About Me

My name is Petrina (she/her). What would you like to know?

14 Years of Experience

I became a licensed Occupational Therapist in 2011 and I’ve been working almost exclusively in mental health services since that time. A lot of my career has been spent providing Dialectical Behavioural Therapy as part of a treatment team, supporting individuals in recovery from trauma, addiction, and mental illness.

I love what I do and am grateful every day for the privilege to do it. People put their trust in me and I work hard to make sure that I’m deserving of that trust.

  • Psychology (Honours), Bachelor of Science Degree, Trent University, 2009.

  • Occupational Therapy, Master of Science Degree, McMaster University, 2011.

  • Registered Occupational Therapist (Alberta; ACOT, since 2012)

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy, or OT, is a relatively small profession that is not always well known. We are health care professionals with a very broad scope of practice, which sometimes makes it a little hard for folks to understand what we’re about.

So, is this about work? Nope! Well, not entirely.

The occupations in OT are the things we do every day that give us meaning and purpose, the things that have to get done, the things we want to do… all the activities that occupy our time and attention. These are our occupations!

The role of the occupational therapist is to support people who are facing challenges to doing those things and to find solutions that will get the person connected, or reconnected, with doing them.

Why are occupations important? Health. Simply put, OTs believe that the way people stay healthy - mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, spiritually - is through the things we do every day. It’s how we connect to others and show them that we care. It’s how we make a living and learn about our strengths, as we contribute to our communities. It’s how we find connection, meaning, and purpose. It’s how we express ourselves, our creativity, and our values. It’s how we find joy and fulfillment and sometimes it’s how we make sense of this life we live.

As an OT providing mental health services, I support my clients to build health in their lives through the things they do every day. People seek out my support for many reasons. Some examples might be because:

  • You’re feeling overwhelmed;

  • You’ve been told your stress levels are causing health problems;

  • You’ve had a big life change and are having a hard time finding your groove;

  • You feel as though you’re stuck in a rut and want a change for the better;

  • You feel like your emotions are too much (or you’re been told by someone that you’re too much) and you want to better understand what’s going on;

  • Something happened to you and you’re having a hard time moving past it;

  • You’ve picked up some bad habits in how you’re coping with life and you want to find a better way;

  • You know there’s nothing “wrong”, but you can’t shake the feeling that you could feel better about your life than you do.

If you’re not sure whether occupational therapy is the right choice for you, feel free to book a consultation meeting and we can discuss it. Mental Health research shows that the biggest predictor of whether you’ll benefit from services isn’t what license the mental health professional has or even what technique they use; the best predictor is the strength of the therapeutic relationship between you and your chosen therapist. So, meet me! Meet a few people. And pick the person who you feel is going to be the best fit for you.

Land Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of the land is a traditional custom of Indigenous peoples when welcoming outsiders onto their land and into their homes. I adopt this tradition as an important part of reconciliation; to honour the authentic hisotry of North America. In that spirit, I would like to acknoweldge that I am a settler on this land and that what I call Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territory of many peoples, presently subjected to Treaties 6, 7, and 8.

These lands have been cared for through the generations by the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, the Tsuu T’ina Nation and the Metis People of Alberta. I am grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before. I make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those on whose territory I reside and work.