What Shaped my Perspective
My path into mental health leadership didn’t begin in private practice. It began in the public healthcare system, where I worked as a registered nurse early in my career. While I was grateful for the experience, I often felt the limitations of systems that didn’t always allow the time, creativity, or depth of care that many clients needed.
Those early experiences shaped the way I began to think about care, leadership, and the kind of systems I believed could serve people better.
As the eldest daughter in my family, stepping into responsibility and leadership has always come naturally to me. Over time, I realized that if I wanted to work with people in a way that truly aligned with my values, I would need to build something different.
While raising my three oldest children, I completed my master’s degree in counselling. That season of life required resilience, focus, and a deep belief in the work I was moving toward. It was also the beginning of what would eventually become Amethyst Therapy.
Since then, I have continued to follow the work that matters most to me supporting meaningful mental health care while building systems that allow clinicians to do their best work.
Today, as a mother of four and the leader of a growing counselling practice, my work focuses on strengthening private mental health services and expanding access to care, particularly in rural communities. I believe private practice can play an important role in complementing public healthcare systems when it is designed thoughtfully and led with care.
At its core, my work is about building something better, for clients, for clinicians, and for the communities we serve. I care deeply about mental health care that is both compassionate and sustainable, and about creating systems that encourage people to think differently about how care can be delivered.
The ideas and values that shape my work are reflected in Amethyst Therapy Inc., the counselling practice I founded in Williams Lake. I invite you to learn more about the work we’re doing there.
