Christine started working in mental health over ten years ago with the ideology that you should “become who you needed when you were younger.” They have worked with individuals with a range of backgrounds. Their passion for working with grief and trauma grew over the years upon recognizing that our past experiences impact us more than we may realize.
Christine uses a postmodern approach drawing from their training in narrative therapy, mindfulness, IFS, and EMDR. They believe that together it is possible to create new stories of our lives that feel more empowering and genuine. They care about the messaging we have internalized throughout our lives and encourage individuals to determine what messages still serve them. EMDR allows them to reprocess some of these messages.
Christine is passionate about understanding our inner systems and how they influence our day-to-day lives. Through Internal Family Systems (IFS) Christine encourages their clients to go inside and explore their inner world. IFS looks at how/when/where different parts of ourselves come up to protect us (i.e. perfectionist, avoidant, people pleasing, rage, eating disorders, etc.), while also looking to heal and unburden our more wounded parts. IFS allows us to connect with our core self to help us show up authentically and make decisions from a self-led approach.
Christine also has extensive experience working with traumatic bereavement and first responders. Trauma can get in the way of being able to grieve our losses. EMDR can be helpful when we cannot access the good memories of those we have lost because traumatic images are flooding our minds. They also became passionate about working with first responders after being a crisis clinician working out of police detachments. During our darkest times, it is important to remember that we do not need to suffer in silence. Sometimes it is difficult to verbally express how we feel and we might not know how to ask our partner for support; this is when coming to see a therapist as a couple can be beneficial. Through guided sessions, couples are able to strengthen their bond and to learn the skills required to fully communicate with one another during the most challenging times. Using methods cultivated by the Gottman Institute for Couples Therapy, Christine is able to fully examine the relationship and determine its strengths, as well as the areas that need a little more development. As a Gottman trained therapist, they are able to provide suggestions to strengthen the particular areas of potential growth. Christine also incorporates an IFS approach within couples sessions to encourage partners to understand and voice their activated parts so communication can happen between both of their core selves. A blended Gottman and IFS approach can be especially helpful when one or both partners has experienced trauma.
When Christine is not working, they are most likely to be found being active or somewhere in the woods. Their giant Bernese Mountain dog is most likely not far from them.
Many Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and extended health care plans will cover services rendered by a Registered Social Worker.
