As an avid painter and artist in my early adolescence, I initially fell in love with the idea of using art to help others express themselves. Only later did I expand my knowledge to the additional benefit of using art and other nonvernal modalities to ground myself. As a first generation immigrant to Canada, I not only used this passion and skill, as well as my growing knowledge of neurobiology to process many events and traumas in my life, but also to connect to people when the English language was not yet familiar to me.
I began to share the idea with others when I started to work with individuals with developmental disabilities as well as psychiatric diagnosis. My work then moved into centres for homeless youth and soon adults diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and facing multiple additional barriers, such as addictions, traumas and stigmatization. Throughout my growing career and learning opportunities I have also worked with male survivors of sexual abuse, family members of the survivors of residential schools and federal correction system inmates returning to the community. These multiple experiences have allowed me to widen my scope of knowledge, experience and perspective that I bring to my work.
My journey as a clinical supervisor began in my own personal therapy work, as well as through the mentorship of several senior clinicians I had the privilege of working with. What I consistently observe to be most effective in my work is the relational approach I cultivate across each partnership.
The variety of experiences in life and work has given me an appreciation of not only what I can offer to clients and colleagues but also what they can bring into the relationship as experts in their own journey. I value working as a team to bolster strengths and cultivate ongoing learning in your life and practice. By facilitating a nonjudgmental space for learning and development, I both nurture the innate abilities you bring to supervision and provide guidance, learning and constructive feedback to challenge biases, limited views and expand your take on formulation. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with this person?” let’s ask “What happened to this relationship?”