“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together”
- Lilla Watson
Equity and justice in mental health means questioning and changing how we provide care.
Consultation + program development/evaluation moves us closer to services that are effective, accessible, trauma-and-violence informed, culturally safe, proactive as well as reactive, and meet the needs of community members as they see them.
Clinical consultation + supervision, and training + workshops build on community strengths, address burnout, and teach specialized skills, reducing reliance on fly-in-fly-out practitioners.
Focusing on assessments loosens bottlenecks in accessing services and funding. Single-session and short-term therapy meet critical mental health needs in ways that are timely and effective.
We are always learning, and believe this is one part of how we turn the tides of mental health care: by prioritizing accessible, sustainable, and ethical practice.
Turning the tides.
A relational approach.
The ocean is what connects me to the places we’ve made our home and the lands of our ancestors. While Cara was born on the prairies due to generations of displacement, they come from ocean people: the beaches of Trinidad and the forested coast of Sapmi (northern Scandinavia). Drexler was born in the Philippines and now calls the traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples his home.
The ocean connects us to our families, our ancestral lands, and to many of the communities we work with today.
We believe in building relationships, collaboration, and coming from a place of humility and deep respect for the people we work with and their lands. We are not experts but a resource, and we learn a lot from the clients and communities we work with. Our goal is to develop lasting relationships with the communities we work with, although we recognize that a one-time service is sometimes a necessity.
Life promotion.
“Life begins and ends with the ocean… Salt water provides life here through each tide. The ocean is bountiful and spiritual in its creation and the benefits are magnificent for all who rely on its natural beauty and soothing nature.” - Council of the Haida Nation
In the coastal communities we’re connected to through our work and also our own lineage, the ocean is life and we live by the tides. The ocean is a source of sustenance, calm, creation and transformation, and we adapt to it’s natural rhythms. This land-based knowledge and focus on life promotion is often missing from mental health services.
Too often in mental health and psychology we focus on deficits, which can be used to pathologize people, reinforce stereotypes, and limit agency. While it is important to address harm, mental health narratives need to shift from ones of damage to ones that promote life and desire (Eve Tuck).
While working together to process pain and hardship, we can also move towards meaning, well-being, survivance and self-determinism.
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Client-centred.
You are the expert on your own life and your community, not me. I'm a resource for guidance and support.
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Integrative.
I integrate a variety of methodologies and interventions to provide personalized care.
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Trauma-and-violence informed.
I consider the impacts of individual and institutional violence on people and communities.
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Culturally safe.
I acknowledge and address cultural differences and power imbalances to ensure clients feel valued and understood.
Rates
Most services can be offered either online or in-person (depending on location). These services are for both individual clients and organizations. Travel fees may* apply (see FAQ for more info).
Consultation + Program Development
Consultation services provide guidance and support tailored to help you build capacity, address challenges, and foster sustainable growth. We can help you to identify areas and pathways for improvement, and/or assist you in creating and structuring new programs, and/or assist you in creating and structuring new programs.
Assessment
Psychological assessments can be used to guide treatment and other supports, understand learning challenges, obtain access to funding, allocate resources, and provide mental health diagnoses.
Clinical Consultation + Supervision
Clinical consultation and supervision may focus on guiding treatment planning, developing skills, considering psychological concerns and diagnoses, formulating case conceptualizations, and debriefing.
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Psychotherapy + Crisis Response
In order to address different mental health needs, we offer short-term therapy in addition to long term. When working with organizations, we can also offer crisis and suicide intervention, and single-session counselling.
Training + Workshops
We offer training and workshops on a number of topics that can be fine-tuned to your specific needs, context or questions. This can be combined with Clinical Consultation to receive relevant case specific guidance.
Research
Research is a powerful tool for developing knowledge about a given topic or issue, and the ways in which we conduct research should always be guided the needs and values of the communities it affects.