I started with Fraser Health as a social worker practicum student during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After that, I worked as a casual social worker in a variety of outpatient and inpatient roles. Through these roles I was able to recognize that I thrive in a more clinical setting where I can work one-on-one with clients and focus more on counselling than case management. I then took a position in an outpatient pain clinic to further my focus on counselling. This role led me to my current position as a clinical counsellor. In this role, I can learn to respond to a variety of concerns and am able to partake in professional development that help to grow my clinical skills.

I work in our communities and collaborate with a team of counsellors, social workers and pharmacists. Each day I support clients toward their counselling goals and liaise back to the family practitioners who referred them. I am able to meet with clients remotely at home or in person at the office.

I love to create a safe space for individuals to share, gain new insights and strengthen ways of coping. I love seeing the shift in people’s sense of self, emotional expression and well-being as we work together. I enjoy working with different therapy modalities and finding a fit for each individual. I love the flexibility I have in my role to try methods that work for the client and myself as the clinician.

We are a relatively a new team that receive referrals for just over a year. We recently passed the 1000 referrals mark for counselling, almost 900 social work referrals and almost 200 pharmacy referrals. This is exciting to know we are able to support that many individuals.

My team is the best! I genuinely enjoy connecting with each person and feel a sense of belonging. We have a variety of expertise, experience and spoken languages on the team. We have a supportive management team who takes our needs into consideration and tries to be as flexible as possible. When I returned back to work from maternity leave, they provided me with flexible work hours until I was ready for more. We have regular supervision meetings and I feel supported knowing that I can bring questions and cases to my colleagues and supervisor. They are transparent and responsive and have been accommodating to my professional development requests.

Joining our team, you are getting the best of the best! As colleagues, we check in with each other and keep each other’s safety and well-being in mind. I am excited that we are planning a staff party for the holidays! We sign birthday cards for each other and keep a robust teams chat with memes going.

I grew up in the Fraser Valley spending time in the mountains and woods. I love hiking in the forest, cycling to catch the sunset over the mountains and jumping in puddles with my toddler. My family also enjoys camping and going to the beach.

I like how walkable Langley City is. Our family moved here to be close to a trail network, public transportation, parks and playgrounds. I also enjoy the many forested parks and lakes of Surrey. I usually find a park on my commute or during my lunch break to take in nature and reset before returning to work. I also enjoy the diversity of Surrey where I can walk to many different stores from my workplace.

For my mental health, I keep a regular exercise routine, including jogging, cycling, hiking as well as a meditation and yoga routine. I also run around with my toddler! We spend time with our friends and go on outings as a family to parks and playgrounds. I enjoy hobbies such as baking muffins and watercolour painting.