About
My Practice
I’m a registered psychotherapist, certified music therapist and a Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. I have over twenty years of experience practicing music therapy and providing clinical supervision in various settings with people from diverse backgrounds facing diverse challenges. In my private practice, I work primarily with adults who are tending to their mental health at various stages of life. Outside of my private practice, I provide music therapy at Baycrest Health Sciences on several hospital units including complex continuing care, behaviour neurology, palliative care, and inpatient psychiatry.
My Experience
A cisgender, able-bodied, white, lesbian; I am a settler who lives and works in Toronto with my partner and dog. I love being in nature just as much as I love a walk through the city. Like everyone, my life has seen many ups and downs. Therapy, both creative arts/music-based therapy and talk therapy, has been an essential companion as I’ve moved through various seasons of life. One important season was several years ago when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Living with this tumor has given me deep insight into what it’s like to navigate our healthcare system, encouraging me to explore beyond conventional approaches to health and healing. My experience has turned my attention to life and death questions, and heightened my curiosity about how what happens to us impacts the way we relate to the world and people around us. My personal journey walks alongside my professional journey – each influencing the other in helpful ways. It has enabled me to offer services specific to medical journeys such as new diagnoses, preparation and support for appointments, procedures, scans and other events that may increase stress and anxiety. As I’ve learned, journeys within our healthcare system require support that can keep stress and anxiety at a minimum.
My Approach
My approach is holistic with a focus on understanding your whole self and the systems and circumstances in which you live. Whereas talk therapy is a good fit for many, the inclusion of music in the therapeutic process can enhance access to emotions, memories, traumatic events, parts of self, and unconscious beliefs, for example. In the music, we are often surprised by what surfaces. My approach is heavily influenced by my work with guided imagery and music - the deep, creative exploration of the unconscious in a safe circle containing you, the music and me.
I am a strong advocate for music therapy and frequently provide workshops, talks and presentations. With over twenty years of experience, I am honoured to be connecting with people who are ready to seek, explore, discover and integrate. I am here to help you discover the healthiest, fullest version of yourself.
Land Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that my home and practice sit on the Treaty Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand Riveras as well as the Traditional Territory of the Anishinaabe Nation, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat Confederacies. This territory is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.
I recognize the impact settlers have had and continue to have on Indigenous peoples and their land and strive to uphold the values of Truth and Reconciliation. I’m grateful for the benefits I experience living and working on this sacred land.
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
― Carl Gustav Jung