I’ve been a Learning and Mental Health Consultant at Anchor since 2021. I am here to help you, your child, and/or family navigate a new diagnosis, implement treatment recommendations from psychoeducational reports, work through behaviour challenges at home, deal with difficulties at school (school refusal, keeping up with classwork, overwhelming stress, dysregulation), create strategies to support executive functioning and emotion regulation, and understand and attune to neurodivergent individual’s needs. I provide this support in parent sessions, child sessions, individual sessions, family sessions, group therapy, and facilitated social clubs. Services are provided in person, virtually, and when necessary in the home. With warmth, empathy, thoughtful insight, and fun, I will help you navigate the challenges you are facing.

Part of my role is to help bridge the gap between psychoeducational assessments and the practical steps families or individuals can take at home, in school, and in the community. I am here to help you plan and prioritize where to start based on what you know about yourself and/or your loved one.

I am also passionate about creating opportunities for neurodivergent individuals to connect with themselves, their families, and with peers. I have designed and offer many different groups and social clubs at Anchor that help individuals connect with peers, learn skills, and build self-confidence in a fun, inclusive, evidence-based setting.

It is important to me to create a neuro-affirming space. This means I use a strengths-based model focused on understanding how one’s learning profile and mental health impact one another and how that can help us better understand behaviour and relationships. In my work I focus on the power of relationships while continuing to deepen my respect for individuals’ unique needs and preferences, most often in the areas of executive function skills and emotional regulation capacity. Although a diagnosis is not always necessary for this work, I have the most experience with people who have a neurodevelopmental disability such as ADHD, Autism, Learning Disability, or Intellectual Disability. I am certified as a DIRFloortime™ trainer and am influenced by my training in Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and Stuart Shanker’s Self-Reg® model.

I earned a Master’s Degree in Child Development from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis on mental health and neurodiversity from Fielding Graduate University. Over the years, I’ve worked in a variety of settings including Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, private practice, school-based roles, and in-home support and disability education and advocacy.