We are IH: Counsellor chose to help people after helping herself

Laura was inspired to work in health care because of her own experiences working with a counsellor. “I learned that a fundamental issue was self-acceptance and self-accountability, which I was lacking,” she says. “Once I was able to figure this out and stop looking for excuses elsewhere, I decided I could help people.”

Through hard work and relentless determination, Laura progressed toward a career in counselling and health care. “I set a goal 12 years ago when I was starting my degree. Although it was challenging in many ways, I finally got here,” she shares. 

As a counsellor at the Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre, a typical day for Laura includes checking on her clients’ wellness, and seeing if any clients she saw the previous day went to the hospital. She has a morning brief with her co-workers, followed by client appointments either in person or virtually. Paperwork and documentation sometimes involve writing letters or helping clients navigate various social services and the health system.

Laura embodies inclusion, belonging and adaptability into her work every day. “All are essential for creating communities or workplaces where people feel safe, respected and empowered to be their true selves,” she explains. “Creating a space where people from all walks of life can enter and participate, ensuring people feel valued, accepted and connected once they’re included, and allowing the group to evolve and grow, creates an environment that continues to thrive and support everyone, even as circumstances change.”

Laura also believes learning from the past and looking at the facts are important to building mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples. “I believe that sometimes groups that claim to be inclusive are the least inclusive and the least adaptable, because they believe they are right in some way,” she says. “But we are all imperfect and the environments in which we work and live are complicated.”

Outside of the office, Laura enjoys playing on the Mental Health and Substance Use slo-pitch team and spending time with her cocker spaniel, CP. She’s an NFL and NCAA football afficionado and looks forward to the start of the football season every year in August and September. She would watch the Vancouver Canucks too except she says there’s no point unless “they played a fun offensive game instead of trapping it up.”

“If I could do it all over again, I would be a professional football coach, commercial airline pilot or lawyer,” says Laura. But she has no regrets. “In my health-care career, I’ve had many good moments I’m proud of.”

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