My name is Dana (she/they) and I grew up in a small farming town in Ontario. I moved to BC to pursue my career in education in 2004 and have been here in Revelstoke since 2014. I have 20+ years of experience working as an educator and school counsellor, in therapeutic programs, including youth residential treatment programs, addiction centers, and educational institutions. I am also a certified Restorative Justice and SMART Recovery Facilitator. These diverse positions have left me with a strong client-centred orientation, where I strive to meet humans where they’re at. I am of English, French and Indigenous ancestry. I am a descendant from the Kaskaskia Nation, and many other Muskrat French-Indigenous people of the Great Lakes region.
I am mindful of cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic concerns as they apply to health and education systems. I believe therapy is a courageous and collaborative journey that involves building safe, trusting, and compassionate healing relationships. My approach to therapy is rooted in experiential, mindful, and narrative techniques. I see children (as young as 4), youth, adults, and elders in my practice. I strive to hold safe spaces for clients’ stories and provide gender-affirming, trauma-informed, equity-centred, and culturally responsive care. I have an Accredited Facility Dog from PADS, named Pyxis who works alongside me to provide dog love. When I am not teaching or studying, you can find me spending time with my family soaking in the beauty of Revelstoke, drinking coffee, or getting tattoos.
“Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; it’s not a moral failure. What it is: it’s a response to human suffering.” – Gabor Maté
“Relationships are the agents of change, and the most powerful therapy is human love” – Bruce Perry
“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.” – Shannon L. Alder