Hi, I’m Monica.
I’m so glad you’re here.

Taking the first step is often the scariest one. When you walk into your therapy session with me, you can expect to be met with warmth and empathy. Know that it’s natural to feel nervous if this is your first time trying therapy, and anytime you start seeing a new therapist. We’ll work together to shake out the nervous jitters and create a space built on safety and trust. 

I view people as having many different “parts” that have been shaped through life experiences such as important relationships, significant life events, and trauma. I also look at the external context of where these parts of you developed. Many times, people are coming into therapy because parts that developed to protect them might be keeping them in patterns that no longer serve them. Using approaches like Internal Family Systems, Attachment Theory, Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment, and and mindfulness can help us make sense of parts of you that feel “stuck” in patterns.

For example, with avoidant attachment tendencies, we might believe that we need to be hyper-independent because when we’ve depended on people in the past we’ve been hurt, let down, rejected, or humiliated. With anxious attachment tendencies, we might fear that our loved ones will abandon us. When we sense disconnection, we do everything we can to try to keep them close and to try to pull them back in. 

Together, we’ll meet those parts of you with compassion, understand their roles, and gently work towards change that feels more aligned with who you want to be.

While I work in many areas of mental health, my specialities are in trauma & complex trauma (including sexual assault, childhood abuse and neglect, traumatic grief), depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, relationship issues (both individually or in couples counselling), stress and burnout.