Psst. If you’re reading this on your phone my qualifications and credentials won’t show till the end, so scroll down all the way if you’re more interested in that part- I haven’t skimped on sharing my story with you!

When I was a tiny child what made most sense to me was poetry.

My grandmother, who I had a complex and complicated relationship with, showed me that I could take words and create a little universe of thoughts and ideas with them. She spoke only Urdu so I would speak out poems in Urdu and she would write them down for me.

I was six years old.

As I tiptoed through the years, I learned that words could hold my angst, my pain, my terror. They became my refuge. I started writing poetry in English-entering a different realm, one where I could pen all the thoughts and feelings I couldn’t speak out loud.

Here’s my first poem that I wrote in English when I was 12 years old-

As that wee lil’ one, I could see what was going on behind people’s eyes- their deeper emotions, even if they were doing their best to hide them, or were covering their true selves under layers of self protection and survival conformity. At the time, I didn’t know this ability was part innate sensitivity, part trauma response.. It’s really come in handy for this kind of work- it helps me track the nervous system to understand how best to support people with where their emotions are at and empathically be able to attune to what they are feeling.

It’s taken years for me to understand my own inner landscapes—how complex childhood trauma shaped my brain, coded my relationships, and compulsively pulled me toward certain experiences. But it also shaped my strength. It gave me skills that would become the foundation of my work.

I learned that this sensitivity wasn’t just something I carried—it was something I could use. It helps me track the nervous system, attune empathically to where people are at, and understand how to best support them.

Along the way there’s been more poetry, art (that was a welcome surprise in my early 30’s- I used to be the kid that felt horrified because I could never colour within the lines and I felt incredible amounts of shame from looking around at everyone else’s colourings). And then there was dance—the thing that helped me feel at home in my body when words couldn’t reach.

In my last year of university in 2007, I searched for a place where I could support people anonymously on the phone. I had seen it in a movie when I was a teenager and was instantly drawn to it.

Volunteering at the Distress Centre changed my life.

I’m not exaggerating.

I started off on the phone lines, and over ten years, I continued to hold space for people in crisis. But it was my work with survivors of suicide loss and homicide that reshaped me completely. That work taught me how to hold grief—how to sit in the depths with someone without turning away. The people I’ve supported in my life have touched my heart in ways I will never forget. Each one of them has left an imprint.

Early on during those years, I was floundering in my own life—unsure of what I was doing, feeling completely untethered. I started working at IBM. That’s when everything cracked open. I experienced a heartbreak that brought all the unresolved trauma I had held back come rushing in.

Grief swept me right toward my own healing.

That’s what the Distress Centre gave me: hope. It gave me a glimpse of something beyond the endless loop of trauma, conditioning, and survival patterns. It gave me possibility.

From there, my path took me through so many places—trainings, workshops, deep relationships, life experiences. I do this work because with every fiber of my being, I believe it matters.

Because I have witnessed what it does. How it reshapes how we relate to ourselves, to our lives, and to each other.

The deeper I’ve descended into the cavern of my own psyche, the more I’ve made space for what brings me joy.

Being part of a feminine mystery school for the past two years has been a profound part of that. It has taught me how to root into my own depth, my nourishment, my center. It has reshaped my work—because at its core, my work is a channel for creative expression and healing.

I feel my own center.
I wander sometimes.
But again and again, I come home to myself.

I do work that lights me up, work that I am devoted to, work that makes me feel fully engaged.

I have friendships and community that hold me.
I go through hard things, but I am resourced through them.
I make mistakes. I learn. I have more capacity for it.

My creativity holds me. My body knows it has the right to take up space.

I know, deep in my bones that I am valued, not for what I do, but for who I am.

It’s everything.

The safety I feel in my own being is hard-won. It is treasured. It helps me show up as my most genuine, full self in almost every situation.

Six year old me hadn’t imagined she’d get here, and I feel her next to me right now as I type this, grinning, her arm interlaced with mine saying wow, we did all that? And me, I’m right there with her grinning back patting her on the back, because she’s the heart root of this reality that we’ve created together.

This is my most recent painting.

I’ve got you little one.

Over the past 18 years, I have trained extensively in trauma-informed coaching, somatic embodiment, energy healing, and creative facilitation. My approach blends practical experience with intuitive and body-based modalities to create a deeply integrative healing process.

Academic & Foundational Training

  • BA (Hons) in Sociology, Double Minor in English & Philosophy – University of Toronto

  • Post-Graduate Certificate in Book & Magazine Publishing – Centennial College

  • 2 Years Post-Graduate Training in Holistic Healing Practicum & Spiritual Psychotherapy – Transformational Arts College

Trauma & Crisis Support Work

  • Grief Facilitation for Survivors of Suicide & Homicide Loss (8 Years) – Toronto Distress Centre

  • Crisis Line Responder (10 Years) – Toronto Distress Centre

  • Survivor Support Facilitation for Sexual Assault & Gendered Violence – Dandelion Initiative

  • Trauma-Informed Relationship Coach (4+ Years) – Relationship Hero

Somatic & Body-Based Training

  • Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies – Linda Thai

  • Movement for Trauma (Level 1 & 2) – Jane Clapp

  • Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Training – David Treleaven

  • Hakomi Proskills (10+ hours) – Donna Martin, Hakomi Institute

  • Hakomi-Informed Coaching Certificate (Ongoing) – Embodywise

Creative Facilitation & Expressive Arts

  • Advanced Creative Facilitation (150+ Hours) – PYE Global

Feminine Mystery Training

  • Feminine Mystery School (Year 1 & 2) – Jumana Sophia, Her Mystery School

  • Year of Feminine Magic – Seren Bertrand

Energy Healing & Integrative Modalities

  • VortexHealing Energy Healing ® (Merlin’s Grace Level, 300+ Hours)

  • ThetaHealing Practitioner

  • Hypnotherapy Training – Debbie Papakadis, Hypno-Healing Institute

  • Reiki (Master Level) – Dan Miron

  • Integrated Energy Therapy (Basic Level) – Anita Knight

Additional Certifications

  • Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) – EASE Inc