MACKNESS COUNSELLING LTD.
Remote Counselling Services
Canada & the UK
ABOUT ME
Experienced therapist, dedicated frontline worker, philosophy hobbyist, and newish mother.
I've worked in the helping profession for over 25 years and I've been in clinical practice since 2014.
After suffering and bumbling through my angsty and alienated teen years, things started to resolve in my 20s. I found a tribe in the art scene. I did some scene study acting classes, alternative theatre projects, and student films. I also spent some years volunteering at an art-house cinema as well as at film festivals around central and western Canada. I completed a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in philosophy.
In 1996 I started working on the frontlines of social services in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, and I never looked back. I enjoyed the process of getting to know folks and supporting them in navigating the challenging (and disturbingly barriered) services they required for improved health and social outcomes. In 2012, I returned to school and earned a Master of Counselling degree. I wanted to focus on supporting individuals to implement meaningful change in their lives.
In my clinical practice, I’ve worked for health regions supporting folks struggling with substance use/concurrent disorders, homelessness, and psychiatric instability. I also volunteered as a clinical counsellor at a trans wellness clinic supporting individuals struggling with gender dysphoria. More recently, I worked in public health providing counselling to individuals living in the Edmonton area. Since Covid started, I've had a baby and focused exclusively on my private practice providing exploratory therapy to individuals addressing various issues, including gender, sexual orientation, detransition, existential and identity issues, and addictions. I love my work and I am grateful for the opportunities it provides for life-long learning.
Had I not been a counsellor? What were some of my paths-not-taken? Gymnast, professional golfer, fiction writer, stand-up comic, murder police. When I am not working, I can be found enjoying late/end-stage Golden Age Television, wrangling my toddler, spending time with family and friends, reading, or sleeping.