meet OUR TEAM
VIRTUAL & IN-PERSON
psychological and counselling services
SERVING CALGARY, OKOTOKS, AND SURROUNDING AREAS
meet Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s Areas of interest:
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
TRAUMA
GRIEF & LOSS
SUBSTANCE USE
PARENT SUPPORT
PERINATAL & POSTPARTUM
SLEEP DISTURBANCE
SELF-ESTEEM
MSW RSW | Founder of Illumination Therapeutic Services
Elizabeth is a Master’s level Social Worker with 20 years of experience in mental health and addictions. She specializes in supporting individuals, couples, and families, using an integrative approach that blends traditional therapy with alternative healing. Passionate about guiding parents in understanding child development, she also helps clients navigate grief, loss, and life transitions with compassion. Elizabeth understands that trust is earned and can take time to build. She believes in showing up as her authentic self and bringing the lessons she has learned throughout her life, not simply as a Social Worker, to sessions with her clients. She believes in dismantling the power dynamic between therapist and client, and that this allows for growth and holistic healing. Elizabeth sees the relationship between herself and her clients as the starting ground for sustainable change outside of the therapy room.
Originally from the Yukon, Elizabeth finds solace in nature and enjoys exploring the mountains with her dog and family. As a published author of Soaring With Burnt Wings, she shares insights on healing and resilience. She fosters a non-judgmental space where clients feel truly seen, heard, and empowered.
meet VAL
VAL’s Areas of interest:
COUPLES THERAPY
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
EMOTIONAL REGULATION
TRAUMA
COMMUNICATION
SELF ESTEEM
MSW RSW
Val is a Registered Social Worker in both Alberta and BC with over 35 years of experience supporting individuals, couples, and families. She discovered her passion for therapy early in her career while completing her Social Work degrees at the University of Calgary and has since worked in child welfare, community mental health, and crisis support. These experiences shaped her belief that everyone carries resilience and strength, even in the face of life’s challenges. In her practice, Val has a special focus on couples’ work and has completed training in Developmental Couple Therapy for Complex Trauma (DCTCT), as well as additional approaches such as Solution Focused Therapy, CBT, DBT, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS). She is deeply committed to lifelong learning and to practicing from an anti-racist, compassionate lens.
Clients appreciate her ability to create a safe, healing space where they are empowered to recognize their own expertise and capacity for growth. Outside of her professional role, Val cherishes her relationships as a mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, wife and friend. She finds joy in her connection with animals and the natural world.
meet Megan
Megan’s Areas of interest:
NEURODIVERSITY
ANXIETY/DEPRESSION
CHRONIC PAIN
CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
TRAUMA
Psychologist
Megan is a Registered Psychologist who believes that therapy should help people move toward the life they want—not simply teach them how to live with the life they have. With eight years of experience in both private and public practice, Megan supports adults navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, emotion regulation, and the impacts of motor vehicle accidents. She has a particular passion for working with individuals who identify as neurodivergent, as well as family members who may be struggling to support them.
Her approach is warm, collaborative, and trauma-informed. Megan understands that our experiences can stay with us not only in our thoughts and emotions, but also in the way our bodies respond to stress and the world around us. Together, she helps clients make sense of these patterns, work through difficult experiences, and develop a greater sense of freedom in how they respond to life. Sometimes that means reconnecting with relationships, returning to activities that once brought joy, or simply finding a new way forward.
Megan began her career supporting adults with autism, which shaped her understanding that there is no single way to learn, communicate, or heal. She has continued to work with people with a variety of neurodivergent experiences and has a particular interest in adapting trauma and anxiety therapy to different ways of thinking, learning, and communicating. She uses evidence-based approaches while ensuring that therapy is accessible, practical, and tailored to the person sitting in front of her.
She also believes that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. The environments we live and work in can have a significant impact on our well-being, and sometimes meaningful change involves looking beyond ourselves. She works alongside clients to explore what in their relationships, routines, workplaces, and surroundings supports their well-being, as well as what may be getting in the way. Her goal is to help clients create changes that feel sustainable not only within the therapy room, but in their everyday lives.
Outside of work, Megan enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and Labrador retriever. She also loves visiting amusement parks and embracing opportunities for a little fun, adventure, and excitement. Megan brings warmth, curiosity, and a genuine belief in each person’s ability to create meaningful change into her work with clients.
meet Melissa
Melissa’s Areas of interest:
GRIEF & LOSS
BURNOUT & STRESS
CHRONIC & TERMINAL ILLNESS
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
TRAUMA & LIFE TRANSITIONS
WORKER SUPPORT
MSW, RSW | Registered Social Worker
Melissa is a Master’s level Registered Social Worker with experience supporting individuals and families through mental health challenges, grief and loss, chronic illness, and significant life transitions. Her background in health care and oncology has shaped her compassionate, holistic approach to counselling, and given her a deep understanding of the emotional, relational, and practical challenges that can accompany difficult seasons of life.
She works with adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, grief, and the complexities of chronic and terminal illness. Melissa also has a particular interest in supporting frontline workers, caregivers, and others experiencing the emotional demands of caring for those around them. In her work with couples and families, she helps strengthen communication, deepen understanding, and create space for meaningful connection.
Melissa believes counselling begins with a genuine, trusting relationship. She understands that reaching out for support can feel vulnerable and that trust develops at each person’s own pace. Her approach is client-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed, drawing from evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Narrative Therapy, mindfulness, and family systems work.
She believes clients are the experts in their own lives and that therapy should be a collaborative space where people feel respected, heard, and empowered. Rather than focusing only on what is wrong, Melissa works alongside clients to recognize their strengths, develop practical coping strategies, and create meaningful change that extends beyond the therapy room. Together, they explore what may be getting in the way of well-being and identify steps that feel realistic, meaningful, and aligned with the life they want to build.
Outside of work, Melissa enjoys horseback riding, travelling, camping, reading, and spending time with family and friends. She values the grounding and healing found in nature and brings warmth, authenticity, and compassion into her work with every client. Her goal is to create a non-judgmental space where people feel truly seen, supported, and empowered to move forward.
No matter who you choose to work with at Illumination, you will be invited to:
Release what no longer serves you
Heal the parts of you that have been shamed and silenced
Enlighten and explore your purpose and desires
Soar into a life filled with love, laughter, connection and joy
READ ELIZABETH’S HEARTFELT MEMOIR ON LOVE, LOSS AND RESILIENCE
Soaring With Burnt Wings – Lessons in love, life, laughter & surviving unimaginable loss
When Elizabeth Leanne lost her husband, Cam, before the age of 30, she didn’t believe survival was possible—nor did she want it to be. Soaring With Burnt Wings is a deeply personal memoir that offers an intimate look into their love story, their courageous approach to his cancer diagnosis, and the raw devastation of his passing. More than a tribute, this book is a beacon of hope for anyone navigating grief, offering powerful lessons on healing, resilience, and rediscovering oneself in the aftermath of loss. Written from the depths of sorrow, it serves as both a roadmap and an inspiration for those learning to fly again, even in life’s darkest moments.
SHOP LOCAL:
Yooneek Books | Okotoks, AB
Spisherbocker Books | Diamond Valley, AB
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