What I Offer
Individual Sessions
(Online or In-person)
Life can occasionally present us with daunting challenges.
During these times, it is helpful to have someone to walk alongside us—someone who can assist us in navigating our path forward.
I support and guide my clients as we examine opportunities and obstacles, exploring wise strategies to use moving forward.
We work on strengthening their innate resilience; their capacity to bounce back from setbacks and adapt to change.
1 Hour Session Fees: $50
Family Sessions
(Online or In-person)
Life can occasionally present families with daunting challenges.
During these times, it is helpful to have an objective person to walk alongside us—someone who can assist us in navigating the path forward.
I support and guide families as we examine opportunities and obstacles, exploring wise strategies to use moving forward in spite of the challenges they are facing.
My role is to listen with compassion and identify specific challenges as well as the strengths they have to address the challenges they are facing
90-minute Session Fees: $75
Resilience through Art
Mindful Drawing Circles provides a place to alleviate stress, cultivate tranquility, slow down and let go of the need for perfection.
A compassionate place of connection with yourself and others as you strengthen resilience to navigate life’s ups and downs.
(For individuals or
groups 4-8 participants)
– Mandala Art
– Neurographic Art
– Narrative Art Journaling)
Participant fee: $25per person (includes all art materials)
Resilience through Play
Through play, children create imaginary worlds, characters, and narratives that reflect their emotional experiences. This helps them to express and manage their feelings.
Creative play activities can help children develop resilience in many ways including:
- helping children to process and express their emotions,
- helping children learn to find innovative solutions to challenges,
- helping children to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride,
- raising serotonin levels and decreasing anxiety,
- helping children learn to deal with difficulties in real life.
Let me introduce myself
I hold a Master of Philosophy degree (within the field of Pastoral Counseling) from the University of Pretoria. I also have extensive training in narrative therapy, mentoring, play therapy, trauma support, creative journaling, loss support and compassionate conversation. I focus on resilience building because it is a skill that can be strengthened to help us cope better with life’s challenges – I believe strengthening resilience preserves mental health and wellbeing.
In psychology, resilience refers to our capacity to recover from difficulties by adjusting to changes. Often, we perceive resilience as an inborn trait, believing that some individuals are naturally better at managing stress or navigating tough circumstances than others. However, research indicates that this may not be entirely accurate. Resilience can also be cultivated as a skill like strengthening our muscles through exercise. Resilience building involves consistent practice.
I have personal experience of divorce, second marriage, multiple relocations, immigration, loss of loved ones, and transitioning to the second half of life with adult children leaving home and moving abroad. Through these many challenges, I can honestly say I have become a creative resilience practitioner. I am an avid mandala artist (take note, for me, it is more about the heart-work than the artwork. I enjoy what I create and reap the benefits of spending time creating.
I guide my clients of all ages to use play, creative storytelling and narrative art journaling to build resilience and expand their window of tolerance.
A Guide to Creative Journaling
In this Guide to Creative Journaling, I take the reader through the steps to creating their own visual journal. It is a helpful way to process the losses they have experienced and to become a compassionate witness to their own story. Various aspects of the grief and loss process are covered and explored in a mindful, compassionate manner.
The Mini-Mandala Project
Mandala Art has become one of my favourite practices for accessing calm and focus, but, it can take a few hours to draw and complete an intricate mandala design. Since I sometimes only have small pockets of time throughout the day, I started drawing mini-mandalas. I prepare a few 3x3inc templates and carry it in my handbag wherever I go. This makes it easy to spend 15 minutes in between appointments to refocus and create inner calm. As a recovering perfectionist it is also very important for me to remember why I draw. I do not attempt to create perfect mandalas, because if I do I get trapped, loose my sense of calm and engage in self-judgement. I draw to let go of my need for life to be perfect, I draw to practice creating in spite of imperfection, I draw to train my brain to access calm and to expand my window of tolerance for life’s ups and downs.
