Meet Andrea

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with over 25 years experience working with children, youth and their families.  I completed my Masters in Health Psychology at the University of Southampton in England, and subsequently worked as a supervisor-in-training in a program providing Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in the UK.  I continued to follow my interest in ABA through an internship in California, before returning to Vancouver in 2001.  Since then, I have worked alongside children, youth, young adults and their families in BC, Alberta, and Yukon.  I compassionately support children and youth who struggle with anxiety and social skills through a creative and individualized approach.   I have completed training in the Sibshops model, and offer individual and group supports for siblings of people with developmental differences.  I am the proud recipient of the 2020 Edna Nash Graduate Scholarship in Family Education and Family Counselling at UBC, where I completed my Masters in Education in Counselling Psychology in 2021. I have worked in both publicly and privately funded organizations, with a wide range of clients. I welcome clients from all walks of life with all world views.

I am grateful and honoured to live, play, and work on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations.

Andrea’s Approach

I apply my experience of working with many people across a variety of settings to create a deeply personalized approach to support each client as an individual with an understanding of their relational context. 

I develop a strong connection with each person before diving into their goals, where I use strategies from a variety of therapeutic approaches.  I engage with each person as a learner, based on a deep seated belief that every individual carries expertise about themselves.  I am there to guide and to walk alongside them rather than as the expert who holds all the answers. 

I am willing and open to follow the client’s lead as appropriate, whether it involves sitting quietly in a counselling office, playing games or being in nature.   I am comfortable to step outside of what would be considered ‘typical’ counselling to create the most effective, dignifying, and supportive experience for each individual client.  This results in a fundamentally sustainable approach to a supportive relationship, which is particularly expressed in my ability to work with young clients over extended periods of time, as my relationship with them can evolve and develop. 

I apply a whole person approach to each client which means I don’t simply work with the individual client, but seek to collaborate with the immediate and extended family, school and other professionals who know and support the client.