About Barbara

What to expect

I love what I do! I witness you growing and changing as you reach for your goals. Change is constant and within the counselling process, I endeavour to tap into your agency which allows you to have more influence on the direction of that change. I will track and reflect patterns in your stories, thus allowing you the opportunity to make choices with new insight. I will aim to both empower and challenge you so that you might show up as the person you choose to be in your relationships and in your life.

Originally trained in family systems therapy, I take a systemic approach whether I am working with an individual, couple or family. So many aspects of our lives are intertwined, and a systemic lens allows you to consider the nuanced ways these aspects interact. Anticipating the impact one choice may have on other areas of your life, allows you to achieve more effective and longer lasting change.

I have taken a special interest in working with those who have sustained an acquired brain injury (ABI). As a former Executive Director of the Victoria Brain Injury Society, I came to understand the profound impacts of this injury on the injured person, their family and their friends. If you have sustained a brain injury or are in a relationship with someone who has sustained this type of injury, I will work with you to navigate this huge life transition.

You are unique. As such I invest in a vast array of therapeutic techniques upon which I can draw. My eclectic approach embraces theories from schools of thought such as family systems therapy, narrative therapy, body centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and positive psychology. I am also a registered personal trainer. I was drawn to personal training as a result of my research on the profound impacts of fitness on mental health. I work to incorporate aspects of fitness into my practice in a variety of ways and consider this another treatment modality we can access. If you feel ready to tackle a change in your life in a supported way, please contact me for a free in person consultation.

Professional Background:

• Canadian Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (#750)
• MA Applied Behaviour Science with an emphasis on Family Systems Therapy (2000)