I believe that many painful and difficult to understand behaviours are attempts to cope, and I can help you better understand how to foster what serves you, and how to let go of what doesn't. By working together to understand the causes of your struggles, I can help you build a path towards effective behaviours and community supports to reach your goals. As humans, one of the most common struggles we may find ourselves in is attempting to escape painful emotions in manners that may not reflect our true values, including reactive behaviours, avoidance or isolation, and clinging to unhealthy relationships. I can help you learn to live with emotional pain in your life, and believe that moments of joy, tranquility, pride, and connection can increase by learning how to process difficult feelings rather than escaping them. I also believe that so-called "negative" emotions, including sadness over loss, anger at injustice, and fear at threats to well-being, are helpful and appropriate in certain situations. Our emotions provide important information about the world around you, and too often, trying to turn off or suppress our emotions only increases our distress and inability to move through the emotions. I believe you can increase your control over your actions and effectiveness in your relationships by learning to feel your feelings, and responding skillfully depending on the information provided by the emotion and the situation.

 

Credentials: I am a registered psychologist in British Columbia. For over eight years, I have provided specialized services in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) in B.C., including leading DBT skills training groups and training other clinicians. My clinical specialties include working with people struggling with overwhelming emotions, suicidality, self-harm, trauma and substance use, and helping to enhance well-being through the pursuit of goals that are personally meaningful and valued to clients. I also value working with clients to process and grieve invalidation related to race, gender discrimination and transphobia, and aim to help clients affirm their own identity. I will work with you to recommend an evidence-based treatment for your difficulties, and weave your personal goals and priorities into the treatment approach.

 

Prior to moving to the Comox Valley, I worked at the DBT Centre of Vancouver, where I provided specialized services in treatment for PTSD, borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety,  as well as supervision to clinicians in training. I have also served as a research therapist providing dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) on the FASTER DBT clinical trial at Simon Fraser University (SFU) during a postdoctoral fellowship, and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology at SFU. I graduated from a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at McGill University in Montreal in 2016 (CPA accredited), where I conducted research on life values and well-being. Outside of work, I enjoy exploring the mountains on bike, foot or skis, trail running, reading, and watching comedy. I am also a parent and proud dog owner, and am continuing to learn new ways to be mindful or curious about the present moment from watching my young son and dog navigate the world.

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Land Acknowledgment: Dr. Hope acknowledges that she practices on the unceded traditional territory of the K’òmoks First Nation. Dr. Hope is a settler and recognizes the trauma inflicted by colonialism, and is continuing to learn humility and growth in advocating against oppression.