Philosophy

Regarding my key concepts of       

Confidentiality| Non-Judgment | Respect | Kindness

Confidentiality - In accordance with BCACC’s code of ethics and conduct, all counselling sessions are confidential. 

In other words, everything that is said in the room stays in the room. The exceptions to this are:

If you reveal something that leads me to believe a child is at risk, I have a duty to report.

If you are going to hurt yourself or someone else, I have a duty to report.

If I was subpoenaed by a court of law. The courts may subpoena my records.

Social workers and Lawyers are aware of this practice, yet on occasion they will try to get 

unauthorized information.  Under no circumstances will I disclose that you are even coming to see me without your written consent.

Non-Judgment- Forming  judgments is an unprompted process that happens in our minds. There are times in our lives that we do need to make instant decisions and need to depend on our snap-judgments.

However, when it comes to dealing with people, judgments are often mistaken interpretations of our assumptions which end up influencing our opinions and behaviour.

My hope is that each client that comes through my door will feel safe from judgment and free to share what ever is on their heart. Every one is treated equal with the same respect.

Respect- Of the many definitions that I have read for respect, the ones that 

I like the best are:

-The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.

-When a person values another’s opinion and thoughts then treats that person with dignity.

This also includes respecting people’s beliefs, and rights.

Kindness-  Every day we step out into a world that is full of busyness, and demands on our time. In our busyness, do we remember to always be kind? 

I know I am guilty of allowing busyness to trump kindness. So one of the things that I have made a conscious effort to do throughout each day is regularly take a few moments to be still; to listen to my thoughts and instincts.

This has been called everything from, grounding, meditation, to mindfulness. I call it keeping yourself focused. When you make this effort and see this as part of self care, then being kind to others becomes easy.

Biography

I presently live in Sooke where I have lived most of my life. This town is close to my heart not only because it is where I raised my children, it is also where 7 of my 9 grandchildren are being raised.

One of my passions has always been building relationships, and working one on one with people. Add that passion with the philosophy that, “You have reached true success when you can make a career out of your passion” which results in a private counselling practice.

My business partner, Jennifer Ducharme, and I put our heads and hearts together and created Westshore Counselling Services.

We each bring different gifts and strengths to our practice.

Our Westshore office is in Langford.

Education

My Bachelor of Arts is in Psychology from the University of Victoria.

My Master of Arts is in Counselling Psychology from City University of Seattle,

Langford Campus.

When counselling, I work in accordance with the

BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) Code of Ethical Conduct.

My Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) number is #3862.

Learning is an ongoing adventure, and doesn’t stop after a Master’s degree. I have extended my 

post-graduate learning in areas that I am passionate about, including 

Couple’s Therapy, 

Family Systems, 

Depression Care, and 

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.)

The Family Law Act