Oki!
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me and to learn about the work that I am involved in doing in the community. I strongly believe that all individuals have an inherent right to feel a sense of belonging and to feel that they are part of a community. While I am away from my work, I spend my time ensuring that I am fostering and strengthening the bonds that I have with my own two children, my partner, my extended family, and my friends who are considered family and community to me. My family and community are the reasons that I feel continually motivated to work hard in seeking to grow into the best and healthiest version of myself each day. I feel fortunate to have my two young boys who call me mom and who fill my heart with laughter and love. I also have a cat named Tig, who seems more like half human and half dog! He fetches like a dog, loves to be involved in any games we play, and will steal any leftovers that are left on the table – especially chicken wings. I have a young bearded dragon named Daenarey’s who eats a lot of crickets and cucumbers and who has taught me that reptiles also have quite a personality and can form attachment to their caregivers.
I love to spend time in the summer weather hiking around our beautiful land, especially in areas that have mountains. Music has always played an important role in my life, and though I am not a musician I often have music playing in the environments that I am in, and I enjoy attending musical events. I love to observe and immerse myself in expressive arts of all types and enjoy tuning into the energy that is present in the moment that those pieces are being expressed.
Melissa’s Counselling Philosophy and Experience
I believe that all humans should experience feeling understood, connected with, cared for, valued and respected for who they are at their core and so these are the values that I bring forth in my work with individuals, regardless of what their struggles may be. It is important to me as a therapist to reach a level of genuine understanding of who a person is – their likes, dislikes, needs, and the healing that they wish to address. Part of getting to this place with the people that I work with, involves listening in a non-judgemental way, and letting my client tell me who they are, since they know themselves the best. I enjoy incorporating games and artwork in my work with young individuals, if they are interested in doing the same.
I have experience in working with individuals who have experienced and are experiencing anxiety, trauma, and attachment ruptures. I work with individuals on learning how to understand their nervous system signals and the feelings in their body that are connected with their nervous system signals, and how to calm their nervous system when they feel they need to. I also do work with individuals on learning what they need in order to feel valued, loved, and cared for and how to communicate that with others through appropriate communication and boundary setting. So much of life is related to human connection and relationships, and it is my honor to be able to witness others’ stories about their connections and relationships and to work alongside them in their recovery from ruptures as they move forward to create meaningful connections in their healthiest way. I look forward to meeting you!