Social Work Therapy and Experience Sharing

I am passionate about supporting people, communities and organizations in healing.

I do this through

Individual Counselling Services;
Clinical Consultation & Supervision Services;
Public Speaking and Training;
Organizational Knowledge Sharing

I have a special interest in untangling the impact of trauma within people, relationships and communities.

Welcome to

Centered Fire
Counselling & Consulting

Who I am

Hello!

I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself.

I am a master-level social worker, registered with the OCSWSSW, an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) certified practitioner with EMDRIA (EMDR International Association), a 200-level yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance of Canada, and a PhD student, studying at Trent University.

I have all sorts of work experience, from front-line, community based mental health services to executive leadership in trauma and sexual violence, to co-leading a multi-year, cross-cultural research collective on human trafficking in Northeastern Ontario.

Most recently, I have been in private practice full time since 2018, providing trauma-specific psychotherapy services, consultation and supervision.

Trauma isn't about an event itself - it's about our reactions to it. Together we will work to transform you emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual responses to trauma, through a variety of interventions.

Sometimes people are nervous about trauma therapy. I get it. I will strive to make this an empowering and collaborative experience. I am well equipped and prepared to join you in your healing journey.

Areas Of Service

Consultation Services

Classic Title

Trauma-Focused Yoga Groups

An understanding of the role and impact of trauma is of growing importance among service providers and organizations. This is wonderful news for our clientele whose lives have been touched by traumatic events and need trauma-informed care. It is my goal to support service providers and organizations in becoming trauma-informed.

I do this by providing:

Clinical supervision to help mitigate the impact of trauma work on those who help (vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress);
Clinical consultation for service providers interested in exploring different perspectives in their work, including trauma-specific concepts;
Trauma-specific support on special projects;
Experience sharing and workshops for service providers and organizations to learn more about trauma, working with trauma and/or impact of trauma on organizations.

Rate for clinical supervision and consultation:

$150-$180

I think of healing as becoming centered again, and reigniting our internal fire. The healing journey is different for everyone, and sometimes you may find yourself looking for someone who can help guide you along the way.

I use a blend of modalities and techniques, though the basis of my approach is primarily narrative therapy, delivered from a holistic perspective, though I have formal training in:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Certified
Brief Solution Focused Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Emotion Focused Therapy
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Focusing
Psychodynamic Theoretical Approaches

One of my strengths is in building safe and secure therapeutic relationships. If you are looking for someone you can feel safe enough to open up with, perhaps give me a try. I would be honoured to join you in your own healing journey.

Prior to covid, I would provide in person services to both Nipissing and Timiskaming Districts. Today, I continue to provide services to Timiskaming via online video-conference

Rate: $135

Trauma lives in the body, therefore transfiguring trauma will necessarily include some kind of body-based work.

In addition to being a registered Social Worker, I decided in 2020 to become a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance Canada (RYT 200).

In my Trauma-Focused Yoga groups, I weave together my knowledge of trauma theory, my experience working with trauma, and my yoga training. Participants will have the benefit of a trauma-specific practice where I use somatic psychotherapy techniques along side Yoga movement.

This service is inspired by the work of Peter Levine, Bessel Van der Kolk, Stephen Porges, Mariana Caplan and David Emerson, while being based on formal trauma-sensitive yoga training from Nicola Mosley.

JJ