I began Fern Creek Counselling in Nelson, on unceded Sinixt tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (land), in August 2022, after practicum and supervision with my mentor and narrative therapist Sarah Beth Hughes.

Before becoming a therapist, I taught Grade 6 in Surrey, and then Grades 7-9 in Nelson. You’d often find our classroom weaving circle time, mental health conversations, and community projects into our academics.

I was also school counsellor at Trafalgar Middle School and Salmo Elementary, during which I completed a Masters in Counselling Psychology online. During this time, I prioritized teacher mental health, bringing in Tai Chi class after school, educational movie nights, and supportive resources. (I may or may not have brought my cat in with me during the pandemic to hang out with the students. They may or may not have made him a cat house out of cardboard).

Fern Creek Counselling is named after the two streets I grew up on, Fernwood Road and Bullock Creek. Ferns are ancient, lore-rich, resilient, mysterious plants that show us the power of adaptability and enduring power. Their “seeds” can also make you invisible, should you need. Creeks remind me of neuralpathways, in their transportation of water through earth. Hence, Fern Creek Counselling was conceived as a place where your resilience and experience is welcome; a place of wisdom, patience, and rebellion.

My work is influenced by Carl Jung, Gabor Maté (with whom I’ve studied), Rachel Ricketts, Toko-Pa Turner, Liz Forrest, and Indigenous Matriarchs of the Wet’suwet’en, Gitxsan, Tolteca, Métis, Sinixt, and Ojibwa nations. I am currently supervised by narrative therapist and non-pathologizing researcher Michael Towers who lives in Kelowna on the tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (land) of the syilx people.