Louise’s passion for pursuing her own wellness is a long-standing core value. When she recognized a desire to support others in pursuing wellness, this was Louise’s first nudge to pursue a career in health care and acquire a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. After practicing community health nursing in a small, loving Secwepemc community, Louise pursued a Master of Social work, with a clinical practice focus, at the University of British Colombia in Kelowna. This enabled Louise, as a registered and regulated health professional, to provided counselling informed by her nursing and clinical social work education.

Louise has practiced as a mental health clinician/counsellor in various locations throughout BC’s Interior, including in community, Child & Youth Mental Health (CYMH) and Adult Mental Health & Substance Use (MHSU) Services. Louise moved to Kelowna in the fall of 2022 and continued her commitment to the mental health clinician/counsellor role within MHSU Services. Louise values the depth and diversity of experience provided by practicing in several different communities and practice settings over several years, which currently informs her practice.

Louise specializes in mental health; she can support clients who have a formal mental health diagnosis and clients who do not but are experiencing mental health challenges or symptoms. Louise can perform mental health assessment; give a clinical impression; and provide and carry out a plan for treatment including monitoring of symptoms or experiences; support in maintaining stability or wellness; interdisciplinary collaborative care (with client’s consent); provision of resources, education, supported skill building and therapeutic processes.

Counselling goals may also focus on: healthy lifestyle & goal setting; exploration of self, values & meaningfulness; functioning within relationships and effective communication; stress management and processing of grief, loss and trauma. Louise utilizes awareness of the mind-body connection, housed within the nervous system, to inform how another part of someone’s wellness can impact their physical wellness and vice versa. Louise can support clients in managing the emotional toll from: pain due to chronic illness or injuries, rehabilitation and recovery, and a shift in their physical functioning.

Louise can offer Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Louise’s practice is also informed, though not practiced formally, by the modalities of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), narrative therapy, expressive therapies (art, play, music, etc.), group therapy, family & couples therapies, grief & loss therapies and trauma therapy, specifically, sensorimotor therapy.

It is Louise’s priority to offer clients trauma-informed, culturally safe, client-centred, empowering and strengths-focused counselling services. She is excited about the opportunity to support clients at SunCity as a new diversity to add to her practice.