I began my career as a teacher at the high school level in Terrace, BC working with youth facing adversity and presenting with a wide variety of behavioural challenges. As my students and I made incredible connections, my students began to teach me so much about human courage and capacity. I became fascinated with the human spirit and began to further study psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Vancouver. I graduated with a Masters in Counselling Psychology in 2007 and began working as the Manager of the Family Program with Crescent Beach Community Services in White Rock, BC. In this role I had the privilege of working with parents while supervising and collaborating with other staff working with their children. Beyond providing individual therapy for adults, I developed and co-facilitated many unique programs including parent skill building groups, combined parent and child communication building groups, early literacy intervention groups with parents and infants/toddlers, and parent lead support groups.

As my family grew, I was called to return to my home roots in Northwest Ontario and Eastern Manitoba, and settled in Oakbank, MB employed with Sunrise School Division as a School Counsellor for 12 years at the elementary and middle school level. I was fortunate as a School Counsellor to support many students and their families with various challenges in a one to one capacity, small groups, and whole classroom instruction. Again, these students taught me much about resiliency and determination. As a School Counsellor in rural Manitoba, I noted very few options for families regarding service beyond the school level and thus, in 2014 began providing therapeutic supports to individual children, adolescents and adults. I now solely operate Closer Connections Counselling and Consulting from my office in Oakbank.