a more compassionate and empowering relationship with your body and food.
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Counselling is a collaborative process. Together, we’ll identify your triggers, challenge harmful beliefs, and build sustainable, healthy habits that support emotional resilience and self-compassion. By addressing both the neurological and emotional aspects of disordered eating and body image, we can work toward lasting change that honors your unique experience in a way that feels sustainable for you.
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Substance Use / Addiction
Struggles with substance use or behaviours can take many forms—from occasional overuse to compulsive use or behaviours that have a more significant impact on your life. These experiences might include substances, compulsive shopping, social media, or challenging relationships with food. Whatever your experience looks like, it is valid and deserving of care—not shame.​
From a biopsychosocial perspective, substance use and addictive behaviours are shaped by a dynamic interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors—including environment, relationships, stress, and emotional pain. While there are numerous frameworks for understanding addiction, I see it as a challenging pattern shaped by many parts of a person’s life, rather than a fixed diagnosis. This perspective highlights the potential for growth and change: with greater awareness, knowledge, and compassionate support, people can make empowered choices to move toward healthier, more sustainable ways of coping.​
Substance use and addictive patterns often emerge as ways to cope—with stress, emotional discomfort, or deeper pain. What may begin as a way to self-soothe or find short-term relief can sometimes develop into patterns that feel hard to shift. In therapy, we’ll explore what’s underneath—whether it’s rooted in nervous system dysregulation, unprocessed trauma, past experiences, or simply a learned way of getting through.
While understanding the ‘why’ can foster insight and self-compassion, our work is also about supporting meaningful shifts and moving forward. Together, we’ll explore new ways of responding—ones that help you step out of cycles of avoidance or escapism and into more sustainable, grounded ways of coping, connecting, and showing up in your life. I offer a collaborative, non-judgemental space where healing is possible and growth unfolds at your pace.
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Whether you're struggling occasionally or feeling stuck in persistent patterns, therapy can offer a supportive space to begin untangling what no longer serves you and move toward greater stability, clarity, and personal growth.
Life Transitions
Women often experience significant life transitions that can reshape identity, relationships, and a sense of self. Whether it's navigating career changes, shifts in family dynamics, or redefining personal goals, these transitions can bring uncertainty, stress, and emotional challenges. I work extensively with women through a wide range of these experiences, including those not listed above. I'm also passionate about supporting women through transitions related to fertility, infertility, motherhood, perinatal and postnatal mental health, and perimenopause and menopause.
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Life transitions activate the brain’s natural adaptive processes, but they can also stir emotional responses that impact well-being. In therapy, we’ll work together to build resilience, process feelings of loss or confusion, and develop strategies to embrace change with confidence. My goal is to support you in moving from simply surviving these changes to truly thriving—rediscovering balance, reconnecting with your sense of self, and creating a path forward that reflects your evolving journey.
Relationship Challenges
Relationships are central to our lives but navigating them can be difficult—especially when communication breaks down, boundaries are blurred, or emotional needs go unmet. Attachment theory is supported by neuroscientific findings that highlight how early relationships impact brain development and emotional responses in adulthood. In therapy, we’ll explore how attachment dynamics play a role in your relationships, strengthen communication, set healthy boundaries, and foster deeper emotional connections—both with yourself and with others.
Perimenopause / Menopause
Mental Health, Anxiety, Depression & Life Balance During Menopause
Perimenopause and menopause bring a unique blend of physical symptoms and emotional shifts that can feel overwhelming, especially when balanced alongside the many demands of daily life—career pressures, relationships, parenting, and personal goals. Common symptoms include mood swings, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, brain fog, and fluctuating energy levels, all of which can make it difficult to keep up and feel like yourself.
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For some, these hormonal and life changes may trigger anxiety, depression, or increased stress for the first time, while for others they may intensify pre-existing mental health challenges. Perimenopause and menopause are complex, often misunderstood phases that impact not just the body, but emotional well-being, identity, and overall mental health.
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Therapy provides a supportive space to explore these challenges, validate your experiences, and develop effective coping strategies that promote emotional resilience, self-compassion, and balance during this significant life transition. You don’t have to navigate this journey alone—mental health support is available to help you manage anxiety, depression, mood changes, and other symptoms through perimenopause and menopause and beyond.
Stress / Burnout
Stress and burnout are common struggles in today’s fast-paced world, and understanding the neurobiological response to chronic stress is essential to healing. When stress becomes overwhelming, the brain’s stress response system can become dysregulated, leading to emotional and physical exhaustion. Together, we’ll explore how this system works and develop tools to regulate your emotional and physiological response. Through a combination of mindfulness, stress-reduction techniques, and supportive dialogue, we'll restore balance, prioritize self-care, and prevent further burnout.
Self-Worth / Self-Compassion
Your self-worth and sense of self-love are foundational to your mental and emotional health. Self-esteem is closely tied to brain areas involved in emotional regulation and reward processing. If these areas are dysregulated, negative self-perceptions can take root, affecting how you see and value yourself. Together, we’ll explore these neural patterns while focusing on shifting self-critical thoughts and building a healthier, more compassionate relationship with yourself. Therapy will support you in cultivating self-acceptance and developing the emotional resilience to embrace your true worth.
Perinatal Mental Health & Postnatal Mental Health
Support for Pregnancy, Postpartum Depression, Anxiety & Birth Trauma
The perinatal and postnatal periods can bring unexpected emotional and psychological shifts. Whether you're feeling anxious, low, disconnected, overwhelmed, or struggling with identity changes, you're not alone. Many people experience postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or emotional distress related to birth trauma, sleep deprivation, or the weight of new responsibilities.
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Neuroscientific research helps us understand how pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum experience impact brain chemistry and emotional regulation. In therapy, we’ll explore both the emotional and neurobiological layers of your experience. Together, we’ll develop personalised strategies to support your mental health and help you navigate this transition with clarity, care, and compassion.
Motherhood / Parenting
Motherhood is a profound and evolving journey that can stir up a wide range of emotions—from joy and connection to self-doubt, overwhelm, and grief. Whether you’re adjusting to new motherhood, navigating the demands of parenting older children, or struggling with identity shifts, stress, or burnout, these experiences can impact your emotional well-being in real and lasting ways.
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I work with mothers and parents in all kinds of family constellations—including blended, solo, or co-parenting situations—to support the unique challenges that arise.
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In therapy, we create space to process the internal and external pressures of motherhood and parenting. Together, we can explore your emotional needs, honour your changing identity, and support you in cultivating balance, self-compassion, and meaningful connection—both with yourself and those you care for.
Separation / Divorce
Separation and divorce can feel like one of life’s most challenging and overwhelming transitions. Alongside grief and loss, you may experience anxiety, uncertainty, and shifts in your identity as you navigate major changes to your relationships, living situation, or family structure. For many, it means adjusting to solo parenting, co-parenting challenges, or even the possibility of starting a new relationship—all of which bring their own joys and stresses.
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This transition often comes with a complex mix of emotions—sadness, relief, anger, fear, and hope—all happening at once. It’s normal to feel unsettled or unsure about what the future holds.
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In therapy, you’ll have a compassionate space to explore these feelings, process the emotional upheaval, and find strategies to manage stress and anxiety. Together, we’ll work toward rebuilding your sense of self and personal strength, helping you move forward with greater clarity, resilience, and hope for this next chapter of your life.
Fertility / Infertility
Emotional Support Through Trying to Conceive (TTC), IVF, and Pregnancy Loss
Struggling with fertility or infertility can be one of life’s most emotionally challenging journeys. The feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and grief are very real—and often compounded by the physical and hormonal impacts of treatments like IVF or IUI. Fertility challenges affect brain chemistry and emotional regulation, influencing your mental health and your relationships with yourself and others.
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I support individuals and couples navigating the complex emotions of trying to conceive, including unexplained infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and the stress of treatment cycles. Therapy offers a compassionate space to process grief, uncertainty, and overwhelm, while helping you build resilience, cope with emotional ups and downs, and find greater balance and understanding throughout your journey.
Loss / Grief
Navigating Death, Miscarriage, and Life Transitions
Loss and grief are deeply personal experiences that can touch every part of your life—emotionally, mentally, and physically. Whether you’re coping with the death of a loved one, miscarriage or pregnancy loss, the end of a relationship, or major life transitions, grief can feel overwhelming, isolating, and all-consuming.
While loss refers to the absence or change, grief is the emotional response that follows—and everyone experiences these in their own unique way. There is no “right way” to grieve, and healing doesn’t happen on a set timeline.
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In therapy, I provide a compassionate space to honour your experience and support you as you navigate the complex emotions that arise. Together, we’ll acknowledge the waves of grief, work through what feels most pressing, and help you find ways to rebuild meaning and connection while respecting the impact of your loss.
Mood / Depression
Depression exists on a spectrum, ranging from low moods and profound sadness linked to life events or challenging circumstances, to more persistent clinical depression involving changes in brain chemistry and mood regulation. While clinical depression often reflects imbalances in neurotransmitters and brain areas that govern mood, situational depression can arise from unresolved emotional pain, ongoing stress, or difficult experiences.
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I support individuals experiencing all forms of depression. Using evidence-based approaches such as CBT, therapy can help regulate mood, shift unhelpful patterns, and restore emotional balance—whether you’re navigating temporary sadness or managing a longer-term depressive condition.
Chronic Illness / Injury / Chronic Pain:
Including Return-to-Work Assessments & Rehabilitation
Chronic illness, injury, and/or chronic pain can bring profound emotional challenges alongside physical symptoms. Navigating ongoing medical issues, uncertainty about the future, and disruptions to daily life can lead to feelings of grief, anxiety, depression, and isolation. Neuroscientific research shows that chronic illness and chronic pain can impact the brain’s stress response and emotional regulation systems, making it harder to cope over time as well as impact how you experience pain.
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In therapy, we’ll create space to explore the emotional impacts and develop tools to care for your mental health. Together, we’ll work with evidence-based approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness to manage stress, reframe unhelpful thought patterns, and cultivate self-compassion. We’ll also explore the role of support systems—how to strengthen them, lean into connection, and navigate boundaries. Whether you’re injured yourself, are newly diagnosed or have been living with illness for years, our work will focus on helping you feel more grounded, empowered, and connected in the face of ongoing challenges.
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