Peer Support Counselling

I'm humbled and grateful that you are considering me in your wellness journey!

 

Allow me to start by giving you some background information about who I am, what I do and how this works.

 

I am a peer support worker/community counsellor, if you are not familiar with peer support, it is a form of counselling that was originally born out of the anti-institutional "mad movement" by survivors of psychiatric institutionalization which centred on the understanding that mental health institutions historically were not built to support people, but to control, regulate and dispose of people whose behaviours are deemed inconvenient and disruptive to the white supremacist ideal society, many of which are rooted in anti-black and anti-inidgenous values. The values and practices of peer support can be briefly summarized by the phrase "nothing about us without us".

 

As a peer support counsellor my role is to support you through your wellness journey from the perspective of someone who was and still is living through my own recovery. I can help to guide and support you through your mental health challenges and through navigating mental health resources as a peer and as a mental health worker with an extensive knowledge of trauma, specifically from an anti-colonial and abolitionist frameworks. I use frameworks of wellness that draw on African & North American indigenous teachings. It is important to know that I am not a therapist or psychiatrist and do not diagnose mental illness or prescribe medication, although I am happy to share helpful information about how to navigate accessing these things and support you in advocacy. I come from a community service background and have worked in both clinical mental health institutions and community mental health spaces. 

 

My work is a form of collaborative knowledge sharing that allows us to work together to create and achieve the wellness goals that you value.