Hi.

Pull up a seat and get to know me and my practice, REAL Consulting.

I’m Kim. I’m a family and business counsellor, coach, and mediator working out of High River and serving the entire Foothills. Many of us are feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the complex situations we face in our lives. Some of these situations might include communication challenges, work stress, marriage issues, complex relationships, difficulties in parenting, financial strain, life decisions, health issues, and grief/bereavement. I have been helping people with these types of challenges for over 30 years in both the public sector and in my private practice. I am passionate about helping you rebuild your relationships and find solutions for the challenges you are facing. I provide a safe and warm environment where every part of who you are is welcome.

I am a risk taker at heart – ‘think outside the box’ with the people that I have the privilege to serve. I am willing to take risks to help you obtain the results and changes in your life that you want. I am passionate about working with people considered “unlovely” – those who have often been rejected by other professionals due to significant challenges or complex histories that are considered messy or risky. When you tell me you are wanting something specific out of the counselling/mediation process, I excel at identifying the underlying challenges that have been derailing any success or forward movement – making you feel stuck. Seeing into who you truly are is a very personal experience. In my approach, I journey with you to engage in effective and transformative work together. I truly believe there is no person or situation that is too complex, too far gone, or without hope for radical change. Some of the creative, specialized work I provide in my private practice includes:

• Court support (court document review, + self-representation coaching)
• Expert & creative marriage work (finding solutions where all previous attempts have failed)
• Transforming separation/divorce proceedings into marriage rebuilding
• High conflict, complex, and nuanced cases often involving criminal proceedings/court orders
• Working with both victims and perpetrators to prevent re-victimisation and re-offending
• Deep transformative shadow work, to promote/enhance healing from trauma (including healing hands & oils)

With our current language and themes of the day relating to the idea of “being more” instead of simply “being” or “being enough”, we find a tone of narcissism and toxicity. Yet these tones relish disengagement from others and self, rather than seeking to heal, find solace, embrace self-sacrifice and self-acceptance, forgiveness, and connectedness. To embody belief systems that promote wholeness and not fragmentation is a choice that challenges us to undergo refining – not disembodiment as human beings.

All that said, due to my work as a former Victim Services Coordinator for high-end crime, as a criminal mediator, and as a counsellor/mediator for domestic violence victims and offenders, I am clear about where the lines of ethical and effective practice are. However, my experiences working in a halfway house, group home, on the street, and now in my own private practice has brought me a wealth of experience and insight into people and their complex lives. Rather than black and white thinking, I believe there is always room for understanding individual and unique experiences and shades of grey.

I see a societal trend in our current times of division, not inclusion. The discarded vs. the worthy. Society is talented at disguising this reality so that this invisible barrier is shrouded in untruth, misdirection, and politically volatile language. We are not companions along the path together. This escalation can often result in isolation, depression, anxiety, and loneliness – we are forced to hide our authentic selves. We would be better served, individually and societally, to support the difficult and radically honest conversations in order to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. To invite the tense, hurt, angry, painful discourse in order to arrive at the other side, filled with a resolution and energy that settles the heart, mind, and spirit.  

We are often so afraid, so bound by the confines of society and of ourselves, that we have lost sight of what really matters. To speak the truth with love and gentleness. To be dangerous in our pursuit of reviving creative methodology to love deeply. Whether it is two children, a couple, family members, business partners, or any individuals engaging together, in my practice I see that there are often secret feelings and thoughts that are never shared. They remain buried in our gut, wanting to be heard, wanting to be understood, wanting to find a way. To see change, to see restoration, to know in our darkness and in our light we are deeply loved, respected, and valuable.

I am deeply grateful for my private practice and for al the clients I have the privilege to know and work with. I embrace their uniqueness, their individuality, their openness and willingness to be raw and authentic. At REAL Consulting, I offer them a soft, safe space to hold their heart, their soul, and their suffering without reserve. ™