What is Expressive Arts Therapy?

"Expressive arts therapy (EXA) is a way of using the arts to help people with a variety of challenges; whether they be psychological, emotional, behavioural, or associated with life traumas, relationships or transitions. EXA assumes that everyone has the capacity to respond creatively to the situations that they find themselves in.

By engaging in play and the arts, we are taken into the world of the imagination, where possibilities can be seen that are not evident in our daily lives. We can find resources that we did not know we had and possible solutions that were previously hidden from us. Instead of focusing on deficiencies and dwelling on problems, the EXA approach is resource-based and solution-focused.

The practice of the arts is an activity that involves the senses and the emotions. In an EXA session, we not only talk about our difficulties, we actively engage in artistic practices that give us a bodily and emotional relationship to what we are going through. The EXA therapist helps their clients by setting challenges within the arts that they can meet; clients thereby gain a sense of the abilities they have that can be used to solve their problems in daily life." -CREATE

I value the intersectionalities and breadth of human identities, dis/abilities, experience, and creative expressions. I understand and respect how these aspects may contribute to one's mental health and life challenges.

If you feel in need of a non-judgmental,  nurturing, and respectful place to explore your experience;  I view and treat individuals as experts in their own lives. 

I have experience working with these presenting issues: Trauma and PTSD, Anxiety, Developmental Disorders, Addiction, Autism, Behavioural Issues, Coping Skills, Depression, Dual Diagnosis, Family Conflict, Gender and Sexual Identity, Grief, Intellectual Disability, Life Transitions, Racial Identity, Relationship Issues, Self Esteem, Stress, Substance Use, Women's Issues

I am dedicated to continue to work toward offering an LGBTQ2S+, BIPoC, Disability Positive Space. 

In this current environment of social distancing, anxiety, and social injustice many people are left feeling emotionally challenged and isolated. 

I work from a relational perspective, starting with the relationship between you and myself. I do this with the assumption that relationships and connections are key for maintaining and nurturing mental and emotional well-being.  I pay attention to all types of connections and meanings that you may have; from your relationship with yourself, your relationship to others and your relationship to the world, and beyond. With the hopes of assisting you in gaining awareness and insight on how life's events and challenges impact you. 

Transitions can be hard; nurturing relationships can help.

Colonization is more than a process in which one country establishes dominion over another. Colonial frameworks have been taken for granted as normative culture which shapes our unconscious ways of being, learning, and doing. I am aware of how dominant systems: white supremacy, cisheteropatriarchy, and capitalism, have contributed and continue to perpetuate violence and oppression of many people; this includes the delivery and outreach of mental health services provided and received in Canada. I work from a racially and socially conscious perspective, putting a focus on how trauma from oppression and colonization plays a role in mental health and giving individuals the appropriate support they need. 

My commitment to social justice in clinical work starts with  acknowledging the impacts of dominant systems, critical self-reflection, continual education in anti-oppressive frameworks, political education, and on-going quality supervision.

I hold a Master's degree in Expressive Arts Therapy minoring in Psychology from The European Graduate School in Switzerland, and a postgraduate diploma in Expressive Arts Therapy from the Centre for Expressive Arts Therapy Education in Toronto. Additionally, I am a  Professional Member of the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association (OEATA) and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). 

$170 / session for individual therapy

$140 / session for e-therapy (virtual therapy)

*sliding scale available for those with low or no-income 

While I do not bill insurance, I can provide you with an invoice of services.