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Practical, conversational support that fits real life!
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Family Counsellor | Life Coach | Author

Private virtual & in-person sessions

Home of The Space Between—a coaching program for young adults finding their next step. I support teens (13+), young adults, and parents through counselling and coaching focused on confidence, life skills, emotional regulation, and mental health. I’m also the author of Not Today, Frank! — a practical, relatable book that helps teens understand anxiety, confidence, and growing up without pressure or fluff. My work is conversational, supportive, and grounded in real life, offering families practical guidance that fits their schedules and what they’re navigating right now.

10/16/2026

“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.”
I hear this one a lot from my young adults. Parents will often say it with a bit of relief too.

𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 😬

Ni****ne is 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 , so “only on weekends” doesn’t tell me enough.

These next questions are MORE important to me.
👉 I want to know what the rest of the week looks like.
👉 Are they thinking about va**ng on Tuesday?
👉 Counting down to Friday?
👉 Making sure they have one before the weekend?
👉 Getting irritable when plans change and they can’t v**e?
👉 Has “just at parties” quietly turned into every weekend?

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.

🤔 I’m paying attention to something bigger-𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚?

That’s one of the conversations we’ll be getting into at my
𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 - 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗩𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁?
📅 Tuesday, October 20
⏰ 7:00–8:00 PM + Q&A
💻 Virtual via Zoom

https://www.healthyroutes.ca/workshops

Hope to see some familiar faces there! 😊

10/14/2026

An ADHD brain was never meant to fit neatly into a box.
Yet as parents, we can spend a whole lot of time trying to make it fit into one. 😂

School. Grades. Organization. Graduation. A plan or what comes next.

With ADHDers, the path isn’t always going to look that neat.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 — 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.
That’s where their energy is.

And before you say “gaming and their phone”. 😂
Trust me, there’s more. You just have to find it. 😉

✅What gets them talking?
✅What do they know way too much about?
✅Where does their curiosity take over?

That’s what we’re looking for.

When you find what genuinely sparks their interest, you have something real to work with.

👉Curiosity creates energy, and energy gives us a place to start.
You might be surprised where it takes them.

www.healthyroutes.ca

10/12/2026

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.🙄
One less day somehow feels like 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 to get everything done.

👉So don’t spend Tuesday trying to make up for Monday.
✅Figure out what actually needs to get done, what can wait, and go from there.

Let’s have a good start to our short week everyone. We’ve got four days, five days of stuff, and absolutely no need to pretend that math works. 😂

10/10/2026

𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱...🍂
It can be easy to think about the big things we’re grateful for. This year, I hope we notice some of the smaller ones too.

🍂Sometimes it’s the teen who makes the effort to come downstairs and spend a little time with the family.

🍂The mom who is exhausted, yet still finds a way to bring everyone together.

🍂The college or university student who comes home ready for home-cooked food, their own bed and a little bit of being “the kid” again.

🍂The siblings who manage to get through dinner without purposely pushing each other’s buttons. 😉

🍂Or simply having everyone in the same room for a little longer than usual.

Family life isn’t always easy, and gratitude doesn’t mean overlooking the things that are hard. It can simply mean noticing the good that is there too.

So wherever this Thanksgiving weekend finds you, I hope there are a few moments that feel good, people who feel like home, and something — 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 — that reminds you there is still a lot worth noticing.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. 🍂💛

10/08/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 👀
Vapes are small, easy to hide and often sitting in places parents wouldn’t think to look.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗩𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁? and learn what teens are using, where v**es may be turning up, the signs to watch for and what to say and do when you find one.

📅 Tuesday, October 20 | 7–8 p.m.
💬 30-minute Q&A to follow
💻 Virtual via Zoom
🎟️ Public Registration: $20
💛 Healthy Routes Community: Complimentary
Find your 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 or email me for access.

⚠️This one is for parents ONLY!!!

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://www.healthyroutes.ca/workshops

10/07/2026

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝
These are just some of the areas I work on with young adults — anxiety, feeling unmotivated, getting started, following through and building everyday life skills.

My new program, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻, is for young adults 17–25 as they find themselves, build confidence and become more independent — in school, work and everyday life.

Sometimes they just need help getting from where they are to where they want to be.

🌿 The Space Between | Healthy Routes
𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

For more information on my new program:
https://www.healthyroutes.ca/coaching-for-young-adults

10/06/2026

October is ADHD Awareness Month.👇
I have ADHD. I’ve lived it, raised kids with it, and now work with young people who have it.

𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬? That’s only one small piece.

ADHD can affect far more than that.
👉Emotions hit us faster and harder then most.
👉Voice tones and teasing we hear differently.
👉Noise, crowds and sensory overload can be a lot sometimes.
👉Sleep can be hard when the brain won’t switch off.
👉You can get completely lost in what interests you.
👉Hormonal shifts can make ADHD harder to manage.

Then there’s the whole executive functioning piece too.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

Yet that 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 has another side too 🎉
✅ Quick thinking
✅A great sense of humour
✅Thinking outside the box
✅A mind full of ideas
✅ Finding unconventional solutions
✅ Passion when something matters and I could go on and on...😂

That’s a whole lot of brain packed into four little letters and 🤔 apparently whoever named ADHD stopped paying attention halfway through. 😂

So, for ADHD Awareness Month, I’m giving those four letters a much better meaning:

Ⓐ𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 Ⓓ𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜! Ⓗ𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐲 Ⓓ𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞! 💛

The more we understand an ADHD brain, we can embrace the differences, the strengths, the quirks and all the incredible things that can come with it.

Never underestimate what an ADHD brain can do. 🫶

www.healthyroutes.ca

10/04/2026

There is a strange moment in parenting when protecting your teen or young adult can begin to look exactly like 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜.
👉Speak for them so they won't struggle.
👉Fix it so they won't fail.
👉Step in so they won't get hurt.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨.
And you are.💛

Until, (𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰), we make things so much easier that they never get to find out what they can handle on their own.

Sometimes loving them means giving them the room to find out. Because knowing you can handle life comes from getting the chance to handle some of it yourself.🤗

www.healthyroutes.ca

10/02/2026

This is a 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 of how quickly online can become real life to our young people.

Police allege a man used 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 in Edmonton, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 and speaking to one of them.

One thing I find myself addressing 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 is something that should be a basic life skill:
👉 Understanding what a safe and healthy relationship actually looks like.

I see young people form incredibly close online relationships 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆. 🙁

Someone listens. They feel understood. There’s no judgment. They start pouring their heart out and sharing things they may not be telling anyone else.

I am still baffled by how often a young person will sit across from me and tell me about someone they’ve only known online for a short time.

👉 I’ll ask, “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?”
Without hesitation...
👉They reply, “𝗢𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗼. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱.”

That’s usually where I jump in and explain that talking to someone every day can make you feel incredibly close to them simply because of how often you connect. That closeness 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘆 though.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that and had a young person look back at me completely puzzled.🫢

That’s when I usually start digging a little deeper. This is where they often get stuck. They can certainly tell me 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 they love about this person which is often surface stuff. Then ask them why they trust them? Well.....the answers do not come quickly or at all.

👉 Can you say no without being pressured?
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙩.”
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙘.”

👉 Do they respect what you keep private?
“𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆, ‘𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁?"
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮, ‘𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚? 𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.’”

👉 What happens when you disagree?
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.”
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

👉 Can you stop replying without being guilted or threatened?
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙢𝙮 𝙎𝙣𝙖𝙥.”
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙄 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧.”

That tells me a whole lot more than “we talk every day.”
This is why these conversations matter so much to me.

Our kids are building relationships in spaces where someone can become incredibly important to them before they really know who that person is.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

This Edmonton story is a frightening example of just how far that vulnerability can go.

Please share this one. More families need to be having this conversation.

www.healthyroutes.ca

𝗖𝗕𝗖 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

10/01/2026

A warm welcome to all the new people who have started following Healthy Routes this month. 💛🍂

It’s always nice to see this little community grow, and I’m so glad you’ve found your way here.

I hope you’ll find posts that offer a little insight, a different way of looking at things, or simply something that feels helpful or relatable along the way.

There’s lots more coming this fall, and I’m happy to have you here for it. Looking forward to another month together and wishing you a wonderful start to October! 🍂

Address

Barrhaven, ON

Website

https://www.healthyroutes.ca/

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