As a Registered Psychologist and Marriage & Family Therapist, I do everything in my power to help individuals, couples and families develop strength and resilience when faced with life and/or relationship challenges. Life is changing quickly for everyone. Taking the time to address challenges directly gives the opportunity to move through complexity and relationship difficulties in a way that leaves us stronger and more capable as individuals and in our relationships.
My practice includes people from many walks of life and many different circumstances. I work with all types of individuals, relationships and families. Having learned many approaches, I work to integrate ideas that provide spring boards to better life choices, communication, problem-solving, parenting practices, and overall well-being.
As a society we know that separation, divorce and stepfamily life are a reality for more and more people, yet we still struggle to understand and really accept these transitions as mainstream events. How do we as a society and therapeutic professionals BOTH support families and committed relationships AND also understand and support those who find themselves considering or engaged in a separation/divorce? I have chosen to focus on these ‘marital transitions’ in my graduate work and practice because it is an area where I felt I could make a difference.
Experience
Throughout my career I have lived and worked in different parts of Canada. Among my 30+ years of experience I have:
- Spent thousands of hours engaged in therapeutic engagement and clinical consultations with individuals, children, couples and families since 1986.
- Provided many hours of workshops and presentations of many types over many years on separation, divorce and remarriage.
- Participated in the community of professionals who have worked to develop Collaborative Practice locally and internationally by:
- including it in my practice as psychologist and specialist in marital transitions,
- being a founding member of my local practice group,
- acting as founding mental health co-chair and as board member
- acting as board member International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
- provided clinical services as a Collaborative Divorce Coach and Collaborative Child Specialist
- using my media contacts to support the growth of Collaborative Practice
- providing training locally and internationally
- presenter at IACP annual networking forum
- presenter at 4 European Collaborative conferences
- acting as adjunct professor at UBC Faculty of Law
- acting as Co-chair of the Collaborative Practice provincial training for Continuing Legal Education in BC
- authored professional articles and chapters as well as resource for the public,
- Provided parent support and coaching through separation and divorce
- Within the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, provided team building and leadership workshops for more than 400 CP professionals since 2009
- Authored numerous publications ranging from academic articles to chapters in books, professional essays and parent education resources for:
- The Family Court Review. (Association of Family & Conciliation Courts)
- The Louisiana Law Review (Louisiana State University Law School Journal)
- The Collaborative Review (The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals)
- Family Connections (BC Council for Families)
- Created REACH (Reunification and Co-parenting in High conflict and Complexity) program, an innovative model to address disrupted parent-child relationships in contexts of alienation, estrangement, high conflict and high complexity. REACH provides an in-depth therapeutic intervention that both support the family and the judge, while keeping the therapeutic team out of court.
- In conjunction with the BC Council for Families and The Stepfamily Association of America (SAA) and many Family Services agencies in Greater Vancouver I provided:
- Parent Education Workshops
- Media Consultation
- Board Membership (SAA)
- Training across the US from 1995 – 2001 (SAA)
- Training in Vancouver in 1999 (SAA)
- Facilitation for local Stepfamily Support Groups
- Individual, Marital and Family Therapist and Mediator in private practice since 1991.