Hello there, I'm Katjana. I love what I do and am honoured to accompany people along for part of their deep-rooted explorations via the therapeutic process. I started my helping journey first as a professional visual artist. I delivered expressive arts groups and workshops to people with physical disabilities and mental health issues in and around the city until I moved into individual counselling in trauma and addiction over 10 years ago. I continued to use the expressive arts as a healing modality but expanded my toolbox to integrate other talk and body oriented therapy tools. My own journey as a beginning meditator brought me to train in MBSM (Mindfulness Based Stress Management) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).  Therapy is not one-size fits all and so I meet you where you are at to tailor to your needs and desired outcomes. Each session I bring my best self forward with techniques and trainings to help you lighten your load, process and integrate your experiences to achieve your goals. Together we can clear through the weeds of pain to see what blooms ahead.
                                                                               

  “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” – Buddha

If you are coming to me for trauma work, let’s work together to minimize the suffering, both emotional and physical. Our body stores memory and our amazing physiological survival mechanisms (fight/flight/freeze) have influenced my approach to therapy. Sometimes simply understanding that our body’s protective survival mechanisms are just that, instinctual and responsive, can help destigmatize trauma response. Once I worked with someone having trauma flashes and they honestly thought they were “crazy” (a word I don’t like to begin with) until we talked about the body's normal response under trauma-triggers. That information alone changed how they saw themselves. Incorporating compassion can ease the burden of shame and increase expansiveness  during the therapeutic journey. Let’s journey to that soft place together, creating safety and well-being.