Julia is a Master of Counselling student and a Registered Social Worker undertaking a part-time internship through Shore Counselling. Her counselling approach is integrative and eclectic, drawing from what she humbly deems the 'best components' of the various modalities used in the field.

She finds inspiration in attachment theories, mindfulness, somatic work, parts work, intersectional feminism, systems theories, narrative therapy, emotion theories, and trauma-sensitive practice. She also draws on her social work and sociology education to really get a sense of where her clients are located (geographically, socially, culturally) and how their environments and access to resources influence their mental well-being. She is deeply person-centered and humanistic; she values the relationship between herself and the client: the heart of meaningful psychotherapy. She enagages a process-oriented approach to counselling, which means that rather than simply 'talking' about an experience, she helps her clients feel what it's like to have an experience. Words like 'anxiety' and 'depression' are conceptual and abstract words after all; what does anxiety, depression, grief, or anger feel like in your body? What do joy, aliveness, and well-being feel like? She aims to help her clients increase their self-awareness and self-understanding, explore the tangled roots of what might be contributing to a problem, build a relationship to their bodies and its myriad sensations, and develop new ways of moving through the world and their relationships in an authentic, connected, and value-led manner.

Julia begins her practicum at Shore Counselling in March, 2025, in order to learn the practicalities of working with couples under the very experienced marriage and family therapist Ian Gartshore.

 

How does Julia describe herself outside of the clinical setting?

"When I'm not working or studying, you can find me, well, studying! Learning is my greatest value and I feel most alive when I'm inspired and diving into a new interest. When I'm not learning, I'm probably in the forest, beside the ocean, watching basketball, playing cards, or simply basking in a ray of sun."

 

Julia's education and training include:

 

· Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honors) in Sociology

 

· Bachelor of Social Work (with Distinction)

 

· Master of Counselling (in progress)

 

· Emotion-Focused Therapy Level 1

 

· Over 500 hours of Yoga Teacher Training

 

· Hakomi Method Level 1 (in progress)

 

· ASIST Suicide Intervention

 

· Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1

 

· Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 2 (in progress)

 

· Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction certificate (in progress)