I don't believe one type of therapy fits every person or every problem.

My approach is conversational, curious and often practical. I spend a lot of time helping people slow things down enough to understand what is happening underneath a problem: what they were feeling, what they believed was happening, what their body was doing, what they needed in that moment, and why they responded the way they did.

From there, we can figure out what might actually help.

Sometimes that means learning a concrete skill. Sometimes we're looking at patterns in relationships, beliefs you've carried for years, the way past experiences still affect you, or the values you want your behaviour to reflect. Sometimes you mostly need room to talk through something difficult without immediately trying to fix it.

I draw from a number of approaches, including Motivational Interviewing, DBT, ACT, Reality Therapy, Positive Psychology, cognitive and behavioural approaches, and family-based therapies. I use those approaches as tools rather than expecting you to fit neatly into one of them.

You don't need to know which kind of therapy you need before coming in. Figuring out what is useful for you is part of my job.

A lot of my education and professional training has focused on trauma, behaviour change, emotional regulation, addiction, relationships, and the ways difficult experiences can continue to affect us long after they happen.

Throughout my career, I have been especially interested in a question that comes up often in counselling: Why do we keep doing things we genuinely don't want to do?

Sometimes the answer involves stress or strong emotions. Sometimes it involves beliefs about ourselves or other people, patterns we've learned in relationships, past experiences, substance use, or ways of coping that once helped but now create problems.

My work has included addictions treatment, health-care counselling, and violence intervention. Those experiences have pushed me to look beyond the behaviour itself and understand what keeps it going, while still being honest about responsibility and the impact our choices can have on other people.

A lot of my continuing education follows the same direction: understanding people more fully and finding practical ways to help them make changes that hold up outside the counselling room.

I'm a husband and dad of three. A lot of my time outside of work is spent doing the usual family stuff like driving kids around, watching practices and games, and trying to keep up with everything that comes with having a busy family.

Sports have always been a big part of my life. I follow hockey closely, spend a lot of time around soccer, and have trained in kickboxing for years.

I'm also someone who tends to go pretty deep into things I'm interested in. I read a lot, ask a lot of questions, and usually want to understand more than just the surface-level version of something.

I like humour, good conversations, and people who can be themselves. I don't take myself too seriously, and I probably bring a bit of that into most parts of my life.