About

Here, you’ll learn more about who I am, my approach to therapy, and what you can expect when working together. My goal is to create a safe, supportive space where you feel heard, understood, and empowered on your path to healing.

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Bio

I’ve been interested in the concept of health since I was a young person. The first time I realized how powerful good health felt was through exercise and sports.  However, I don’t think I fully understood what being healthy meant, specifically mentally healthy, until I reached my twenties and started to explore my own.

At that point, I was working as a massage therapist and became interested in psychology.  I found the conversations I was having with people about their perspective on their lives and bodies seemed to impact their health and healing. It was after this point that I got really curious and excited about the idea of holistic health, which mental health is of course a big piece.

My curiosity led me to continue my studies at university and I completed a Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology. I loved this course of study for the mixture of science and psychology courses, what we now are more familiar with as neuroscience. I worked in the school neuroscience lab and was able to be involved in several research studies as an undergraduate. My thesis work which was the start of my interest in trauma, was published in the peer reviewed journal Synapse. If interested, I have included the details of the publication at the bottom of this page.

Throughout my time in university, I learned a lot about myself and how our experiences shape what we think of ourselves and the world around us. I think this awareness is an ever-evolving understanding and process; one that I am committed to exploring for myself and my clients.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I decided that my ultimate goal was to support individuals in their pursuit for health and healing. I went back to school again and completed a Masters in Clinical Social Work as a way of fulfilling that goal and left the lab behind.

Today I feel lucky to have all of the cumulative knowledge and experience that I gathered working and studying as a massage therapist and a neuroscience researcher because those roles have helped to inform the holistic focus of health that I feel so strongly about. The understanding that our physical body and nervous system are influenced and interact with our thoughts and emotions is so complex and so fascinating!

My work with clients centers first around understanding what their therapeutic goals are, and then in creating a safe, comfortable environment to get to know them.  I think my role is to help people explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.  To then help build awareness around the parts that are not congruent with what people want to achieve in their lives, how they want to feel about themselves, or be in relationships with others. 

My hope is to assist people in building an understanding of themselves in a way that offers freedom and confidence to be who they are in the world and for exploration of what may stand between them and achieving this experience.

I think we all deserve to live peaceful, authentic lives and it’s my pleasure to support my clients along their way.

Credentials & Training

  • Wilfrid Laurier University
    Masters of Social Work
    With Honours

  • Nipissing University
    Bachelor of Science major Psychology
    With Honours

  • Kikkawa College
    Registered Massage Therapy
    With Honours

Certifications

  • CBT Level 1 – Wilfrid Laurier University
    2017

  • EMDR Basic Training Completed
    2020

  • Trauma Certificate – Wilfrid Laurier University
    2022

Advanced Trainings

  • World Wide Therapy – Cybercounselling Level 1 Sept/13

  • Intergenerational Trauma (2 days) – TSSWO June/16

  • Redeveloping Secure Adult Attachment (2 days) – WLU Oct/16

  • Depression, Anxiety - Children & Youth (2 days) – WLU Jan/18

  • Intro to DBT – WLU Nov/18

  • Brief/Single Session Therapy – Karen Young - Jan/19

  • DBT Individual Therapy – WLU Dec/19

  • Exploring Trauma: Assessment and Intervention – OASW June/20

  • Returning to Ourselves - The Wisdom of Trauma, Gabor Mate, Betsy Polatin - (4 days) – June/20

  • Mindfulness and Trauma – WLU Nov/20

  • Contemporary Directions in Reducing Suicide Vulnerability in Youth - SickKids Center for Brain & Mental Health & CAMH’s Cundill Center for Child and Youth Depression  Nov/20

  • Supporting Gender Independent and Trans Children, Youth, and Their Families -WLU Dec/20

  • Trauma-Informed Service Systems – WLU Dec/20

  • Working with Parts in Dissociative Disorders – Delores Mosquera Mar/20

  • Behavioural Addictions – WLU May/21

  • Foundations of Trauma – WLU May/21

  • Complex Trauma – WLU Sept/21

  • Building Resilience in Children Who Experienced Trauma – WLU Oct/21

  • CBT for Children and Adolescents – WLU Oct/21

  • Early Developmental Trauma: From Imprint to Blueprint – WLU Oct/21

  • Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Resilience – WLU Nov/21

  • Polyvagal Theory: A Bottom-Up Approach for Trauma Treatment – WLU Sept/22

  • Developing an Expanded Understanding of a Polyvagal-Informed Practice -WLU Jan/23

  • Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) – WLU April 23

  • Attachment focused Therapy for Psychotherapist – WLU Nov 24

About

My mission is to create a compassionate, trusting therapeutic relationship where clients feel heard, valued, and empowered.  I provide client-centered therapy that draws from empirically supported techniques to match each individual’s unique needs. I am committed to ethical care in a non-judgmental space and to supporting each persons healing and personal growth. My goal is to help clients navigate life’s challenges, build awareness and strength, and create meaningful changes in their lives.

I lean heavily on attachment theory as a basis of understanding each person’s early life experience. I find this theory can help build awareness around core beliefs and reveal patterns of behaviour in personal relationships and beyond. 

About 7 years ago I started to immerse myself more fully in the world of trauma. There have been so many connections made in the therapeutic world and beyond because of this understanding. Neuroscience, the nervous system, and Polyvagal Theory have been a game changer in the field in general and in my work. I also use EMDR to support clients in processing historical and single-event trauma. My work is trauma-informed and LBGTQ2S positive. 

I also use CBT, DBT principles, solution-focused, and narrative therapies to guide my work. I find an eclectic approach of theories and interventions reflects the diverse and individual needs of clients.

I work primarily with individual adults, youth and families. I am currently working on specific training that will contribute to my skills in supporting couples.

Learn more about Services

Areas of Expertise   

  • Trauma, PTSD

  • Anxiety, panic attacks

  • Stress management

  • Depression, sadness, loneliness

  • Loss, bereavement, grief

  • Anger, shame, guilt

  • Relationship conflicts

  • Abuse

  • Sexuality, LGBTQ2+ support

  • Self-Esteem, self-confidence

  • Personal development, growth, motivation

  • Difficult life transitions

  • Illness or disease diagnosis

  • Hopelessness, lack of meaning in life

Publications

Dalzell L., Connor S., Penner, M., Saari M.J., LeBoutillier, J.C., and Weeks, A.C.W., (2011) Fear conditioning is associated with synaptogenesis in the lateral amygdale. Synapse 65, 513-519.

Dalzell L. D., Penner. M., Strickland, T., Saari, M.J., and Weeks, A.C.W., (2004)
An examination of the interaction of fear conditioning and environmental enrichment on several behavioural and histological measures. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 30.