About
Cindy Werner
So glad to meet you here! And thank you for taking time to read a little bit about me.
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The majority of the work we do in counselling is significantly based on the quality of relationship you and I develop. You have to feel at ease with me and I need to believe I have the skill set to best assist you on your journey. That being said, I take no offense if after we meet you think, "Nice lady and all but I'm just not feeling it!" You always deserve the best and I have colleagues I trust that I can refer you to.
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I have been given the gift of 56 rotations around the sun. Fifty-six years to grow and fail, laugh and cry, and learn more each day about how to be my most authentic self. I love to learn and I believe one is never too old to do so. Learning gives me joy.
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I am a life partner, Mom, Granny, Fur Momma, adopted Kookum, Daughter, Sister, Aunty, Niece, Cousin, Soul Sister and Friend. I am Metis, and I wish I could have learned more about my paternal heritage. I intentionally did not list any of my job titles or roles here because it is more important for me to be the best version of myself first to those whom I love. If I can be intrinsically "good," then I have a much better chance of being successful in my professional roles.
In grade 12, we had to do a very lengthy questionnaire about what fields of work we would be best suited for. I always get a chuckle telling this story because way back in 1986, the survey said... (drum role please!): funeral director and psychologist! Funeral director? Really? As an 18 year old, I wasn't too keen about that. Psychologist? Mmmm, maybe, but that takes a lot of university and I wasn't sure I was wanting that.
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Press the fast forward 38 years button, and you will know that I went to funeral college for a year while living in Calgary, AB., and was a funeral apprentice. I loved my time in the funeral industry. I had an amazing instructor at the college and an even more wonderful embalming instructor/mentor at the funeral home I was apprenticing at. It is certainly a calling. While being an apprentice, I missed doing what I was doing before that - being a funeral celebrant for 8 different funeral homes in Calgary. I did that full-time for quite a few years, and I literally loved every moment of it. I have officiated over 900 funerals and celebration of life services. It was very difficult for me to stop being a funeral celebrant, however, I knew that while I was working with grieving families, I needed to get more education on how to best support grieving people.
Oops, I missed something quite important. Prior to stepping into the funeral industry, I went to a seminary in Saskatoon, SK. and obtained my Master of Divinity degree. This enabled me to become an ordained clergyperson in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. My first call was to Midale, SK. in 2001. What an awesome congregation that was for my children and me. I went to Midale as a single mom, and this congregation enveloped me and my children, and for that experience, I am eternally grateful. Ministry eventually took me back to Alberta, where I served three more congregations.
The pull to clinically support grieving people was so strong that I left the ministry in order to return to grad school in Spokane, Washington, in 2009. I attended Gonzaga University, and I absolutely loved it! Juggling full-time work with grad school wasn't easy, but it was oh-so worth it. I loved Gonzaga - my fellow students and professors were awesome. My oldest son said that he and his brother barely saw me for those two years because I worked, came home, made supper, kids cleaned up, and off into my studying lair I would go, until midnight or so and then repeat! I am glad I did this when I was considerably younger!!
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I have worked as a clinical counsellor in not-for-profit agencies. I grew a lot, but I wanted more autonomy. So, on April 1, 2017, Hope Heals Counselling was born. Starting a business on April Fool's Day was probably not the best idea (lol), but I went for it and am so glad I did. Being a business owner is not a natural fit for me - I much prefer the "just working with people" part. I have learned over the years to delegate tasks I really don't enjoy doing and am not all that hot at!
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I have experienced a lot of loss and trauma in those 56 rotations I mentioned above, which is why I believe my practice naturally became tailored towards those who have experienced similar things. Parental abandonment, foster care, adoption, survivor of incest and divorce, cancer diagnoses for myself and my son, chronic pain, ADHD diagnosis....it has felt like a lot many days, however, as so many have said, such experiences have led me to here and I am quite liking HERE!
I work with individuals with a wide array of concerns - not just loss and trauma. I especially love working with kiddos and so because of that, Hope Heals has a separate Children's Therapy Center, just for them (no adults allowed)! I also work with couples and families. Even though I have a background in ministry, I do not bring this into my counselling office unless a client does first. I respect and honour all people and their understandings.
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Since learning gives me joy, I obtained additional counselling training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Somatic Experiencing. Both of these modalities are proven to be extremely successful.
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And what do I do for fun, you may ask? My fur babies enhance my life deeply. I have fostered one pup (which ultimately became a foster fail, no surprise there) and am currently fostering another. I love crafting - scrapbooking, card making, Zentangle, painting, crocheting. I am starting to dabble in jewelry making and will hopefully, one day soon, have my own online shop - "Ollie's Treasures" - for those creations. Reading fiction is a great escape for me, as is watching Law & Crime on YouTube (I know, it's weird).
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Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you some of me. I hope I get to learn more of you.
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With kindness,
Cindy