Integrative Counseling

My Approach

As a Black womanist therapist, my approach to counselling is centred on the experiences and needs of Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and gender-expansive folks. My work is rooted in the belief that we must dismantle systems of oppression that perpetuate violence against these communities and create a safer and empowering space for individuals to heal from the trauma they have experienced due to these systems and challenge the internalized beliefs we have adopted.

In my practice, I use anti-oppression theories and practices alongside integrative counselling to help clients navigate internal and external distress caused by intersecting factors such as race, immigration/refugee status, indigeneity, class, gender, sexuality, disability, age, and spirituality. These factors shape how clients are treated, their access to opportunities, their self-perception, and their specific needs for safety and belonging.

I prioritize the practice of self-love, boundary-making, and social support, while acknowledging the impact of relationships with partners, family, and friends, as well as communities, workplace culture, and the broader society. My approach integrates scientifically supported techniques that are intuitively tailored to each individual’s unique situation.

During our sessions, I create a non-judgmental, affirming, and direct space where clients can explore their emotional, cognitive, physical, social, and spiritual experiences. Together, we set goals and collaborate to decide on the best path forward, while I listen attentively and offer practical tools and information to deepen clients' awareness of their:

• Feelings and how to deal with them

• Physical reactions and what can be learned from mind-body awareness

• Empowering or disempowering thoughts and ideas

• Unconscious patterns and learned coping strategies that no longer serve them

• Ways to deal with the effects of oppression, trauma, social stigma, and environmental stressors in their lives

• Practices and traditions that support change as well as continuity

Through this process, my aim is to empower individuals to heal, grow, and thrive in a world that too often seeks to marginalize and silence them. I believe that this work is crucial to building a world where all individuals can live in freedom and dignity, free from the harmful effects of oppressive systems.

Counselling Techniques & Theoretical Perspectives my practice if informed by:

• Trauma-Informed Anti-Oppressive Therapy

• Decolonizing Therapy

• Black Feminist/Womanist Therapy

• Afrocentric Therapy

• African Indigenous Healing Traditions and Kemetic Psychology

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

• Harm-reduction

• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

• Coaching

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

• Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)

• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

• Somatic therapy