About Me
Why Psalms and Trauma?
I didn’t set out to write about Psalms and trauma.
Like many of the more significant things in my life, this project grew where several parts of my story kept running into each other: my work as a counsellor, my role as a pastor, my own experiences of loss and rebuilding, and my lifelong faith.
In the counselling room, I have listened to many stories of betrayal, grief, anxiety, abuse and disappointment. I have watched people work hard to understand what happened to them, only to discover that understanding alone doesn’t always make them feel safe.
Trauma doesn’t just leave us with difficult memories. It can affect our bodies, our relationships, our ability to rest and even the way we experience God.
You may know you are safe now—but your nervous system remains on guard.
You may believe God is good—but struggle to trust that He is good toward you.
You may understand that you are loved—and still feel profoundly alone.
This is where I keep returning to the Psalms.
The Psalms Make Room for the Whole Story
The Psalms do not rush people through pain. They don’t demand a positive attitude or tidy everything up with a cheerful spiritual answer.
They make room for fear, anger, confusion, grief and questions that do not have easy answers. The writers cry out, complain, remember, protest and sometimes wonder where God has gone.
Apparently, honesty does not frighten God.
But the Psalms also introduce us to a God who sees, hears, shelters, guides and stays. A Shepherd who does not shout instructions from a safe distance, but walks with us through the valley. A God who is present in suffering—not only after we have successfully pulled ourselves together.
In my work as a counsellor, I have learned that healing happens through safety, connection, rest and gentle care. Again and again, I find those same movements within the Psalms.
At a time in my life when I no longer had words to pray – the Psalms gave me those words. When I struggled to grasp my own emotions, the psalms gave me permission to feel again. They help us bring our frightened, angry or exhausted selves into the presence of God without pretending to be anywhere other than where we are.
What I’m Exploring Here
This website is where I explore the Psalms through a trauma-informed lens.
I bring together what I have learned through counselling, pastoral ministry, Scripture and lived experience. My goal is to make both theology and trauma understanding accessible—without turning either one into a formula.
You’ll find reflections, practical tools and journal exercises addressing experiences such as anxiety, betrayal, grief, loneliness, hypervigilance, spiritual confusion and the long, winding work of rebuilding.
This material is not meant to replace counselling, nor is it a collection of quick spiritual answers. Healing is rarely quick, and it is almost never a straight line.
Instead, I hope these writings become a gentle companion for people who are healing, questioning or trying to find their way back to a sense of safety, connection and hope.
A Little About Me
I hold a Master of Counselling degree and am a Canadian Certified Counsellor. I have a private counselling practice in Kamloops, British Columbia, where much of my work focuses on trauma, betrayal and relationships.
I also serve as a pastor. That role has given me the privilege of walking with people through faith, aging, loss, change and the questions that emerge when life does not unfold as expected.
My own life has included more than one change of plans. I returned to university in my forties, after raising three children and building a business. Since then, life has continued to surprise, stretch and occasionally derail me. I have learned that growth often happens somewhere between the plan we made and the life we actually received.
I now call Kamloops home. I love kayaking, hiking, knitting, animals, plants that I can finally keep alive, and people who make me laugh. Life is hard. Sometimes laughter is sacred.
Most of all, I remain curious about the ways ancient words can speak into modern wounds.
I believe the Psalms offer more than comforting quotations. They offer honest prayers, healing images and an invitation to encounter God in the places where we feel most wounded and alone.
I hope you find something here that gives language to your experience, helps you understand yourself with greater compassion and reminds you that your wounds are not the end of your story.