I found art therapy in Scotland.

It all began on the edge—of a big life change. I had just graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Fine Art. I wasn’t sure which direction to take next, but my Gramma always said, “You have to go back to where you’re from to find out where you’re going.”

So, I took a trip with my grandparents to Scotland, the land of my ancestors. Among the highland coos and heather-covered mountains, I discovered art therapy over a cup of afternoon tea with one of my Gramma’s friends—she was a retired art therapist that my Gramma had met in a fiddling camp in Spain. It was a cozy home with pottery mugs and sun shining through laundry on the line and I wanted a little life just like her. I researched grad schools that night.

A year later, I moved from the prairies to Nelson, BC, and enrolled at the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute. Still, I had no idea what I had signed up for… I had done zero research about Nelson. I had no idea that there was a lake and a ski hill - two places I spent a lot of time when I wasn’t studying.

To complete my post-degree diploma, I wrote a thesis titled Authentic Athletes. Here’s another edge that’s been central to my life: the edge of a blade. As a lifelong figure skater, creativity has always been my way of expressing emotion and making meaning. In my thesis, I explored how art can be used as a tool for healing in the lives of elite athletes.

Since graduating, I’ve worked in non-profit community agencies, private practice, and schools across the Kootenays. My focus has been on children and youth mental health, as well as working with children and families with trauma histories. I work from a trauma-informed, client-centered, and strengths-based framework, always aiming to create a space of safety, empowerment, and possibility.

I love my work.