For me, healing means being able to make space for pain and suffering while recognizing how much beauty your life can still contain. Healing means being able to honour the heartache you have experienced while continuing to make bids for connection with your community and the people you love.

Some individuals might believe that therapy will help them learn how to never crash out or shut down again, when in truth, healing is being able to feel your pain in the moment while simultaneously believing—and knowing, that you are going to be okay.

I hope every client leaves therapy believing that they are worthy of love, especially from themselves. I think a lot of us carry the false narrative that we need external validation to feel good about ourselves. Although external validation can be helpful, it does not hold the same transformative power as the time, attention, and compassion you can offer yourself.

The lonely part, the scared part, the frustrated part, the hopeless part, the distrustful part—once you begin giving those parts of yourself acknowledgement and care, something pretty magical can happen in therapy.

The clients I feel most honoured to work with are adult children learning how to navigate adult relationships with their parents and family members. I am a firm believer that our past does not have to dictate what our future looks like. Bridging generations through patience, empathy, and vulnerability is possible.

Some adults in our upbringing may not have had the skills or tools to teach us how to regulate our emotions, sit with vulnerability, or communicate our needs. As adults, however, we have the opportunity to offer our younger selves some of what we needed back then but did not receive.

We cannot change what happened to us, but we can create a present that helps us become less stuck in the past. When we learn how to heal our internal relationship with our family, closeness in other relationships can begin to feel less scary.

If you are not ready to address childhood wounds and would rather focus on your present-day interpersonal relationships, I still invite you to reach out. One thing that is really special about our work together is that the skills you learn can be transferable to any part of your life.

One value that guides my work as a therapist is authenticity. I invite my clients to show up unapologetically as themselves. There are no right or wrong answers, there is nothing too nice or too mean to say, and you can be as structured or scattered as you need to be.

I believe that if I want to show clients there can be safety in unmasking, I need to try my best to show up authentically too. I am also human. I lose my train of thought, I can be socially awkward, and you will often find me dressed pretty casually for work. I, too, am trying to figure out life and all of its challenges.

Authenticity helps ground us in our shared humanity while giving us permission to exist perfectly in our “imperfections”.

My husband, family, and friends keep me grounded outside of the therapy room. When I started Sao Therapy, I had a vision of helping others rekindle their relationships with themselves, but also with the people around them.

The reason I believe in this work so deeply is because I have witnessed firsthand how generations of trauma and maladaptive patterns can begin to be replaced with safety and security through having hard conversations, practicing vulnerability, and reaching for community when you need support.

Aside from human connection, my dog, Oakley, has shown me a steadiness in love I never thought possible. No matter how fast life feels like it is moving, he reminds me to slow down—usually by asking for endless pets.

If a client is feeling nervous about starting therapy, I would want them to know that they are not expected to have everything figured out after the first session, the first month, or even the first year.

In therapy, you might have big “aha” moments, but sustainable growth often happens through the small shifts you make outside of the office. These shifts might look like asking someone to hang out instead of waiting for them to extend the invitation, giving yourself permission to cancel plans because your social battery is drained, or encouraging yourself to apply for that job even when part of you believes you are not ready.

When it comes to self-discovery, there is no rush. You do not have to have all the answers. I will not have all the answers either—and that is okay. Together, we can stay curious, and I trust that you will learn how to figure things out along the way.

When working with me, clients can expect a mixture of heavier and lighter sessions. I love incorporating imagery and visualization into my work, but everything remains an invitation. You will have space to tell your story, and I will help you unravel themes and patterns in your life that may be keeping you stuck.

I will also be candid: talking about change is not always enough. You need to try something new just to see what will happen. Taking action and experimenting with new behaviours between sessions is often where therapy begins to take shape in everyday life. Although you remain in complete control over what you choose to do, part of my role as your therapist is to gently nudge you toward the life you hope to create for yourself.

I will never force you to do anything, but I may encourage you to move toward the scary thing you do not believe you are ready for—and stay alongside you until you feel safe enough to decide for yourself.

I want our therapeutic relationship to be grounded in trust and honesty, with you having control over how little or how much you choose to share about any particular topic. Saying “no” in session is welcomed. Sometimes, saying no to me is part of strengthening your voice, boundaries, and agency.