I believe you deserve relief from pain and hope for healing- through connection
While there are numerous reasons behind my journey to becoming a therapist, I'd like to share a glimpse of my personal story and how it shapes my approach to therapy with you.
If you're eager to learn more about my approach, credentials, experience, and training, feel free to skip ahead by clicking the link below!
MY STORY BEHIND CONNECTED COUNSELLING
Years ago, I had a serious pedestrian accident that changed my life dramatically. I went from being a high-achieving (admittedly over-functioning) wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunty, friend, community member, and newly graduated therapist in my early 30s to being in a wheelchair for a period of time. My full-throttle life came to a screeching halt. Everything just stopped.
While my physical injuries required extensive medical intervention and rehabilitation, the trauma I experienced left me with significant symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — anxiety, panic, trouble sleeping, difficulty focusing, and memory problems. My usual coping mechanisms — keeping busy, focusing on taking care of others, striving, hustling, pushing through — were no longer options. It was hard for me to accept living with chronic pain and the lasting health effects of the accident. I had to sit with it — yuck!
I tried to put on a brave face, telling myself, "Smile and count your blessings, it’ll pass," but the weeks turned into months and years. As my new normal set in, the emotional stuff I had avoided began to surface, causing so much discomfort I could no longer ignore it. Despite being a therapist, it was nerve-wracking and hard to find a therapist who was the right fit, but I am so glad I did because it was the best personal growth work I’ve ever done!
A JOURNEY OF HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION
Although it was not my first time in therapy, my work with an AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) therapist was new. I was guided to slow down, calm my anxiety, and actually feel my emotions. Feel my feelings? What do you mean? I’m a therapist; I know how to feel my feelings…right? Well, I discovered I was so good at identifying and thinking about my feelings that I didn’t really know how to actually feel them!
Working with my AEDP therapist helped me learn to process emotions and experiences in a new and meaningful way. I recognized and deeply understood how I was acting out of unconscious conditioning, unhealed wounds, and once-adaptive patterns that were no longer serving me. This opened the door to transformation and lasting changes: intentional rather than urgent, compassion in place of self-criticism, responsiveness instead of reactivity, awareness instead of hyper-alertness, and a deep sense of ease, calm, and confidence to be my authentic self.
My own therapeutic journey and profound healing through AEDP has also led me to specialize in this therapeutic approach. I have immersed myself in years of post-graduate study and practice of AEDP and I receive ongoing clinical supervision with AEDP’s founder, Dr. Diana Fosha.
A NEW APPROACH TO LIFE AND THERAPY PRACTICE
These days, when I am outside of the therapy room, I focus more on being rather than doing. Practices like long walks, being in nature, creativity of any kind, belly laughs, and meaningful conversations with friends and family help me find balance, authenticity, growth, and continued healing.
My profound personal experience inspired the name of my therapy practice: Connected Counselling, where I strive to provide others with what I received- healing through connection.