About Lisa
(she/her/hers)
I'm a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) who specializes in culturally-informed counselling with adults and youth from Ontario (online) and BC (in person or online) who are grieving traumatic/complicated/prolonged losses; struggling with anxiety, depression, and/or overwhelming emotions; working through relationship challenges; facing major life decisions; and are seeking deeper balance, connection, meaning and purpose in their lives.
Over the 10 years that I've been counselling in private practice, the 20 years I've been training and working in mental health, and by walking my own path of healing from traumatic loss and intergenerational trauma, I've come to specialise in a somatic (body-focused) approach to counselling that helps people navigate the emotional challenges they're facing with practical tools to access their bodies' innate healing resources.
I have a Masters in Counselling from OISE/University of Toronto (2005), advanced post-graduate training in Prolonged and Complicated Grief Counselling from the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition (2012-ongoing), as well as professional training in a number of methods that help people connect with their deepest values, needs, and resources, including: somatic experiencing, inner family systems and family systems therapy, narrative therapy, expressive arts therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, eco-psychology, depth psychology, nonviolent communication, and Circle process.
I am also committed to advocacy, education, and raising awareness about grief, bereavement, and mental health issues in my communities. I am a sessional instructor at the University of Guelph who developed and teaches "Grief Therapy with Couples and Families;" am on the Board of Directors of the BC Bereavement Helpline (BCBH); am a member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and the Association for Death Education and Counselling (ADEC); and am active in community partnerships with organisations like the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association and the Climbing Grief Fund.
As someone who has experienced traumatic loss, as a survivor of breast cancer, and as a mother, I bring to my work a deep understanding of the primary importance of nurturing self-care and healthy boundaries in our daily lives. I am also a musician and rock climber with a special interest in social justice and environmental issues. I am deeply committed to anti-oppression approaches to mental health and to supporting racialized and marginalised populations in creating systemic change.
I grew up on the Abenaki territory of Mont Saint Hillaire, Quebec; lived and worked for most of my adult life on the traditional territory of the Missisaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabek, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples in Toronto and Guelph, Ontario; and have now returned full-circle to my birthplace on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh Nations.
As a Registered Psychotherapist and a Registered Clinical Counsellor, I am covered by most insurance programs in Ontario and BC.