ARI (THEY/THEM)
Welcome! Wherever you are on your journey, finding your way here is a big step. Whether you have past experience with therapy, or whether you are exploring therapy for the first time, reaching out to connect with someone new is another big step, and one which takes courage!
I think you are uniquely qualified to know what is best for you, and my goal is to create a space that is shaped around your needs where your thoughts, feelings, and deep self-knowledge can be accessed and recognized. My role is to help facilitate a conversation with yourself, and help you connect with your own voice.
As a trans and non-binary, queer-identifying therapist, I recognize the complexity of how intersectionality and systemic power dynamics show up in our spaces and relationships. I strive to take an empowering, anti-oppressive approach in my work, and increasing my cultural awareness and competency is an on-going process to which I am personally and professionally committed. Feeling safe and feeling understood are key ingredients to good therapy, and my aim is to co-create a therapeutic space with you that is collaborative, free of judgement, responsive to your needs and feedback, and which centres you as a client.
My primary therapeutic modality is humanistic as well as integrative/eclectic. Depending on what resonates for you, we may pull ideas and techniques from other therapeutic approaches such as Solution-Focused, Experiential/Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioural, Psychodynamic and Narrative modalities.
My own path to the field of counselling has not been a straight line, and I draw from many different areas and previous learning experiences. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Winnipeg, double majoring in both Theatre Design and English, before working as a glass artist for 6 years. I returned to school in 2018 and obtained a J.D. at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, and I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. I currently volunteer as a telephone bereavement counsellor, as well as a crisis counsellor.
Life is full of triumphs, losses and on-going challenges, and therapy can be a place to bear witness to yourself. If you are looking for a place to process your emotions, make sense of your experiences, gain new perspectives and tools, receive support and validation, learn more about yourself as a person and/or reconnect to what you find meaningful, therapy with me might be a good fit! I would be honoured to join you as you navigate this process and invest in yourself as a human being.