Services
I offer counselling and professional consultation to support individuals, parents, and caregivers navigating mental health challenges and life transitions.
My practice has a particular focus on eating disorders, body image, and anxiety, while also welcoming people experiencing other challenges. Sessions are available in person in Owen Sound and virtually across Ontario.
Explore the services below to learn more about how I can help.
Individual Counselling
Individual counselling (also called psychotherapy or talk therapy) offers an opportunity to explore the challenges you're experiencing, better understand yourself, and work toward changes that matter to you. Together, we'll identify your goals and explore ways to navigate difficult emotions, shift unhelpful patterns, develop new skills, and build on the strengths you already have.
I work with adolescents and adults experiencing eating disorders or disordered eating, body image and self-esteem concerns, anxiety, mood difficulties, and general life stress. While these are particular areas of focus in my practice, you don't need to fit neatly into a category to reach out.
My approach is integrative and tailored to your needs. I draw on evidence-based therapies, including ACT, CBT and CBT-E for eating disorders, DBT, Narrative Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing, as well as mindfulness practices.
A note about eating disorder care: Eating disorders vary in their level of severity, and individual outpatient counselling isn't always the safest or most appropriate starting point. Some people may need additional support or a more intensive level of care, such as day treatment or inpatient treatment, before or alongside outpatient therapy. If you're unsure what level of support is appropriate, I'm happy to discuss your circumstances and help you explore possible next steps.
Support for Parents and Caregivers
When someone you care about is struggling with an eating disorder or other mental health concerns, it can be difficult to know how best to help. You may feel worried, overwhelmed, or unsure how to respond, especially when your attempts to support them seem to lead to conflict or pushback.
Parent/caregiver sessions offer a space to better understand what your loved one may be experiencing, build confidence in how you respond, and explore ways to support them while also looking after your own well-being.
Sessions can be tailored to your needs and may include:
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Psychoeducation: Understanding eating disorders and other mental health concerns, including what may be contributing to your loved one's difficulties and what can help.
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Communication and support strategies: Developing skills to navigate difficult conversations, respond to challenging emotions and behaviours, and strengthen your relationship.
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Managing your own emotions: Finding ways to navigate your own worry, frustration, or distress so you can respond more intentionally during difficult moments.
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Emotional support for you: Having space to talk through your concerns, explore challenges, and feel less alone as you support someone you care about.
You don't have to wait until your loved one is ready to engage in therapy to seek support yourself. Parent/caregiver sessions can help you better understand what's happening and consider how to respond, even when the person you're concerned about is reluctant to seek help.
My work with parents and caregivers draws on approaches including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), with a focus on helping you develop skills and confidence that fit your family's needs.
Family-Based Treatment
(FBT)
When a young person is struggling with anorexia or bulimia, parents and caregivers can feel unsure about how to help, especially when eating has become a source of distress or conflict. Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an evidence-based outpatient approach that recognizes the important role families can play in helping their young person recover. Rather than expecting the young person to manage the eating disorder on their own, FBT supports parents and caregivers in taking an active role in recovery.
FBT is a collaborative process involving the young person, their parents or caregivers, the therapist, and their family physician or pediatrician. A dietitian may also be involved to provide nutritional guidance and support. Regular medical monitoring is an important part of treatment.
FBT typically unfolds in three phases:
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Phase 1: Re-establishing eating and supporting recovery
Initially, parents and caregivers take an active lead in their young person's nutrition, making decisions about what and how much they eat and supporting them through meals and snacks. This is often referred to as meal support. Parents may also need to help interrupt eating disorder behaviours, such as excessive exercise or purging.
This phase can be demanding, both practically and emotionally. Parents may be navigating their young person's distress while managing their own worry, uncertainty, and exhaustion. My role is to help families navigate these challenges, build confidence in their responses, and feel supported as they work toward recovery.
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Phase 2: Gradually returning responsibility
As eating becomes more consistent and the young person's health and eating behaviours stabilize, parents and caregivers gradually begin handing responsibility for eating back to them. This happens at a pace that reflects their readiness, with support along the way.
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Phase 3: Returning to adolescent life and looking ahead
As recovery progresses, the focus shifts toward helping the young person regain greater independence, reconnect with the usual experiences and responsibilities of adolescence, and develop a sense of identity that extends beyond the eating disorder. The family also has an opportunity to address other concerns and prepare for the challenges that may arise as the young person moves forward.
Throughout FBT, I draw on skills and concepts from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) to help parents manage their own emotions, respond to their young person's distress, and feel more equipped to support recovery.
Clinical Consultation for Professionals
I offer clinical consultation to licensed or registered mental health professionals who work with clients affected by eating disorders and are looking to deepen their knowledge, build their confidence, and strengthen their clinical practice. Consultation may also explore related concerns, including anxiety, mood difficulties, and emotion regulation.
Consultation provides a space to reflect on your clinical work, explore alternative perspectives, and think through challenging cases when you feel stuck or uncertain about how to proceed. Whether you're looking to better understand an eating disorder presentation, consider different therapeutic approaches, or navigate the complexities of a particular case, consultation offers an opportunity to think things through collaboratively.
My approach is integrative and trauma-informed, drawing on a range of therapeutic modalities, including CBT, DBT, ACT, Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and mindfulness. I continue to build on my knowledge and clinical experience through ongoing training and professional development.
Clinical work can be rewarding, but it can also be emotionally demanding. Consultation offers an opportunity to pause, reflect, and consider the impact of the work, helping you feel more supported as you navigate the challenges of clinical practice.
Please note: Clinical consultation is intended for established, regulated mental health professionals. It is not a supervision service for clinicians completing registration or licensing requirements, and I am not currently accepting students for supervision or placement.