Sam

You may notice that something isn’t right. You may feel that you’re getting in your own way or aren’t the person you want to be. Maybe you’ve decided that there is something about you that is no longer working for you or the people you love. As your psychotherapist, my job is to work with you to understand what is happening, why it’s happening, and guide you towards feeling freer and more alive.

While working with me, you can expect that I will be focused on one thing above all else: understanding you. This means that you and I will be exploring your thoughts and feelings, paying particular attention to those ideas that seem connected in some way to strong emotions. Slowly but surely, by becoming more aware of these strong emotions, the way they affect us, and the ideas linked to them, we can open ourselves up to the full range of our emotional experiences without being overwhelmed by them.

Looking at ourselves deeply and reflectively can be scary; it means being open to discovering things about ourselves that we don’t like. As your psychotherapist, you can count on me to be a helpful guide along this journey, walking alongside you at your pace, pointing out things that might be important, as we explore what makes you, ‘you’, together.

I received a master’s degree in counselling psychology from Yorkville University in 2021 and have been working in the Waterloo region as a psychotherapist since this time. Before becoming a psychotherapist, I worked as a childcare worker, youth centre coordinator, transitional case manager, peer support worker, and educational assistant working with high-needs individuals at one of my local high schools in Stratford, ON.

My theoretical approach to psychotherapy is grounded in psychodynamic and client-centred theory. With children, I combine these approaches with child-centered play therapy and psychoeducation based on cognitive behavioural and dialectical behavioural approaches.

CRPO Registration #10805
Bachelor of Art Honours Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University
Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University
Integrating Third Wave Therapies into CBT: ACT and DBT
CBT Level I: Fundamentals of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
CBT Level II: the Essentials of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Children and Youth