FAQs About Working With Me
If you're thinking about therapy, you might have questions that don't quite fit into a typical FAQ.
What will it actually be like to talk to you? What happens if I don't know what I want to talk about? Will you tell me what to do? What if I get overwhelmed? What if I want something different from the therapy I've experienced before?
And maybe one of the biggest questions: Will I feel like I can actually be myself with you?
So rather than giving you another list of clinical terms, I thought I'd answer some of the questions you might genuinely be wondering about what it is like to work with me.
What am I actually like as a therapist?
I hope that you feel my warmth and kindness when we sit together. I lead with what I think of as my sturdy but soft heart.
I'm human, and I think that matters.
I like to laugh. I might make a joke when the moment feels right. I'll probably throw out a cheesy metaphor every now and then. And there may be moments when I get a little teary alongside you because something matters.
Mostly, though, I hope you feel seen and validated when you're with me.
I want you to be able to bring your whole self into the room—not just the parts that are easy to talk about or the version of yourself you think you're supposed to bring to therapy.
What if I don't know what I want to work on?
You don't need to.
You don't have to arrive at your first session with a clear explanation of what's wrong, a list of goals, or a perfectly organized story of your life.
I don't use a traditional intake filled with a long list of questions. I believe the relationship matters, and that you will share what you want to share when you're ready.
We can work with what is here.
Maybe you come in feeling overwhelmed and aren't sure why. Maybe something happened this week that you can't stop thinking about. Maybe you're struggling in a relationship. Maybe you just know that something doesn't feel quite right.
We can start there.
I trust that what presents itself in the moment can give us somewhere meaningful to begin.
Are you going to tell me what I should do?
No.
I don't give advice or tell you what I think you should do with your life.
That can be hard for some clients at first. Sometimes people really want someone to just tell them what to do!
Instead, I'll offer curiosity, reflections, possibilities, or tools that might help you understand and navigate what you're experiencing. But ultimately, you're the one driving the car.
You get to decide whether we turn, slow down, stop, or take another route altogether.
My hope is that over time, you develop a deeper trust in your own knowing and your ability to navigate what life brings you.
What happens if I get overwhelmed in therapy?
Sometimes therapy can bring us into places that are tender, painful, or difficult to stay with.
If you become overwhelmed, I don't believe the answer is to simply push through.
I'll pay attention to what is happening and regulate my own system so that I can help support yours. I might invite you to notice your feet on the ground. I might put my hand on my heart and offer a soft, gentle, “ya.”
Sometimes I'll offer something simple and true:
“Ya. This is heavy.”
Or we might slow down and notice what is happening together.
There isn't always a need to immediately fix, explain, or move past an emotion. Sometimes having someone stay with you while something difficult is happening creates enough space for you to experience it differently.
What does somatic therapy actually look like with you?
“Somatic therapy” can sound a little intimidating if you've never experienced it before.
You might wonder if I'm going to ask you to lie on the floor, meditate, or spend an entire session talking about your body.
Not necessarily.
For me, somatic work is often much more subtle.
It might sound like:
“What do you notice as you share that with me?”
Or:
“Can we just slow down here? This feels important.”
Sometimes I'll notice something in my own body and gently offer it when you're having difficulty noticing what's happening for you. Sometimes we might simply feel your feet on the floor while talking about something difficult.
The goal isn't to make you calm or to get you to feel something you're not feeling.
It's about creating more space to notice what is happening, at a pace that feels safe enough and makes sense for you.
What if I don't want to talk about my feelings?
That's okay.
You don't have to come to therapy already knowing how to identify or talk about your emotions.
Sometimes people have spent a long time moving quickly, staying busy, taking care of everyone else, or keeping difficult things at a distance because that was what helped them get through.
We don't have to suddenly do the opposite.
We can start wherever you are.
Sometimes that means building some tools to help with overwhelm first. Sometimes it means becoming curious about what is happening in your relationships. And sometimes, when you're ready, we can begin to understand what is underneath what you're experiencing and consider whether you'd like to make deeper changes.
There is no cookie-cutter way of doing this.
Can therapy be uncomfortable?
Yes.
I don't want to promise that therapy will always feel comfortable, because sometimes it won't.
Therapy can stretch us. We may notice things we hadn't noticed before. We may talk about something we've worked hard not to feel. We may begin to see an old pattern differently.
But there is an important difference between being gently stretched and being pushed beyond what you can hold.
When difficult moments happen within a relationship where you feel held, respected, and able to have a say in what happens next, those moments can become opportunities for deeper processing and meaningful change.
My job isn't to decide how far or how fast you should go.
We figure that out together.
What happens if I say something doesn't feel right?
I will get things wrong sometimes. I'm human.
I try to notice when I've missed the mark, and I want you to know that you can tell me when I do.
Sometimes repair is as simple as:
“Oh, I think I got that wrong.”
Or:
“That word doesn't seem to fit. What word would you use?”
Other times, it may mean having a more direct conversation and me saying, “I missed the mark, and I'm sorry.”
I don't expect our relationship to be perfect. I think what matters is being willing to notice when something isn't right, take accountability, and repair it.
What if I've had therapy before and want something different this time?
Sometimes people come to me after years away from therapy. Sometimes they have done a lot of therapy already. Sometimes they simply know they want or need something different now.
You don't have to have a bad experience to want a new experience.
Maybe you're looking for a different pace. Maybe you're curious about a more relational or somatic approach. Maybe life has changed and what you need now is different from what you needed before.
Whatever brings you here, we can start with where you are today.
Does therapy with you ever involve laughing?
Yes. Absolutely.
A client recently told me that I'm fun, which made me laugh because I don't necessarily think of “fun” as a clinical intervention.
But actually, I do.
There is something important about play, laughter, lightness, and being able to experience a relationship that isn't always focused on what is hard. These moments can create space for connection, ease, and a different kind of experience in our bodies and relationships.
So yes, we can laugh.
We can joke. We can talk about the ridiculous things humans do. We can have moments where therapy doesn't feel so heavy.
Life is hard enough. I don't think every moment of therapy needs to be.
And maybe, over time, we can make a little more room for ease—in your life, your body, and your relationships.
What do you hope people take with them from therapy?
More than anything, I hope you develop a deeper trust in yourself.
I hope you come to know yourself in a way that feels more grounded and confident. I hope you recognize the tools and strengths you already have and build your capacity to meet what life brings.
I hope you have more clarity and choice in your relationships and in the ways you move through the world.
And I hope you leave with a sturdy knowing that says:
“I got this.”
Not because life will suddenly become easy.
But because you know yourself more deeply. You know what you need. You trust yourself to make choices. And you know that reaching for support when you need it is not a failure of your capacity—it is part of being human.
What do you hope clients experience in the relationship with you?
I want you to feel like you can be yourself with me.
Not the polished version. Not the version that has figured everything out. Not the version that knows exactly what to say.
Just you.
I want to get to know you—to be curious about who you are, what matters to you, what you've lived through, what makes you laugh, what feels hard, and what you're becoming.
Our wounds and our gifts often live side by side. I know that from my own life, and I continue to do my own work and build my own capacity to meet what life brings.
I believe people make sense given their experiences. I also believe people are doing the best they can with what they have—and sometimes, even with their best efforts, they are still struggling.
Therapy can be a place to have someone alongside you while you make sense of those things.
My hope is that you feel seen, heard, trusted, and cared for. That you experience a relationship where you don't have to perform or have all the answers.
And that, over time, you develop your own sturdy knowing that you can trust yourself, meet what comes, and reach for support when you need a reminder:
You've got this.
Ready to take the next step?
If you’re considering therapy and still have questions, I’m here to help. I offer virtual therapy across Alberta and provide a safe, supportive space where you can feel heard, understood, and comfortable being yourself.
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