Education and Training

My work bridges two worlds: 17 years of traditional Amazonian healing practice and contemporary postgraduate training in Expressive Arts and somatic therapy.

 

I am committed to ongoing learning and regularly engage in professional development through workshops, courses, and supervision. Below is an overview of the formal training and apprenticeships that inform how I support individuals navigating trauma, embodiment, and the journey back to their authentic selves.

​Traditional Apprenticeship
 

• 17+ years of immersion in Peruvian Vegetalismo (Amazonian plant medicine tradition)

• Direct training with master curanderos Enrique Santiago Paredes Melendes and Reyna Luz Edery

• Co-founder & former director of Canto Luz Centre for Research and Cultural Preservation (2012-2017)

• Guided over 1,000 individuals through traditional healing work and ceremony
   

Contemporary Education
 

• Postgraduate studies in Expressive Arts Therapy (EXAT), CREATE Institute, Toronto (in progress)

• Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (Integral Neuroprogramming), Institute of Advanced Psychotechnologies

• Advanced Diploma in Media Arts, Sheridan College
   

Professional Development & Recognition

• Student Therapist Member, Ontario Expressive Arts Therapists Association (OEATA)

• Clinical practice under supervision (working toward Registered Practitioner designation)

• Speaker and facilitator at major conferences (CATA-OEATA, McKenna Academy)

• Collaboration with Dr. Dennis McKenna on "When the Ceremony Doesn't End" seminar series
   

Languages

English, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Portuguese