I am a bilingual Registered Clinical Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and the Order of Social Workers, Family, and Marriage Therapists of Québec with over 25 years clinical experience and 20 years in the field of separation and divorce. I am also a longstanding Family Mediator in Ontario and Accredited Family Mediator in Québec. I obtained a Bachelor of Social Work and Master’s of Social Work at McGill University early in my social work career. I earned several scholarships, fellowships and leadership awards at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level. I returned to McGill’s doctoral program in 2014 and was granted two doctoral research grants (FRQC and SSHRC) to pursue my proposed research on special needs children in families embroiled in family court disputes. In order to focus more fully on my expanding clinical practice, I put my PhD studies on hold.
I am an avid learner who is committed to staying up-to-date with the newest research and trends in the context of parenting plan assessments, family law and all aspects of separation and divorce, which impact children and their families. I have presented at local and international conferences and provided guest lectures in Toronto, Montreal and England. I regularly attend workshops and local and international conferences to build upon my established skills and knowledge base.
I use natural diplomacy, professionalism, sense of humour, and mediation skills in every realm of my work with children and their families experiencing the loss and change associated with parental separation, divorce and family disruption.
I am committed to providing children with an emotionally safe and fun place to voice their thoughts and feelings about the time they spend with each parent and experiences in the separated family. They are encouraged to express their own perception about the nature of their parent’s relationship prior to and following separation. Through a non-judgmental lens, it is my aim to help parents establish a child-focused parenting plan and to identify each parent’s strengths and areas of concern that need to be worked upon to improve their child’s experience within the family unit. Adjustments to the parenting schedule and practical tasks for parents are recommended to help reduce parent tension and conflict, which inevitably helps children.