Twenty years of sitting with children
For more than twenty years I’ve had the privilege of sitting with children while they work through some of the hardest feelings of their young lives, and with the parents who love them and want to help. I’ve worked with hundreds of children and families across community, clinical, and school settings.
Children have been my focus since the very beginning: my first degree is in Child & Youth Care, and everything since has been a deeper study of the same question: who is this child, and what do they need?
I’m not a counsellor who happens to keep toys in the office. Play therapy is the whole of my practice, and I’m registered as a play therapist with the BC Play Therapy Association on top of my clinical registration.
What the letters mean
- Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)
- A master’s degree, supervised clinical training, and a professional code of ethics through the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (#14861). Sessions with an RCC are covered by most extended-health plans.
- BC Registered Play Therapist (BCRPT)
- Registered with the BC Play Therapy Association, which asks for a master’s degree, membership in good standing, and 180+ hours of specialized play therapy training with supervised play therapy hours on top of it.
- Certified Synergetic Play Therapist (SPT)
- Advanced certification in a research-informed model that draws together nervous-system regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, attachment, and mindfulness. In plainer terms, it’s the study of how an adult stays settled enough that a child can borrow that calm.
- Certified SPT Supervisor
- The supervisor level of that same model, which is the deepest layer of training available in it. Often the therapists I supervise bring me complex families, because of my experience and my training.
- Approved Clinical Supervisor (RCC-ACS)
- A BCACC designation that takes five years past a master’s, and which means I train and supervise other counsellors who work with children.
- Master of Counselling (MC)
- City University of Seattle, specializing in attachment and family systems, after a bachelor’s in Child & Youth Care at the University of Victoria.
Certified AutPlay® Therapy Provider · Circle of Security® Facilitator · Registered with CVAP
Full credentials and training
I’m a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC, BC Association of Clinical Counsellors #14861) and a BC Registered Play Therapist (BCRPT) with the BC Play Therapy Association. I hold a Master of Counselling specializing in attachment and family systems, and a bachelor’s degree in Child & Youth Care.
I also hold advanced certification in Synergetic Play Therapy, including supervisor-level training, am certified in AutPlay® Therapy for neurodivergent children, and am trained in Circle of Security® parenting. As a BCACC Approved Clinical Supervisor, I help train and mentor other counsellors who work with kids.
You can check both registrations yourself, on the BCACC register and in the BCPTA public directory.
What I believe about this work
- A child who is leading in the room is a child whose body can settle enough to do some work, and that felt safety with another person is what makes change possible.
- Following a child’s lead is a trained skill rather than a lack of a plan, and staying calm and present next to something big is most of the job.
- Parents are part of the team for their child. You are the most important person in your child’s life, and nothing I do works without you.
- There’s no set path through this, because what we do depends entirely on your child.
Where we’d meet
We’ll meet in a room in Penticton that I’ve set up for children, with a sand tray, art materials, space on the floor, and a door that stays closed. I can also meet you securely online anywhere in BC, which tends to suit parent sessions and older kids well.
If this sounds like the room your child needs
Say hello and tell me a little about your family. If you’d rather talk first, we can set up a free 15-minute call.