About Me
I’m Susan (she/her)
I came to counselling as a second career after working as an English professor. As you might guess, I’ve always been drawn to people’s stories. As a therapist, I’m fascinated by the way we narrate our lives—what we say and leave out, what we emphasize and minimize, when we sigh, smile, or stay silent—and how this can point to the growth and healing we seek.
My Story
My own story starts in Dunedin, New Zealand, a remote coastal city with gothic architecture, dramatic beaches, and—in the late 80s and 90s—some of the best bands in the world. After undergrad there, my career trajectory in academia was linear: straight to a competitive graduate program in the US; an academic job before I defended; PhD by 28; tenure by 37.
However, alongside this apparent success story was another story of a series of personal losses, distress when the academic affirmation I sought was withheld, and a niggling sense that I was in the wrong place. I left the linear path for a new adventure. After a second experience in grad school, this time juggling a young child and a full-time job, I’m now lucky to be working in a field I find intellectually challenging, emotionally rewarding, and endlessly engrossing.
Outside of the therapy room I am a voracious reader, a listener of music, and a watcher of films and television good, bad, and indifferent (I love Lorrie Moore’s short stories, Destroyer aka Dan Bejar, Taika Waititi’s movies, and mediocre British detective shows). I feel better when I do yoga or swim. I love trying out new recipes but don’t always feel like making dinner. I feel most alive when I travel.
“My hope emerges from those places of struggle where I witness individuals positively transforming their lives and the world around them.”
— bell hooks, Teaching Community
My approach:
I work from a predominantly psychodynamic perspective, also informed by Bowen Family Therapy and mindfulness meditation. I am particularly interested in relational psychoanalysis. Group therapy has been an interest of mine, especially process groups, and I have further specialized training in this area. I have supervised Masters-level practicum students and I also offer consultation to other therapists. I am committed to ongoing further education in anti-racist therapy to combat anti-Black, anti-Asian, and anti-Indigenous racism. I have given a number of workshops for graduate students including “Challenging Impostor Syndrome,” and “You and your Supervisor.”
I have ongoing supervision and personal therapy when needed, and this has helped me as much as my training and my experience in the therapist’s chair. I find the more I know myself, the more I can help you.
My credentials:
MEd in Counselling Psychology (UBC)
Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) in B.C., #14846
PhD in Literature (Duke); Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies
BA (Hons), English (Otago)
10 years of counselling in academic and community settings, including 7 years at SFU Health and Counselling
Member, American Group Psychotherapy Association
San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
20 years experience in academia, including as assistant professor in English at the University of Manchester and at Staffordshire University, and assistant/associate professor at Simon Fraser University
