Right now you may be delving into the deeper questions of life; trying to understand who you are, what you want in life, and what steps you want to take moving forward.

Are you feeling like you are struggling with setting boundaries with others, or feeling deprived in your relationships? Are you wanting to feel more wholeness, self-esteem, or a sense of empowerment within yourself?

Perhaps you are experiencing emotional distress and would appreciate some support at this time. My specialty is treating anxiety, depression, and trauma in individuals.

I am honoured your journey has brought you to Smart Therapy. I am excited to learn about you; I feel privileged to hear your story and to support you in taking healing steps to move forward.

In addition to on-going therapy services, I also offer a short term 6-Week Schema Therapy Program, designed for any adult dealing with anxiety or depression. Schemas are patterns and worldviews we develop at a young age that impact our mental health.

This 6-Week Program includes:

• Pre and post-program surveys to show the changes that have occurred since beginning treatment
• Identification of all relevant schemas/patterns for you that are impacting your mood and mental health
• Insight regarding the root causes for why these patterns have come up for you in your life
• Processing past experiences and challenging relationships related to the root causes
• Tools for, and knowing the next steps to continue to heal from, address, and change these patterns
• Encouragement and guidance towards developing more self-compassion and a quieter inner critic

This 6-Week Program consists of a Schema Therapy-focused treatment, with other therapies integrated including Emotion-Focused Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approaches. 

This program is currently available through Smart Therapy™. Contact us to find out more information.

I treat anxiety, depression, & trauma; supporting individuals to develop self compassion, navigate family and relationship dynamics, and establish boundaries

I am a Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist (MSW/RSW) as well as a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC); as a trauma-informed therapist based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, I aim to use an anti-oppressive approach with clients. I am passionate about therapy, healing, health, and empowerment. I pursue these passions by taking a variety of specialty courses allowing me to provide clients with a highly personalized treatment.

For 10 years I have been a psychotherapist, and have two masters degrees in the counselling field (MA & MSW). I have a special interest and experience in helping women reclaim a felt sense of wholeness and empowerment. I understand the challenges women face in society, and strive to help women of all ages, orientations, cultures, and stages of life awaken to their authentic self. I endeavor to help clients reclaim their personal power in order to have the relationships with others and themself they’ve been hoping for.

I absolutely believe that you have wisdom of your own, and that is something that I will work toward drawing out in our sessions together.

Tapping into this is empowering and can give you the ability to deal with anything that comes your way in life.

I offer a hypnotherapy treatment that incorporates Emotion-Focused Therapy interventions and which is trauma informed. This extended 80-minute therapy session can help with:

• Improved self-esteem
• Increasing feelings of wholeness
• Quieting the inner critic
• Getting in touch with inner resources and the “wise self”
• More self-compassionate inner-dialogue

This treatment is currently available through Smart Therapy™ as a specialty treatment. Contact us to find out more information.

A client-centered approach where we explore what events, thoughts, or feelings have, or will transpire-either past, present, or what is on the horizon. This includes the encouragement of non-judgemental awareness and acceptance of yourself; to quote Jim Carrey, “Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world.”

Our meetings work toward exploration of and making personal shifts with respect to the following aspects of your life:

Cognitive Tendencies/Thinking Patterns

• Understanding how to manage and overcome catastrophizing thoughts, chronic worry, and anxiety-based or depression-based thoughts; reducing obsessive thinking and rumination, improving self-esteem, body image

Emotional Processing & Regulation

• Processing emotionally difficult experiences, learning how to work through painful emotions and begin to learn how to self-soothe and self-nurture. Tapping into the emotional components of your experiences and thoughts

Behavioural Changes

• Shifting impulsive tendencies, tackling procrastination or avoidance, addressing alcohol/substance concerns, learning to set boundaries or others and become aware of your own personal boundaries, shifting the behavioural cycle of burnout

Existential Exploration

• Exploring worldviews and beliefs, identify personally meaningful areas of life and how these areas can be amplified for you. Identifying and establishing a vision for your life that helps you feel a sense of purpose and excitement for your future. Figuring out what it is that you really want

I use these approaches to help guide clients through their own personal therapeutic transformation:

• Emotion-Focused Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy 
  • Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
  • Schema Therapy
  • Jungian Therapy

In addition to these traditional talk therapy approaches I offer these optional therapeutic treatments including:

• Clinical Counselling Hypnotherapy
• Art-based therapeutic activities for in between our therapy sessions

Feel free to reach out or let me know during a session if you would like to explore these other treatment options

Smart Therapy™ is currently based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, and serves everywhere in Ontario. Counselling services are being offered solely over video and phone.

Studies have shown there are benefits to distance and virtual therapy that in-person does not offer. One of the benefits is called the “Disinhibition Effect,” meaning people feel more comfortable talking over video or phone about things they otherwise might not have brought up in person. Many people have also found distance therapy to be more comfortable since they can do it from their own home or space.