Education
- ASIST T4T (Train the Trainer Certification), Living Works,.Calgary, 2013
- ASIST (Suicide Intervention Certificate), Living Works, Calgary, 2012
- Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), University of Victoria, 2011
- Social Services Diploma, Vancouver Island University, 2007
- ICADC Certification (International Certified Alcohol & Drug Counsellor) through CACCB (Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Board), 2002
- P.I. Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Instructors Certificate, 1997
- Applied Counselling Certificate, Specializing in Additions, University of Manitoba, 1995
- CPR and First Aid (current certifications)
I have always had a passion for learning and striving for personal growth. I have worked primarily with First Nation community members and the underprivileged population. Over the past 35 years my education is a collage of university training, courses, workshop facilitation, seminars, and personal experience, steeped with culture, teachings, and traditions.
Professional Experience
Semi- Retired – Contracting / Facilitating Workshops
Mental Health Team Leader – Huli’tun Health Society – Chemainus BC. ( 2015 – 2019)
Mental Health Manager – Cowichan Tribes – Ts’wulhtun Health Center –Duncan BC. (2006 –2015)
Addiction Counselor – Cowichan Tribes – Ts’ewulhtun Health Center – Duncan BC. (2001 – 2006)
Addiction Counselor – Salvation Army / Correction Service Canada –Victoria BC. (1997- 2001)
Addiction Counselor – Salvation Army / Correction Service Canada –Winnipeg MB. (1996 – 1997)
Crisis worker / Unit Attendant – Crisis Stabilization Unit – Selkirk, MB. (1994 – 1996)
Out Reach Worker – Main Street Project – Winnipeg, MB. (1993 – 1994)
My professional experience includes 38 years of personal recovery from alcohol and drugs, and 27 years of working as a professional in the field of mental health wellness. I have worked primarily with First Nation community members and the underprivileged population. Some of my experiences include outreach at street level, community crisis response, counseling and facilitating group therapy sessions with incarcerated men. As a counsellor and workshop facilitator, I have done a variety of workshops and presentations. Within this span of time I have worked with many organizations, agencies, and support services that have provided a wide cross-section of services to a variety of community members that have come from different cultures and backgrounds, and were at various stages of intervention.
Personal Information
As I reflect upon my life, I am very aware that my life has become a living testimony that my personality continually changes and mirrors my personal growth. These changes in some cases have had a dramatic cause and effect not only on my individual growth and consciousness, but also on the collective conscious growth. These changes have had a rippling effect on my immediate and extended family, my friends, my colleagues and those that have graced my life. My identity, beliefs, behaviour, personality and how I present outwardly have changed throughout the decades. Who I am, what I believe in, and how I behave changes with the seasoning of time.
People see me for a variety of reasons: workshop facilitator, intimacy and relationships issues, mental emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness, navigating change, healing trauma, feeling stuck or just wanting more in some area of life. The discovery of self, discovery of others, and the discovery of life excites me.