About Me

Hi, thanks for landing here and for getting to know a little about me. I embarked on a profound healing journey of my own, and now, I'm dedicated to empowering others through my direct experience and expertise.

In my childhood, I experienced the themes of alcoholism, abandonment, abuse, and narcissism. My childhood experience was a mix of feeling loved while also feeling lonely, sad, and confused. My mother left the family when I was a child, and I didn’t appreciate how profound that loss would be for me for the next few decades of my life.

As an adult, I was highly anxious. I had a fairly constant self critical inner voice, and due to the inner tirade that happened each time a ‘made a mistake’ I found it very difficult to try new things. My mind would constantly overanalyze and overthink, and as a result I had insomnia for years.

I was codependent and a people pleaser and always found myself in ‘narcissist-empath’ relationship dynamics. I am a domestic violence survivor. I had no idea at the time why my relationships were so unsupportive, required so much effort, and were so full of conflict. I was married very young and had children soon after. One of my children is on the autism-spectrum and this required a lot of advocacy on my behalf in the medical and education systems. I was very overwhelmed with my life.

I never had a fulfilling career - my main focus was on my children and trying to provide stability in unstable circumstances. I didn’t have anything left to give to a career. My work paid the bills, but it wasn’t fulfilling, interesting, or exciting. I found it frustrating, boring, and unchallenging.

I felt very stuck and lonely. I was overwhelmed much of the time and very under supported. And when I wasn’t acutely anxious or in a crisis, I was numbed out and on auto-pilot.

I had gone through many years of therapy, but for a number of reasons, my life didn’t shift - nothing improved. I felt broken, hopeless, and unfixable and I felt like my this experience I was having was all life could be for me.

It was at the end of a longterm relationship where we had blended our families that things changed for me. At this point, I was desperate for some relief from the unending heartache and loss. For the first time, I turned to non-mainstream healing methods. I had tried conventional therapy for 29 years, worked with around a dozen therapists (individual, couples, family), and felt it had nothing more to offer me.

I followed my inner impulse and took a giant leap of faith. I committed to working with plant medicines with the indigenous Shipibo People in Peru. It was a big, big step for me to go to an off-the-grid retreat centre in the Amazonian jungle alone. I was terrified of just flying alone, with the constant worry that I’ll mess up my travel in some way.

And at this retreat I got some answers that helped me move forward. The plants showed me the root of my painful relationship dynamics was my unresolved childhood wounding. Now this was a big surprise to me. I had told the story of my childhood countless times in therapy and was under the impression I had ‘done the work’. And I hadn’t been told otherwise. For more on what healing actually entails, see The Path Forward. The plants also showed me what was possible, that life could be beautiful, wondrous, loving, and fulfilling.

I also had a spontaneous spiritual awakening, and since then have had an embodied knowing that I am an individuated spark of Source having a human experience, that I have had multiple lives, and that my purpose was to become liberated from my painful karmic patterns.

The plants gave me insight into my life, but I had to do the work to heal and change my life. That’s the truth with any healing modality or spiritual practice, nothing will heal us - no one is coming to rescue us, there are no skipping steps, we are simply shown the way and must heal ourselves.

I entered into a Dark Night of the Soul for almost two years with repressed memories and feelings coming flooding back. It was a two year purge of repressed emotions and a release of self protective mechanisms that kept my heart shut down. I was fragile. Healing is not about feeling better, healing is about getting better at feeling.

For a caterpillar to become the butterfly, she must go into her cocoon and become goo. This is the rebirth process. We must pull away from the life we had as a caterpillar and retreat into our cocoon. From there we unbecome all of the things we thought we were, all the things we were told to be to please others. This is called dismemberment in shamanism. It is a dissolving or burning away (in alchemy) of all of that which is not authentically us. It is dissolving the False Self, as called by Carl Jung. It is a painful process with a lot of sadness and grief. And then we go through a period of discovering who we really are. And once we have discovered our Authentic Self, we emerge into the world a butterfly with all the liberation that comes with being able to fly.

I now have a lovely life. I have inner peace; long gone is the nasty, critical inner voice. I sleep very well. I have a lovely, healthy relationship with a wonderful man. I’m playful, something that was missing from my life for years. I’m joyful and loving. My work is fulfilling and meaningful. I can take the risks that come with living fully. And the people around me get the best version of me. I’m light and happy. I love my life.

In all honesty, there is a part of me that wants to live a quiet life and not ‘put myself out there’ as a healer. I don’t want the attention or any aggravation, I’ve had enough chaos in my life. And as much as I would like to withdraw from all the chaos and wounding of this world, I know I’ve been given the gift of healing so I can help others.

During the years that followed my big healing experience, I discovered coaching. It’s a wonderful modality that helps us define what a thriving life for each of us looks like, what it would feel like, and then direct our actions toward creating the life we want. My experience with coaching inspired me to become a certified Life Coach and I am registered with the International Coaching Federation.

It was also important for me to be informed on the latest science and research in the fields of trauma, childhood development, stress, and nervous system regulation. I’ve recently completed Dr. Gabor Maté’s yearlong Compassion Inquiry Program, a therapeutic approach to discovering the root cause of our patterns and wounding.

I’ve continued to follow my curiosity and appetite for learning and have studied additional modalities in the healing arts. I trained in Reiki to increase energy flow and balance. I became a certified meditation teacher and use meditation and guided visualizations in my work to evoke insights. I am a certified ceremonialist and regularly lead women through cacao ceremonies where we remember our sacredness. As a life long musician and classically trained singer, I love the gentle yet powerful effects of sound bath meditations, an ancient healing modality that regulates the nervous system through entraining the brain waves to synch to sound waves. I am a certified Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) practitioner, guiding clients through a gentle hypnosis to (i) access past life memories relevant to current life themes and (ii) interview the client’s Higher Self to answer questions in career, relationships, health, spiritual pursuits, insight into physical healing, and much more.

I am also apprenticing in shamanism. Shamans travel the unseen worlds to connect with benevolent helping spirits to heal on a spiritual and energetic level as well as transition lost souls. By studying shamanism, I am reclaiming my ancestor’s lost earth-based and energetic practices. My ancestry is Northern Irish and Northern Scottish - the lands of the Celtic Shamans and Druids. The specific practices of those regions were lost, initially due to Roman colonization, and then Christian persecution. I am reclaiming the essence of these practices and restoring my lineage. I do not offer shamanic practitioner services at this time but I do incorporate the teachings into my work.

My own healing journey has given me firsthand knowledge of what it takes to break the cycle of generational trauma. It isn’t easy work. This path is not for the faint of heart, but it is the most rewarding experience of my life. I draw upon my experiences to offer practical tools, insights, and strategies that empower individuals to navigate the healing path, regulate their nervous system, cultivate self-awareness, and create meaningful and fulfilling lives. This is the medicine that I am meant to share.

My approach is rooted in compassion, empathy, and a deep belief in the potential for transformation. I am dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing space where women can explore their emotions, heal past wounds, recognize repeated patterns in their lives, and break free from limiting beliefs that hold them back. Together, we'll work towards creating a life filled with purpose, joy, and authentic fulfillment. I am here to walk alongside you, offering unwavering support and helping you tap into your inner strength and wisdom.

If my story and approach resonates with you, please continue to explore my site and if you’d like to explore working together, please book a free Coffee Chat so we can determine if we’re a good fit.

A little more about me…

I live in beautiful Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Treaty 6 land, the traditional and ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux and home to the Métis Settlements and the Métis Nation of Alberta. I live with my wonderful partner Derek and our pup Louie and am the Mama of two grown children. I love our beautiful river valley and enjoy the nature reserves and park systems that are within a short drive of the city. I have a huge stack of books and have years of reading ahead of me. My curiosity is insatiable and I am a lifelong learner. I continue to work with ayahuasca and Amazonian plants in the Shipibo tradition and most recently went to Peru in 2022.