How I can help you
On your journey of self-discovery, I’ll meet you where you are.
The decision to begin the process of counselling is not an easy one. My intention is to create a therapeutic experience that will allow you to feel safe and supported as you examine whatever you are currently challenged with, judgement free. Together, we will look at how you may be stuck within yourself, in a relationship or in a situation you are experiencing.
My role is not to “fix” or “change” you, but to assist you in gaining awareness of your underlying emotions, beliefs or assumptions in an honest and compassionate way. You will discover more about yourself, how you really feel about what you are experiencing and how you might be holding yourself back from what you desire in your life.
Counselling is an opportunity, it’s an opportunity for you to gain clarity and support for the challenges you are facing in a compassionate, honest and safe way.
Our partnership will allow your voice to be heard, challenge your thinking, help you to gain a new perspective and assist you in making effective choices that will enable you to live the life you want to live.
My clients have improved how they feel about themselves and how they feel in their relationships
I am supervised by a Clinical Psychologist so am covered under most extended health insurance plans. I also may be covered as a Registered Psychotherapist. Check with your insurance plan to be certain.
Services
Individual Counselling
When you sit down with a friend or family member, they can give you the best advice in the world, but it may be biased. They want to make you ‘feel’ better and you might not just want to feel better, you want to understand yourself, know the truth. A therapist can bring that perspective. It’s not my job to “fix” you or tell you how you are wrong. It’s my job to highlight the dark places that you might not choose to look at, or make yourself too busy to notice. Individual counselling is a way to get curious about you and the underlying reasons that have brought you to this place in your life. Your awareness of yourself, allows you to make new choices for your life with fresh perspective.
Couples Counselling
Relationships are the best places to learn about ourselves and how we relate with another. When our relationships aren’t going well, we hurt inside. You are probably frustrated because you don’t know how things between you and your partner fell apart. What if you could slow down the conversation and speak the truths that are underneath your comments and comebacks. What if you could have a deeper understanding, an awareness of how your relationship actually functions, so you could make the necessary changes. My approach to couples counselling is work with the relationship as a whole. It took two people to create the relationship as it is and it will require two people to make the relationship into what they really want.
Workshops
Guess what? We’re human and our emotional world shows up wherever we go. Whether it’s the workplace, school, or even yoga studio our emotions play a role in how we interact with others. Workshops are an excellent way for a group of people to create conversation, make contact and clarity around a topic. As a workshop facilitator, I create workshops that examine emotional topics in an engaging, interactive and experiential format. Participants come away with a more in depth understanding of themselves, others and the group as a whole. Exploring such topics as Stress, Anxiety, Procrastination, Dealing with Change or Creating Community in the workplace may be a fit your group. Contact me if you would like to address a topic suitable for your group.
Your Benefits
- clarity
- self-awareness
- self-support
- more tolerance for others’ emotions
- relief
- flexibility
- curiosity
- more compassion for yourself and others
My Strengths
Stress
What is the reality you might not be willing to accept?
Stress is the struggle between your reality versus what you wish it could be. That may relate to your career, your relationships, your weight or your self-esteem. This seemingly simple struggle is underneath so many challenges that we face as humans and unfortunately can manifest into other health problems. Counselling and Psychotherapy can help with the process of accepting what is in front of us and how to deal with it.
Anxiety
What is your anxiety telling you about what you need in the moment?
When your mind has become like a “strange friend” that won’t stop bugging you with worries and concerns about what might happen and what didn’t go right, you might be dealing with anxiety. Counselling and Psychotherapy is a way to find out what your anxiety is really trying to tell you about the present moment.
Relationships
What does this relationship have to teach you about yourself?
Our relationships are a unique place where you can learn the most about yourself: the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, if you’re willing. Whether you are struggling with a relationship with your friend, family member, boss or significant other counselling and psychotherapy can be a way to discover what you might need to learn about yourself.
Depression
Is your depression actually rage turned against yourself?
There are so many ways to describe depression, the description I like is “rage turned inward”. It can be a place where most are misunderstood. Counselling and Psychotherapy can be a way to explore and move through your depression with support on your terms and in your way.
Self-Esteem
Is your relationship with yourself difficult?
Your relationship with yourself is one of the most important relationships you will have your life. Are you a supportive friend or do you kick yourself when you are down? Maybe you keep yourself hidden and present a different persona for others? Maybe you feel like you are living a double life? Counselling and Psychotherapy is a way to improve your relationship with yourself because you have the time, the space and the support to get curious about you, without judgement.
Grief Counselling
How do you accept what feels so unacceptable?
Grief is a natural emotion for us. However, when we are experiencing grief, it doesn’t feel natural at all. You might feel the need to “be strong” and “get through” when all you want to do is the opposite because life is now different. Counselling and Psychotherapy can help to navigate these emotions and help to find a new normal, some acceptance and peace.
Eating issues
What is really eating you?
Eating past the point of satisfaction or not enough could be another way you are avoiding your emotional world. What if your eating issues were a sign that something else within you might need to be addressed? Counselling and Psychotherapy can help you to understand how your eating issues may actually be the “way in” to discovering what is really needed within you. Contact Page Keep it simple. Be absolutely clear about how people can contact you. Include a strong call to action. This is your final opportunity to get people to connect with you. Make sure everything is functional. Check the email address, phone number or contact form to make sure they are working.
Addictions
What are you avoiding?
We are all addicted to something in some way, some additions are soft and some can be destructive. Our addictions are the way we numb ourselves from what is going on, or what we might be feeling in the present. Our addictions help us to replace reality for a time but what is really bothering us is always underneath the surface. Counselling and Psychotherapy can assist in helping you to understand what you might be avoiding and help to work through accepting what is.
Anger Management
Maybe your anger isn’t such a bad thing after all?
Sometimes our anger gets a bad rap. I believe our anger is a necessary emotion because it can tell us when we have been hurt or wronged some way. However when your anger reaction is greater what is required in the moment and the impact on those around you is not what you intended, it may be a sign that something else within needs to be addressed. Counselling and Psychotherapy is a way to access other emotions when anger is your “go-to” place and creating havoc in your life.
Marriage Counselling
What have you and your spouse misunderstood about the other?
One of the most common problems in relationships is communication, whether that means how we listen to each other or how we ask for what we need. Both are difficult, we usually hear what we want to hear and don’t ask for what we are needing from the other. This can lead to a host of problems that feel too great to bear. Take the opportunity to find out how you and partner communicate. Because, as it has been said, when you know better, you do better.
Looking for a speaker?
Let’s chat about your event.
Here are the testimonials of people who have invited Natalie to be a speaker or lead a workshop for their event.
Natalie brought her creativity and talents as a facilitator to Moksha Yoga Hamilton. She took us through different exercises to explore the roles we play in creating community and helped us to deepen our awareness of our impact as leaders and peers. Natalie knows how to hold a space and support people in becoming the best versions of themselves. She’s amazing. 🙂
Procrastination is a hot topic so I was pleased when Natalie agreed to come and help us explore what holds us back. Her insightful presentation was interactive so the women got to work through their own challenges and then in the discussion that followed, learned that they were not alone with these issues. The women left with a new perspective and increased self-awareness.
Natalie is naturally a warm and inviting person that you instantly feel comfortable around. She has a way of speaking truths that make a real difference, and sharing insights that are manageable and attainable. As a speaker, she is engaging, authentic, and inspiring.
Thanks Natalie!
Natalie facilitated a wonderful workshop for Engineers Without Borders’ Junior Fellows. She created a safe, comfortable space to talk about mental wellness, to connect participants with their own emotional state and equip them to better care for their wellness going forward. Natalie was incredibly warm, approachable, and creative – making difficult conversations easier and engaging.
Natalie has visited our school on multiple occasions to deliver workshops to our female students in Health and Physical Education on such topics as communication, resiliency, self control and healthy relationships with food. Natalie’s friendly and knowledgable disposition created a safe and intimate atmosphere for our students to share ideas and experiences. Her delivery of the material was engaging, interactive and balanced both large and small group learning. Natalie is fantastic at what she does and we look forward to having her back again this year to continue the work she’s started with out students.
Listeners are pulled in when Natalie speaks because she speaks her truth from the heart. You can’t fake authenticity. When it’s in front of you, you listen, trust and open yourself up to want to share more of yourself. That is the effect I have observed as I have collaborated with Natalie and asked her to share her Life Message and story publicly on multiple occasions. Natalie owns her story and by doing so, encourages others to do the same which promotes growth and healing. Life Messages wouldn’t be the same without Natalie and I am honoured that she supports our movement.