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room to breathe counselling has found a new full-time home 🙂

As you may have already seen, I’m now located within Willow Tree at 1459 Corydon Ave. My availability remains Tuesdays through Saturdays, but I’m happy to say that I can now see people in person or online on any of those days.

I’m really settling in there, starting to decorate my space (although I feel like I might tweak things on the regular!), and getting used to a new routine. My bio and picture should be up in coming weeks on the Willow Tree website as well.

Unfortunately, I’ve hit a few snags with updating my location on Google :/ but hopefully that will be rectified sooner rather than later.

I look forward to meeting with you in my new space. Pictures will be uploaded soon!

Hello! It’s been a long time coming, but I can now be reached by email at genny@roomtobreathe.ca 😀

E X P A N D I N G!!!

In January I came to the conclusion that it was time for me to make a change. It was a huge decision, but I chose to leave the comfort and familiarity of doing therapy within an organization part-time to go all in with room to breathe. After 5 years of doing this for 2 days per week, as of January 31st I was officially self-employed full-time.

I am so excited to be able to offer my services Tuesdays through Saturdays. While the majority of my days will be spent meeting people virtually, I’m happy to say I can also offer in-person sessions on Saturdays at Sundragon Studios.

It’s only been a few weeks and it has already been an adventure. Between getting COVID (ugh…it finally got me), receiving an influx of new referrals, and working on a special little project (more details to come), things have been super busy for me.

Here’s to more big adventures to come!

Jan 14/21 update: I’m back to only seeing clients virtually 🙁

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Hello!

I hope everyone is doing as well as can be given the circumstances in which we all find ourselves.

It’s been a solid 3 months since I took my services entirely virtual and while this seems to have worked out quite well for some, I know others have been looking forward to resuming in-person sessions.

I am now preparing to resume my regular services at Sundragon Studios for those who wish to see me in person.

There have been a few protocols established to help ensure everyone stays safe and healthy:

• everyone is asked to use the COVID-19 screening tool below before leaving home and to NOT COME IN if they answer “yes” to any of the questions
• clients will be asked to enter the clinic as close as possible to their appointment time so as to limit the number of people in the waiting area
• clients are asked to use the hand sanitizer provided upon entry
• water coolers may be used to refill reusable water bottles; however disposable Dixie cups are not currently being provided
• clients and staff are asked to wear masks in the common areas of the clinic, including the waiting and reception areas – these will not be provided, please bring your own mask
• clients may choose to wear their mask in the treatment room, however I will not be wearing a mask during sessions – if you are not comfortable with this, I ask that you either delay booking in-person appointments or consider using the telephone or online options for sessions. You can find the Consent for Telehealth form under “Consent Forms” in the main menu on my website.
• the room will be set up to ensure a maximum distance is maintained, however given the small size of the room it is not possible to guarantee a full 6-foot distance at all times
• frequently-touched surfaces will be sanitized between appointments

Screening tool (adapted from https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/):

1. Do you have a new onset of any of the following symptoms: fever/chills, cough, sore throat/hoarse voice, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, vomiting, or diarrhea?
2. Do you have anew onset of 2 or more of any of the following symptoms: runny nose, muscle aches, fatigue, conjunctivitis (pink eye), headache, skin rash of unknown cause, nausea, or loss of appetite?
3. Have you been in contact in the last 14 days with someone that is confirmed to have COVID-19?
4. Have you had laboratory exposure while working directly with specimens known to contain COVID-19?
5. Have you been in a setting in the last 14 days that has been identified by public health as a risk for acquiring COVID-19, such as on a flight, in a workplace with a cluster of cases, or at an event?
6. Have you travelled outside of Manitoba in the last 14 days, excluding travel to western Canada, the territories, or Ontario west of Terrace Bay?

I would like to thank everyone for their patience over the past several months and sincerely hope that we will someday be able to return to “normal”. In the meantime, let’s all continue to do the best we can to get through one day at a time. 

Hello all,

I’m so excited to announce that I have been added to the list of providers with the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch! I am now able to direct-bill for clients who are eligible for this program. If you would like to determine your eligibility for this program, please contact:

NIHB: 1-800-665-8507, or
IRS RHSP: 1-866-818-3505 (Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program)

Thank you!!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to write a post to help prospective clients get to know me a little bit. It’s a strange feeling, writing on my laptop at home alone, thinking that my words might someday be seen by people I don’t know. I feel pressured to write something inspiring or super intelligent-sounding so that I might portray myself in a certain way. I don’t like that!

I’m a reasonably intelligent person, but I don’t consider myself to be anything more than average. So why do I feel the need to present myself other than how I really am? I like to think that I’m a genuine person; someone who behaves in a way that is consistent with her beliefs and attitudes. Pretending to be someone I’m not, or exaggerating certain aspects about myself, makes me really uncomfortable.

For example, I am going out tomorrow evening to a somewhat fancy event. Although I love the idea of going out to enjoy a nice meal and kid-free conversation with my husband, I can’t say I’m excited about dressing up for this event. You see, I’m the kind of person who likes to lounge around in yoga pants or, at most, dress up a nice pair of jeans when I meet with clients. Dressing up, to me, is the exact opposite of being genuine. It’s like trying to exaggerate the parts of me that are well-received by society and hiding the parts of me that are not… Find a nice outfit that will flatten my stomach and make my legs look longer. I believe the societal expectation is also to do my makeup in a way that will enhance my features and hide my imperfections. Oh, and then there’s the hair. Ugh.

Please don’t get me wrong. I know there are many women (and men) out there who really enjoy dressing up and doing their makeup. For some people, this is an expression of their genuine selves, and to them I say GO FOR IT! Have fun strutting your stuff!

So for this event then, in order to be comfortable in my own skin, I will find an outfit that will still feel like my style and maybe I’ll put on a bit of lip gloss and mascara. And I will still be me.

Much in the same way that I have now written a post that shows part of who I am. I am a jeans-wearing, makeup-less, non-super-intelligent (yet hopefully still inspiring), genuine person. Ta-da!

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