Experience, Credentials & Ongoing Professional Growth
Experience
I have 7 years of counselling experience and have supported individuals in a counselling capacity at a college, community service settings, a hospice society and a long-term care setting. Altogether, I have 13 years of combined education and work experience in the field of mental health.
At the college, community service setting and in private practice, I have extensive experience supporting individuals and couples navigating various life challenges. In summary, I help people build nourishing, thriving and secure relationships with themselves and others.
At the hospice society, I supported bereaved individuals aged between 18 and 88 from diverse cultural backgrounds through counselling and facilitation of grief support groups. As a counsellor, I provided counselling support to individuals who were grieving all types of losses (such as partner, baby, young child, teen child, adult child, parent, sibling, grandparent, friend) from different causes of death including but not limited to cancer and traumatic deaths (such as car accidents, overdose, suicide, carbon-monoxide poisoning, sudden infant deaths and health-related sudden deaths). I have also provided counselling support to individuals who were grieving multiple losses. Additionally, I trained palliative and bereavement support volunteers and provided presentations on grief and loss to various organizations in the community.
At the long-term care setting, I supported senior residents with a range of cognitive abilities including individuals with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, I provided support to the family members of residents. My experience of being up close with the residents in their dying moments has shaped who I am as a person and professional.
Designations
Registered Clinical Counsellor (#16508) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors
Canadian Certified Counsellor (#10004187) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement (CT®) with the Association for Death Education and Counseling
Education
Master of Arts Degree in Counselling Psychology (Trinity Western University) - 2018
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology (University of British Columbia) - 2014
Ongoing Professional Growth
Relational, Experiential, Emotion-Focused, Body-Based & Attachment Based Approach
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)- Live Online: Immersion (May, 2023) - Presented by Jerry Lamagna and guest presenters, LCSW
Emotionally-Focused (Individuals) Therapy (EFIT) - Level 1 and Level 2 Training (2018, 2019 & 2021)
Trauma-Informed and Body-based Approaches
Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training in Vancouver Beginning 1 (Feb 2022), Beginning II ( June 2022), Beginning III (Oct 2022), Intermediate I (upcoming video recording training)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma Themes Online - Level 1 (July 2021-Feb 2022)
Couples Therapy Approaches
Emotionally-Focused (Couples) Therapy
Externship (2017)
4 learning days (Nov 2017-Feb 2018)
Addressing Addictions & Fostering Attachments with EFT workshop (April 2019)
Gottman Method Couples Therapy - Level 1 (2016)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Grief-informed Approaches/Certifications
Certified Compassionate Bereavement Provider [Center for Loss and Trauma (MISS Foundation)] - traumatic grief training (2020)
Narrative Therapy workshops with Dr. Lorraine Hedtke (2020 and 2021)
I am pursuing certification in Meaning Reconstruction as Grief Therapy & Art-Assisted Grief Therapy [Portland Institute for Loss and Transition]. Listed below are a few out of the various workshops I’ve taken through PI:
Inaugural Summer Institute in Grief Therapy (5-days) - consists of various workshops (2019)
Collage: Integrating the Torn Pieces with Sharon Strouse
Online but in Depth: Grief Therapy in a Telehealth World with Dr. Robert Neimeyer
Memory Boxes: Creating Containers of Love and Loss
Art-Assisted Grief Therapy: Open Art Studio with Sharon Strouse
