Areas of Expertise
Parent Child Relationship/Attachment
There is nothing more critical to a child’s success than their attachment relationship with their caregiver. For many reasons, this relationship can be disrupted (e.g., stress in the family, adoption, parental depression, experiencing physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect, exposure to drug use or domestic violence, etc.). My passion is to help rebuild and repair this caregiver child relationship. I’m trained in the Circle of Security Parenting program, Connect Parenting program, Child Parent Psychotherapy and Parent Child Interaction Therapy. Please contact me to learn more about any of these treatments. Let’s talk to figure out which approach would be most effective in helping you restore your relationship.
Trauma and Child Abuse
We all do the best we can to protect our children, but sometimes the unthinkable happens. Caregivers often feel scared and confused. I'm here to help you navigate supporting your child through this difficult time. I have worked with many children and families who have experienced child abuse and other traumas (e.g., motor vehicle collisions, burns, etc.) It may seem overwhelming, but we have excellent treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other symptoms of exposure to trauma and child abuse. I am trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the main research supported treatment for trauma. Please call me and I can tell you more about the process and how we can work together to best help your child.
Functional Disorders and Medical Psychology
We are all capable of handling difficult situations and coping with life's challenges, but sometimes life’s stressors overwhelm our coping abilities. When our coping strategies are exhausted, our stress often manifests in debilitating physical symptoms (e.g., pain or dysfunction) that feel and look like physical diseases. Trying to understand and treat these functional disorders, clients often have seen many professionals and received confusing and at times conflicting answers.
I know your pain is real and interfering with your ability to be the best version of yourself and I would love to work with you to help you gain control of your pain and troubling symptoms. I have years of experience working with Functional Abdominal Pain, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Rumination Syndrome, Habit Cough, Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder, and Factitious Disorder. If your child has been diagnosed with a functional disorder, please contact me to discuss potential options for working together to help them get back to their best life.
With respect to Medical Psychology, I have experience helping children and adolescents cope with adjustment to a chronic illness as well as treating needle and pill swallowing phobias. Further, I have years of experience in the bowel management clinic at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and a passion for helping children with constipation management and encopresis. If your child is struggling with coping with a chronic illness or compliance with the treatment protocol, please contact me to find out how we can work together to help them better manage their challenging circumstances.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can be helpful; it can keep us safe and motivate us to achieve and perform at higher levels. However, too much anxiety can impact our sleep, fill our minds with worries and make it hard to enjoy life and do the thing we need to do (e.g., going to school) or enjoy doing (e.g., sports or playing with friends). If your child is suffering from anxiety (i.e., generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias, or obsessive compulsive disorder), they are not alone. Anxiety is the most common childhood mental health condition. I have worked with lots of children who have suffered with various different types of anxiety disorders. Please contact me to for an assessment of your child’s anxiety and to discuss how I can help your child gain control of their anxiety.