Meet Our Student Associate, Nicole.
Hello Positive Perspectives community!
If you’re reading this, that means you!
My name is Nicole and my pronouns are she/her. Today I am sharing this from Winnipeg, which is on Treaty 1 Territory, land of the Anishinaabeg, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene people, and the heart and homelands of the Metis nation. It is important for me to acknowledge my privilege residing on stolen land as the child of immigrants and settlers.
I’m the resident Executive Assistant and Student Associate at Positive Perspectives. If you’ve been hanging out with us on our stories, the comment section or our DM’s, you’ve likely been chatting with me!
My role at Positive Perspectives…
Is constantly evolving, but lately I’ve been spending time:
Planning, posting helpful community resources & engaging with you on social media.
Creating ideas, editing content & posting on this blog!
Taking meetings & writing notes with the Positive Perspectives practitioners as I support them with growing their practice and filling their schedules.
Drumming up new ideas for the practice to stay engaged with our community of incredible past, present and future guests!
The list goes on, but more about how I got here…
I’m currently at the tail-end of receiving a masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Winnipeg. To date, I have completed practicum placements at the Women’s Health Clinic, Student Wellness Centre, and Aurora Family Therapy Centre as a therapist 📚
I am a self-proclaimed creative entrepreneur and a millennial dog Mom to Luna, the sweetest golden retriever.
I’m neurodivergent… Fellow-ADHD human here, and proud of it! Somedays it kind of feels like my superpower, and other days… Well, if you’re part of the same beautiful brain club, you know!
My journey to joining the Positive Perspectives team began when Homa, the founder of the practice, connected with me about taking over some of the responsibilities of the Positive Perspectives social media page while she was away on postpartum leave with her first born, Léo.
It was a DREAM offer! As a therapy student, and someone who is passionate about supporting businesses grow through creating connection on social media — I had hit the jackpot!
Being a team member in a practice that honours the diverse experiences of 2SLGBTQQIA+ and BIPOC folx aligns so deeply with my values as a therapist and as a heart-centred human.
What is one thing you wish you knew before starting therapy?
Therapy isn’t just for opening up wounds - it’s a space where joy and resiliency are celebrated too! You won’t cry in every session. And navigating these feelings can be vulnerable because you’re unlearning beliefs that no longer serve you. Be gentle with yourself, you don’t have to have all of the answers right away.
What is your experience or educational background?
I’ve been an over-achieving lover of continued learning ever since I was a little kid. I’ve always totally nerded out over helping others and levelling up my knowledge. It might be my enneagram numbers (3W2) showing, but I thrive on being recognized for doing it well.
I headed straight to university after high school, where I finished my Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in… (Surprise!) psychology and minor in sociology from the University of Manitoba.
All the while, volunteering at Women’s Health Clinic as a reproductive health counsellor. And later, working as an Autism Tutor at St. Amant, yet I still felt like I was missing out on one of the passions in my life — the art of continued learning.
So back to school I went! The Marriage and Family Therapy masters degree at the University of Winnipeg was so intriguing to me. As a heart-centred human, typical research and thesis based masters programs were just not my jam! The degree I’m working on now has a strong focus on working with people. I’ll have obtained 500 hours of therapy with clients and 200 hours of supervision before I’m done! It’s amazing and vulnerable and invigorating and heavy all at the same time. And I love it!
What is your favourite part about being a therapist?
My passion for guiding folks toward healing by exploring new perspectives is one of the biggest reasons I have been drawn to the Positive Perspectives as a Student Associate.
I navigate the world in a mixed-race body, with one of my parents being South Asian and the other having European heritage. The lens I’ve been gifted with in this lifetime has allowed me to see diversity in culture, language, religion and our bodies as a thing of beauty.
Do you have a favourite motto or quote?
“If you woke up tomorrow and had instantly achieved all your major life goals, you wouldn’t know how to handle any of it. It would be completely overwhelming because you had not known and transformed through the process of creating it all. The process is magic. It’s the becoming of you.” — Unknown.
What topics light you up when you’re in session?
The topics that light me up the most when supporting adults are grief, neurodiversity, life transitions, and identity.
What theories or styles of therapy do you lean into?
As a systemic and relational therapist, I lean into Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems Model and Somatic Experiencing practices.
What is your availability like?
Right now, I offer in-person and virtual sessions on Tuesdays from 9:00-5:00 PM but my plan is to expand my schedule this summer.
Are you accepting new guests into your practice?
Heck, yes! If you’re still reading this and you think we might be a great fit to work together, I’d love to hear more about your hopes for therapy and spend a little bit of time chatting before we schedule a first session. Let’s get started with a 20-minute consultation over the phone or virtually.
Click the button below to view my schedule or send me an email to chat more!
How can the Positive Perspectives community connect more with you?
I’d love to connect with you more over on Instagram at @nicoleallanmft and @positive.perspectives.wpg.
Come hang out on our stories where we share hilarious and relatable therapy memes every Monday for #MemeMonday or send us a message if you’re looking for resources!
In the meantime, keep exploring our website for resources and dive into the next few blog posts written by our incredibly lovely and passionate practitioners.
