Starting therapy can bring about lots of different feelings.
You might be wondering whether therapy is what you need, feeling nervous about what it will be like, or simply hoping to find someone who feels like the right fit.
I’m glad you’re here.
I believe therapy works best when you feel genuinely seen. I look forward to meeting you as the whole person that you are; shaped by your relationships, experiences, identities, and the world around you.
Hi, I’m Lara.
MA, RCC, CCC | Relationship Therapist
I’m a Queer, mixed-race therapist, a mom, and a person who has experienced some of life’s complicated transitions from the inside. I’ve navigated marriage, separation, divorce, and co-parenting. I know that the most important changes in our lives can sometimes be really difficult.
My identities and experiences have shaped the way I see the world and the way I practice therapy. As a mixed-race person, I know something about the complexity of holding multiple identities and sometimes wondering how, and where, you fit. As a Queer person, I know the importance of being met by someone who understands that relationships, families, and identities don't always fit neatly into the boxes we've been given.
These experiences don't make my story the same as yours. But they have taught me to listen carefully, stay curious, and make room for the parts of people's experiences that can be difficult to put into words.
I also know what it is like to sit on the other side of the therapy room. I know how it feels to question yourself, to feel uncertain about what comes next, and to make choices that can be both deeply painful, and at the same time deeply aligned with how you are needing to move forward.
Top Specialties: Life Transitions, Relationship Issues, Trauma & PTSD
Areas of Expertise: Anger Management, Anxiety, Depression, Family Conflict, Grief, LGBTQ+, Parenting, Peer Relationships, Pregnancy, Perinatal, Self Esteem, Self-Harming, Stress, Suicidal Ideation, Parenting Gender Expansive Kids
How I practice
I believe your voice matters…
I’m deeply relational in my approach. I’m interested in what happens underneath the patterns we can see. Curious about the emotions, longings, fears, protective strategies, and experiences that shape how we relate to ourselves and the people we love.
I draw primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and trauma-informed approaches. I often work experientially, helping people slow down enough to notice what is happening inside them. I like to work below the surface. This means not just examining what we think or believe, but also noticing what you are feeling in your body, and what your emotions might be trying to tell you.
There is something powerful about beginning to understand yourself in a new way.
You might begin to understand why the same conflict keeps happening in your relationship. You might become more compassionate toward a part of yourself you've judged for years. You might discover what you actually need, rather than what you think you should need.
My role isn't to tell you what to do.
It’s to help you become more connected to yourself, so you can make choices from a place of greater clarity, self-trust, and compassion.
The people I work with
I especially love working with people who are curious about themselves and willing to look a little deeper.
Much of my work is with couples and parents; including people navigating major transitions, struggling to reconnect, trying to change painful patterns, or wondering what is next for their relationship.
I have a particular interest in working with Queer couples and Queer parents. As a Queer person (and parent) myself, I understand the value of having a therapist who doesn't require you to explain or defend the legitimacy of your relationship, family, or identity.
I also work with individuals navigating separation and divorce, parenting, identity, loneliness, grief, trauma, and significant life transitions. I particularly enjoy working with young adults who are figuring out who they are, what they want, and how to build relationships that feel authentic to them.
I work with people across many differing identities. You don't need to share my experiences for me to be interested in yours.
Why I became a therapist
Counselling is my third career, and by far my favourite.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent nearly a decade working in education as a teacher and several years running a business supporting new parents during the postpartum period. Those experiences taught me a great deal about people, relationships, families, and the many ways that life can change us.
But it was my own experiences in individual and couples therapy that ultimately led me to pursue a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology.
Therapy changed the way I understood myself and my relationships. It gave me language for experiences I had struggled to make sense of, and helped me understand that meaningful change doesn't always come from trying harder. Sometimes it comes from slowing down, becoming more curious, and having the courage to be honest about what is really happening inside us.
I wanted to offer that kind of space to other people.
It remains one of the great privileges of my work.
Background & Training
Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC)
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University, NB
Certified Teacher in the Province of BC
Trained in trauma-informed stabilization treatment and working with trauma-exposed professionals
Completed multiple trainings in Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy through ICEEFT
Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Advanced training in working with depression and suicidality
A little more about me…
I believe people are remarkably capable of change when they have enough safety, support, and compassion to explore what is really going on.
I believe relationships matter greatly. I see that many of the ways we protect ourselves in relationships may have made sense at some point in our lives, but aren't necessarily serving us anymore.
And I believe your life doesn't have to look a certain way to be meaningful, healthy, or whole.
Sometimes therapy is about repairing a relationship.
Sometimes it is about learning how to be in a relationship differently.
And sometimes it is about finding your way back to yourself.
I’d be honoured to walk alongside you.