I found my way back from taking care of everyone else but me, and now I want to help you do the same!
You CAN experience fullfillment and joy.
I’m Fiona McAllister. I completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Ecology (Family and Fashion Studies) in 2003 from the University of Alberta. I worked in various areas of human services such as child care, youth work, style coaching, and employment counselling for 15 years before deciding to complete my Master’s Degree in Counselling which I finished in 2020 from City University of Seattle (Calgary Campus). I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. I am committed to helping you heal your self esteem, find your voice, and appreciate the body you are living in, no matter the challenges you have endured.
My Journey
I grew up as the only daughter in a home full of boys. My mother was sick from the time I was very young and I had heavy responsibilities in helping around the house as well as being a caregiver to my mother when I was as a teenager. I was devestated when she died from Multiple Sclerosis when I was 18 years old. I continued my schooling and graduated from University and got married when I was 21 years old. I had kids at 25 and 28.
As I continued through life I hadn’t dealt with the pain of my mother’s death and it caught up to me in 2013 when I began to wonder if life was worth living. I was suffering from chronic depression, anxiety, complicated grief and over responsibility that had been suppressed for 13 years. I had a good friend who got me into counselling and on medication from my doctor. The anti-depressants stabalized me so I could work through the emotional trauma of my childhood and early adulthood.
My healing began as I allowed myself to experience the grief of my childhood and my mother’s death. As I worked through and with the emotions rather than supressing them and pretending I was fine, over time the depression lifted, the anxiety subsided and I learned how to express myself and my needs to myself and my family. I learned that my voice mattered and that I mattered and that I had the right to live my life with activities that brought me happiness. I learned that rather than just living in misery and attending to everyone else, my family and children were happier when I took care of myself and my needs, and of course, so was I.
I learned that after I accepted the changes in my body, like scars from multiple surgeries, extra weight from having kids, and learned to see past narrow cultural definitions of beauty that I was able to feel comfortable and grateful for all that my body does for me and how it helps me experience the world.
It is my hope that I can help you in similar ways.
To book your counselling appointment and have compassionate help along your journey, call me at 403-966-5896, or email me at fiona@therapybyfiona.com to book your first appointment.