About Me

I am passionate about helping you understand and manage your struggles, whether it be anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, or relationship and communication issues. To help you make sense of and finding the root cause of your struggles that may stem from having a difficult past.

 

I aim to hold space for you and to help you feel seen and heard in a time when you feel there is no support or perhaps feeling unheard/unseen for most of your life. I am committed to understanding your unique story and assist you in gaining more insight into your patterns and tendencies that keeps you feeling stuck and continues to feed into your anxiety and depression. 

 

My aim is to create a safe and secure space for you to talk about your current issues while gaining some clarity and understanding of where it might be stemming from through past wounds, hurts, hardships and childhood difficulties.

 

I am a strong believer that every person has the ability to earn security, self-confidence, feel content in life and develop a strong sense of self through the work they do with themselves. Every person is accountable for their own self-growth. 

How my passion developed

I was raised in a culture where emphasis is placed on keeping feelings to ourselves, which did not encourage the development of emotional awareness or effectively and appropriately communicating our emotions. Throughout my teen and early adult life, I struggled to find my identity, had low sense of self-worth, low self-esteem and truly did not feel comfortable in my own skin. As a result, I spent much of my university days trying to fit in with groups of friends, got caught up with people pleasing and constantly seeking approval from others. This led me to spending a lot of time doubting myself, worrying and being preoccupied with my relationships with people. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting.

 

This went on for most of my adult life until I experienced a deep personal loss, which now looking back has been a blessing in disguise. 

 

Through that loss, it forced me to turn inward and do that deep work with myself. Over time it allowed me to gain new perspective on myself and on life. 

 

It helped me to be more compassionate with myself and ultimately helped me develop my self-confidence. In time, I became less concerned with what others thought of me and started to re-build my relationship back up with myself. 

 

I now realize the only approval I ever needed was my own.

 

Because of that loss, it was a catalyst for my healing journey which allowed me to cultivate many moments of self-reflection and ongoing accountability with myself. 

 

Majority of the work with myself took place with holding space for my emotions and learning to sit and tolerate difficult feelings, which allowed for greater wisdom and clarity through my pain and helped me move forward and focus on my own self-growth.

How I live out my passion as a therapist

My healing journey helped to solidify my resolve and passion to become a therapist so that I can hold space and provide support for people’s healing to take place. 

 

In hindsight, had I sought my own therapy when I was younger, it would have jumpstarted my healing process and pushed me to do that internal work much sooner.

 

Through my years of personal growth and professional experience, I have come to learn the importance of using our emotions as a compass to help guide and navigate us in life. 

 

Avoiding unpleasant emotions and feelings limit us in life, and overtime, destroys our sense of self-worth.

 

As a therapist, my job is to hold space for you to be heard, tune into your emotions, help gain clarity and build trust in yourself. My greatest joy and passion as a therapist is witnessing my clients’ transformation as they lean inward to develop the most valuable relationship they will ever have, one with themselves.

How I help others

As humans, we will all experience a universal sense of loss, pain and fear throughout our lifetime. While the work with myself was largely done alone and perhaps took much longer, my hope is to provide you with an opportunity, that I missed out on, that would be a catalyst for change and help kickstart your healing process without you having to do it on your own.

 

I aim to create a safe, non-judgmental and supportive space for you to share your personal story, struggles and reflections. I want to ensure that you feel validated, seen, heard, and valued. You are not alone.

My Approach

My goal is to bring my authentic self in every session, while meeting the person where they are in that moment. My approach is strengths-based with an empowerment lens.

 

I like to integrate various therapy modalities in my work because I do not believe in “one-size fits all” and tailor my approach to match your unique needs. 

 

I have been trained and informed by various evidence-based therapy models, such as:

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
• Attachment-Based Psychotherapy
• Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
• Narrative Therapy
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
• Solution-Focused Therapy

 

Engaging in therapy creates an opportunity for self-discovery, growth and healing to manifest. At every session, I will do my best to understand your unique situation and needs. 

 

Throughout our work together, I will utilize appropriate treatment models that I feel might be useful to address your concerns and help gently guide you to making new discoveries about yourself and understanding old patterns that no longer serve you.

Professional Credentials & Qualifications

 

• Registered Social Worker (RSW) with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW)
• A registered member of Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW)
• Master of Social Work (MSW), Specialization in Mental Health, University of Toronto
• Bachelor of Arts, Specialized Honours B.A. Psychology, York University
• Over 13years of experience within the field of mental health and 9 out of those years as a Clinical Social Worker
• 6 years of experience in counselling and psychotherapy