I specialize in helping people with anxiety, depression, trauma and professional burnout. Finding our way during these transitional times are what I walk with through with people, because I’ve walked (and stumbled!) through them too. Each person has the capability to gain a renewed quality of life and find that they are resilient. I use an authentic and original approach to verbal and non-verbal therapies including music, sound therapies and gentle movement to guide you through your story’s journey. Nothing is forced on or required of you.
I’ve found that compassionate listening along with the option of sound, music and vibration can help to ground the nervous system and allow healing to begin. We can be the hero/ine of our own story if we have the help to rewrite the story.
Asking for help and following through can be challenging. Change is inevitable, how we respond to it is what matters.
To ease the decision making process and any questions about therapy, I am available to “meet & greet” before you book at no charge.
Please contact me for more information and to set up a free 20 minute session.
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A little about me: Before embarking on my Masters degree (MA) in Expressive Arts Therapy and Psychology from the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, I taught piano and music theory for 15 years (ALCM) and have exhibited as a professional artist in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. I believe we’re all capable of renewing ourselves over and over as we courageously walk this path of becoming more of who we truly are. We create and re-create ourselves everyday.
I’m a counsellor in Nanaimo who has experience working with young adults, women and professionals, as well as people on the autism spectrum. For 7 years I worked in an addictions treatment center using Expressive Arts for First Responders and Veterans struggling with trauma, PTSD and substance abuse. In addition, I’ve lead multiple workshops for professionals in the health care and coaching industries.
The option of using Biofield Tuning, sound and voice as a accompanying treatment has yielded results for clients in relief from these emotional and physical symptoms stored in our body’s memory that stem from our past issues.
Facilitating empaths, sensitives (HSPs) and introverts through their experiences is a passion of mine, helping to guide & develop their self-value and sense of belonging in a fast and busy world. Assisting those in recovery from narcissistic abuse is something I specialize in, as many empaths are drawn to the narcissist personality.
Asking for help and following through can be challenging. I am a compassionate listener who understands life’s twists and turns. Change is inevitable, it’s how we respond to it and walk through it that matters. To ease the decision making process and any questions about the arts as therapy, I am available to “meet & greet” before booking at no charge.
Methods I Use:
Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) including Sandtray Therapy
Trauma Informed Practices
Sound Healing Modalities & Biofield Tuning
Authentic Movement (how your body wants to naturally move)
Mindfulness
Recognizing and Befriending the Voice of Shame (and the other talkative parts of ourselves!)
Resource Oriented (what you’re naturally good at; nature; pets, etc)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Therapies In Practice
Major Areas of Practice
General Areas of Support
Specializations in Practice
Spirituality
Health / Wellness
Abuse
Trauma
Career / Vocation / Higher Education
Marriage / Partnership / Family
What is Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA)?
Talking is important. Language is one way that we make sense of our world. Talking frames the session, and it is not the main focus. The heART of the session is the arts: image making, music and/or sound, writing, & authentic movement - each amplifies our experience of our place in the world… a way of meaning-making. We often move between the different arts modalities to crystallize our experience. Ecotherapy, also a part of EXA, brings us into our senses, to a place of wonder & belonging with nature.
Sandtray therapy is also integrated into the EXA practice. This modality facilitates adults in identifying archetypal and symbolic patterns in stuck belief systems. Young people often play out the epic hero’s journey in the sand as they make sense of their world. The expressive arts therapist does not interpret your work or psychoanalyze you, she guides you in experiencing your understanding of who you are in this world.
An expressive arts session is very beneficial for care givers and those in the helping profession.
Sound Healing Therapy
Sound, vibration, frequency and energy make up nature and the universe… we are a part of this vast world and universe! So naturally, sound helps bring us back into our bodies and out of our heads, grounding us and bringing clarity to the clouds that can fog up our insight. Sound is always happening now, and is a helpful tool in bringing us into the present moment. Our nervous systems can tune into frequencies that allow regulation and a sense of grounding.
More questions?
Please visit chrissandra.com for more information.
Closed Now!10:00 AM - 06:30 PM
- Tuesday10:00 AM - 06:30 PM
- Wednesday10:00 AM - 06:30 PM
- Thursday10:00 AM - 06:30 PM
- Monday02:00 PM - 06:30 PM
- Friday11:00 AM - 01:30 PM
