How we can work together

Sometimes the most powerful thing is simply being heard, fully, and without judgment. Counselling at Wild Light looks different for each person, because every person brings with them a different set of strengths and challenges, different experiences and needs. Counselling is esentially a confidential conversation where the agenda is yours: whether you’re untangling a hard season, understanding a pattern that keeps repeating, or grieving something (or someone) you've lost. It’s a place to tell your story, be witnessed, ask questions, gain insight, and find new ways to move forward.

We work collaboratively all the way along. We explore in our first few sessions what is happening in your life, what lead to being here, and what you hope to get from therapy. Together we build a road map, and check in along the way so the work keeps serving you.

My approach is to show up warmly and authentically, and not disappear beneath my therapist hat. I aim to be a real person in the counselling space, to create space for my clients be their authentic selves as well. I use an ecclectic approach, drawing from from narrative therapy, art therapy, internal family systems (IFS), somatic approaches, mindfulness, DBT and other techniques when appropriate. And I use humour whenever possible, because although we may sometimes talk about hard or painful things, going to counselling doesn’t have to feel hard or painful.

Art therapy takes a different approach to healing, and works with different parts of the brain than talking alone. It can be helpful for exploring emotions and experience that we can’t name with words, processing trauma, or to shift patterns that feel stuck and haven’t responded to traditional talk therapy.

Art therapy is not an art class, and no experience or "talent" is needed. Stick figures, blobs, messy colours, lines, shapes of all kinds are welcome and helpful for processing, and judgment plays no role in the process. Guided by a trained art therapist, you use simple materials — drawing, painting, collage, clay —in ways that feel comfortable for you, to give shape to feelings that don't yet have words. You may use art to explore parts of yourself that are hidden or confusing, process deeply held grief, pain, or trauma. The art-making and expression come first, and the insights follow. The artwork itself can be a bridge to deeper conversations. And the process is just as important as the product, helping to shift patterns buried deep in the nervous system.

Because it doesn't rely on verbal fluency, art therapy is especially powerful for children and teens, for trauma held in the body, and for adults who are tired of talking about their story and want a different way in. Tianna holds a Masters of Psychotherapy with a specialization in Art Therapy is a professional art therapist with the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA) and has practiced this work with individuals and groups of all ages.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the most researched treatments for trauma. It’s a collaborative and attuned approach to help your brain heal from past hurt, trauma, or stressful life events that have left a mark.

Sometimes, when something deeply stressful happens, our brain doesn’t get a chance to fully process it. The memory gets “stuck” in our system along with the old emotions, fears, or even physical symptoms. Our muscles get tense, our stomach is in knots, and with even a smell, a reminder, or an ill-timed comment from a friend or partner, we may suddenly feel a deperate desire to hide, run away, or fight back even when the intensity of those behaviours make no sense in our current circumstances. Everyday triggers can make the past feel like it’s happening all over again.

How It works

You don’t have to talk through every painful detail of your story. Instead, we use gentle back and forth movements of the eyes, or tactile tapping, known as bilateral stimulation to help your your brain get the memory unstuck. It’s like pulling out a sharp sliver that keeps a wound from healing. EMDR removes the blockages to healing, so that your brain can reprocess the memory. You remain fully awake, grounded, and in control throughout the process, and the memory loses its sharp, distressing edge.

What To Expect

We move at a pace that feels safe for you. Before we even touch a heavy memory, we spend time building a solid foundation of grounding tools and coping strategies so you feel steady and supported.

Most people experience a lessening of symptoms after EMDR treatment, from less reactivity to triggers, fears or anxiety, nightmares or sleep symptoms. And others experience even huge shifts in the ways they see themselves, their relationships, or others after treatment.

Please reach out for a free 15 min consult to see if EMDR is a good fit for you!

Trauma, stress, childhood experiences, attachment styles, and even neurodivergence affect how connected we are with our bodies and emotions. Sometimes we feel things so intensely that we become overwhelmed by them, swept away by emotion. Sometimes we may feel disconnected from ourselves and our bodies, and even other people. Mindfulness and somatic approaches teach you to notice what's happening inside — tension, breath, restlessness, numbness, emotion — and to work with your nervous system rather than against it.

These practices are woven through all of Tianna's work and can also be a focus on their own. Together we practice strategies to learn to settle a racing system, to manage stress, to stay present and grounded in hard conversations or while parenting, and to feel at home in your own body again.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a well-researched evidence-based approach that offers concrete, learnable skills in four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. It was built for moments when emotion outruns reason — and it works.

Skills are introduced one at a time, or woven into sessions, practiced together, and adapted to your real life, so the tools are actually in your hands when you need them, not just in a workbook. We start with creating safety in the counselling room, and build a toolbox of skills that help you to manage your feelings, support your relationships, and build a life that feels worth living for you.