Every counsellor uses a map to help guide their clients toward their goals. This map is called a theoretical orientation—a set of ideas that helps the counsellor understand people and choose a direction for healing. Imagine if you had a perfect map—no construction zones, no traffic, only smooth straight paths and green lights. It would be easy to reach your destination, but you might miss out on growth, learning, excitement, or wonder. Real life isn’t like that, and neither is counselling.

Think of the game Candy Land, where young children learn colours, counting, and taking turns. Even this simple game has setbacks: “go back five spaces,” or “miss a turn.” Now compare that to The Game of Life, where players must make bigger decisions—school or career, marriage or children, vacations or paydays. In both games, the goal is to reach the end, but you get there by facing challenges, making choices, and moving forward even when you’re pushed back. Counselling works the same way. I use attachment theory and developmental psychology to help create a healthy map that fits each client’s journey. Yet, instead of game makers designing the path, I look to Jesus and His teachings as the safe, steady guide—like a “free parking” moment—offering rest, direction, and hope. His wisdom helps shape both the player and the path ahead.

Long before I understood theories or techniques, I understood that play was my first language. It was how I made sense of the world—building stories, expressing big feelings, and discovering who I was: play was where I felt most alive. As I grew older and began working with children, I realized that this early truth still held power. Playfulness wasn’t just fun—it was a bridge. It helped children communicate, explore their abilities, and understand themselves in ways words alone couldn’t reach. And so, I learned to meet them there.

In my work, I found myself drawn to all the ways children express their inner world: through synergetic play, expressive arts, nature, movement, sandtray, neuroscience, and the simple goodness of meaningful relationships. Each avenue allowed a child to show me something precious—an emotion, a memory, a hope, or a hidden strength. As I sat with them, I began to understand how deeply my calling was rooted in helping children grow not only in emotional and somatic awareness, but also in their understanding of who God created them to be. That truth propels me every day.

Therefore, I’ve come to believe wholeheartedly that a child’s potential is limitless when they are nurtured through secure attachment—when they are loved, seen, and held with safety, a belief that shapes everything I do. By nature, I am creative, warm, and welcoming, and I invite every part of a child to show up in counselling—even the quiet, cautious, loud, bold or forgotten parts that haven’t yet learned how to play.

With a curiosity rooted in love and light, I encourage children to stretch upward, to reach for the heavens, and to discover the truth about themselves in the very moment they’re given. So in those moments—through giggles, tears, paint-splattered hands, or tiny fistfuls of sand—I’m reminded why I do this work: Because play is not just a language. It’s an invitation to become whole.

• Connect Parenting Program 

• EMDR Certified 

• Level 1 Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy 

• Attachment and Dissociation 

• Level 1 Neuroscience in the Sandtray 

• Families, Family Breakdown and the Law

• Certified Forest and Nature School Practitioner 

• School Age Childcare Certification 

• Early Childhood, Infant Toddler and Special Needs Diploma

• Sessions are generally 1 hour in length

• $150/hr

I’m a proud wife to Janez and a mama to three wonderfully spirited, endlessly fun kids—and I even get to be a homestay mom to amazing students from around the world! My life is basically a blend of laughter, music, dance breaks, playtime, and a constant teeter-totter of rest and activity. When I’m not running my unofficial taxi service for my children or volunteering at church, you’ll probably catch me out adventuring with friends or strolling through the neighborhood with our dogs, Fraser and Valley.