My Approach

Psychotherapy as a pursuit of wholeness in oneself is neither started, nor ever really complete. It's a chance to observe the process and story by which we've arrived at our current state, identify non-sustainable patterns of energy and information exchange, and participate in ways from which more sustainable patterns emerge. We are under the impact of this process from the moment of conception to our final breath. The time shared with a Psychotherapist is training to participate in higher levels of observation, adaptation, healing and change.

My therapeutic approaches include but are not limited to Person-Centered, Trauma Informed, and General Systems Theory. Further to this, I draw from Polyvagal Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Emotion-Focussed Family Therapy, and others. My goal is to hear your story and tailor treatment from the strengths, experiences and cultural intersections shared by yourself.

PLEASE NOTE: Counselling and Martial Art studies are separate. Attending counselling does not mean one must participate in martial arts training. Individuals have the freedom to attend both services, or only one.

Martial Art Training - Healing through martial arts is not unique to the disciplines, but can be particularly strong within them. According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, we change the way we feel by raising awareness of what's occurring within ourselves (2014, p, 208). In training, one can be exposed to various emotional states ranging from fear, doubt, anger guilt, and even shame. Emotions can be activated by mere presence in the training environment, all the way through to higher intensity sparring. As one engages the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), they are encouraged to raise awareness and be present with embodied emotional states. The process is one of attending to what's happening within, being present with it, and encoding adaptive responses. Training in this way exercises pathways of connection between mind and body which are often disconnected in those who have suffered trauma.

Furthermore, the stress upon participants is increased and decreased in the context of training partners who hold regard for your development. As you move through combative patterns and rhythms establishing adaptive responses; you pair the experience of internal connection with the interpersonal experience of safety with another. This is especially important for those who have suffered any kind of relationship trauma. More can be read on this under the heading Resources and Martial Arts.

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