About Marie

I was born and raised in France, in the beautiful Alps. My first experience of Canada (in 2007) filled me with a sense of wonder and freedom, which resonated with a quiet and deep longing inside. After finishing my schooling in France, I moved back to Canada and I have lived here since. I lived in numerous locations across the country and I settled down, with my husband, in Cranbrook BC, a beautiful area between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains, where the nature is reminiscent of my home region and is a source of inspiration and belonging.

Growing-up in a broken family, belonging was never a given for me. The suffering that came from the lack of such a basic human need fueled my geographical and therapeutic journeys. I now see that, through all my travels, my thirst for understanding the human mind and transforming suffering, I was in search of the home within myself. I also realize that this journey is never complete and that returning home is a process which requires on-going attention.

My academic training was in psychodynamic psychotherapy. I have since been trained and exposed to many other schools but, to this day, I still believe that the psychodynamic approach provides therapists with the strongest foundation, which I use in combination with a body centered therapy approach. What it means is:

1- The therapeutic relationship is the most important tool in this work. Human beings are social creatures and all of our traumas stem from what happened or did not happen in our relationships. Even if a person is traumatized by an event that does not involve others, the trauma is not caused by the event per say but by the lack of support and belonging around the person when/ after the event occurred. If relationships can hurt us the most deeply they also have the power to heal us. As a therapist, the most important thing that I can offer you is a relationship, one that occurs in a space that is consistent, reliable and benevolent. Through this, one can re-experience attachment therapeutically.

2- It is in-depth work that dives into the unconscious. The psychodynamic method is less concerned with the symptoms one is experiencing and more with the unconscious conflicts behind the symptoms. Our conscious mind is only the tip of the iceberg and our unconscious is where we have repressed a lot of our traumas. A safe therapeutic space will allow for the unconscious material to surface and become conscious, which is highly liberating and empowering. That being said, it is a process that requires time, frequency and commitment.

In combination with the psychodynamic method, I use a psychosomatic approach. Over the course of my career, especially while I was recovering from some personal injuries, I became increasingly interested in the therapeutic benefits of yoga so I trained in Yoga Therapy. This shaped my approach to psychotherapy by bringing the focus on the embodied experience in the here and now. I draw various techniques from the yoga tradition (meditation, breathing exercises, visualisation, gentle movement and poses) as I have found that they support the therapeutic process. These tools can be used to shift the nervous system from the sympathetic mode (stress response) to the para-sympathetic mode (relaxation response), to direct ones attention inward and to foster a self-awareness which is embodied, and not just cognitive. These techniques are offered as invitations as I sense that they may serve you but it is always your choice to take them or leave them. I always welcome your feedback about what is helpful to you and what is not, so I can best serve your needs.

Myrrh is a red-brown resin harvested from a desert tree, Commiphora myrrha. It has been used since ancient times for embalming ointment as well as its healing properties.

Myrrhophore means myrrh-bearer. In the Christian tradition, the title “myrrh-bearer” is given to those who were present at Christ’s passion and went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. I chose this name specifically in remembrance of Saint Mary Magdalene, one of the myrrh-bearers.

She had been healed by Jesus Christ and she followed Him ever since. When He was crucified, most of his disciples ran away but Saint Mary Magdalene remained fearlessly at the Cross. Before the dawn, she went alone to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been placed to anoint him with myrrh. As she entered in the tomb, she found it empty and, at that moment, the Risen Jesus appeared to her. He choose her, who had not been afraid to suffer with Him and to follow Him even into darkness, to be the first witness of the Resurrection. Saint Mary Magdalene became a well-known Saint for her healing abilities.

To me, Saint Mary Magdalene is the archetype of the therapist who needs the courage to meet his/ her clients in their deepest suffering. The myrrh then represents the compassionate presence. Compassion means to suffer with. The therapist is called to suffer with his/ her clients. Through the therapist’s willingness to do so, the client will over time develop their own capacity for self-compassion. The resurrection represents the transformation that comes through suffering, the growth and new life. After all, do you grow more from comfort or challenges? The resurrection is the hope that suffering is not in vain but is a step towards something new.

BACHELOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, Université Lumière LYON 2, Lyon, FRANCE, 2007

MASTER’S DEGREE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Université Lumière LYON 2, Lyon, FRANCE, 2010

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING, 240 Hours, Vancouver School of Healing Arts, Vancouver, BC, 2020

YOGA THERAPY, 300 Hours, Vancouver School of Healing Arts, Vancouver, BC, 2021