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My path to becoming a therapist slowly evolved where I meandered through the mud and muck of different jobs and academic degrees. My desire to assist others on their journeys began in the social service field, where I was able to nourish my strong commitment to social justice principles. I completed a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology. During this degree, I fell ardently in love with the academic study of Religion. Studying a wide array of Religious traditions including both Western and Eastern, I eventually came to focus in the area of Continental Philosophy specifically the work of Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas argued that ethics arises out of the pre-reflective encounter with the other. He asks us to suspend our image of others and encounter others with a genuine desire to let others tell us who they are. His work was the main reason I completed a Masters of Religious Studies at McMaster University and contributed to my decision to enter psychotherapy training.
I chose Relational Psychotherapy because it resonated with my values and beliefs, and with my academic studies in the field of Philosophy. My training focused significantly on personal development of the therapist through engagement with group process and personal psychotherapy. I was also trained in areas including, self-psychology, intersubjectivity theory, attachment theory, feminist theories of psychotherapy, and object relations. In Toronto, I started seeing individuals in 2012 under supervision. Continuing to be committed to social justice principles I worked from an anti-racist and anti-oppressive framework offering low cost services to make my services as accessible as possible.
In October of 2014 I travelled to the Yukon, spending most of my vacation in the Carcross area. This trip sparked an interest in relocating to the Yukon. I arrived in October of 2016 and settled in the Carcross area.
At the same time I started a Doctor of Ministry Program. This program is geared to individuals who feel called to their work and who want to explore it in greater depth while integrating their own spirituality and religiosity. With that being said, my area of ministry includes my practice of relational psychotherapy, social justice work and the study of philosophy. Some of my mentors include; Emmanual Levinas, Donna Orange, Alfred North Whitehead, and Vine Deloria Jr.
Along with slowly developing a part-time private practice I have explored employment opportunities to learn about the socio-political context of the Yukon. I worked for the Department of Health and Social and for the Department of Justice at Government of Yukon. Both gave me experience of the operational structure of YTG along with experience about the services offered to vulnerable peoples. It also gave me a view of some of the systemic issues here in the Yukon. Currently, I have dedicated space for a part-time private practice in Whitehorse on the weekends while helping families navigate the system during the weekdays in my position at Carcross/Tagish First Nations Government.
104 Elliott Street, Suite 306, Whitehorse, Yukon.
T: (867) 334-3856
E: groundstrengthengrow@outlook.com