About 3 — HEARTSTRINGS PSYCHOLOGY

Education & Credentials

PhD in Developmental Psychology & Education from University of Toronto
Accredited EmotionWorks Practitioner
Intensive play therapy training (Levels 1 & 2, Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute)
Level 1 Training in the Floortime / DIR Intervention for Children on the Autism Spectrum
3 day workshop in the Seasons for Growth program for children who are have experienced grief, loss, and significant change
Certified in Kids Have Stress Too! and Positive Discipline Models of Parent Education
Ongoing professional development, such as trainings in Emotion Coaching, selective mutism, mindfulness as an intervention with adolescents, strategies for dyslexia, child sexual abuse prevention, working with trauma impacted youth, dynamic assessment, and Integrative Attachment Family Therapy (IAFT)

I’ve worked…

in schools, including early intervention programs and public schools (daycare / preschool, elementary school, and high school)
with children of all ages, from infants to adolescents, and of all ability levels, including significantly delayed, gifted, children with learning disabilities, etc.
in homes, including through FSCD (Family Support for Children with Disabilities)
in community settings, such as volunteering in Nature Nurture, a nature-based program for children with trauma histories, and leading a developmentally themed play group for parents and infants at Moss Postpartum House
alongside multidisciplinary professionals, including teachers, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, guidance counsellors, and child development specialists
in two different countries - Canada, and the UK

with children individually, with parents individually, and with family combinations
with bigger groups, including designing and implementing:
- group therapy programs for parents of children with emotional and behavioural challenges
- group therapy programs for parents of children on the Autism Spectrum
- social skills and emotional literacy groups for preschool children
- play groups for parents and infants with developmental themes and activities

I’ve delivered training / education…

at international conferences, including the International Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Conference and the Positive Discipline Conference of Canada
for parents and educators, on topics such as emotional literacy, attachment, trauma, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and infant play
for university students (i.e., trainee psychologists in Scotland, and as a guest lecturer at St. Mary’s University here in Calgary)
as a psychology supervisor for students completing Masters degree practicums (University of Calgary, University of Athabasca, and Yorkville University)

I’ve been involved in systemic work to promote policies and procedures that support mental health, including…