Today the Girl is a visual and experiential tool for individuals or groups that can help identify and communicate thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

The Girl, of Helene and the Girl, is an ever-evolving collection of paintings representing the life force.

Existing at first to give the artist, Helene, a voice, the Girl took on a life force of her own. She bloomed from a personal expressive vehicle and grew across many mediums.

The Girl is also displayed as large format original paintings found in homes, offices, clinics and unique architectural spaces.

Having a conversation with The Girl is different for each individual. We can view The Girl as our true self, but this doesn’t necessarily mean an inner child.

The Girl is perceived uniquely by each person. This is her magic.

She can be our wounded child, the rebellious teenager, the young adult full of dreams, the tired adult clinging to hope trying to remember their light.

The Girl is You outside of the responsibilities, career, parenthood and relationships that take the lead in your life.

She is the essence of who you truly are.

One day the Girl knocks at the door and asks to go out into the world as she’s been locked inside for too long. You’ve heard her knocks many times before, but continually ignore the door.

We forget our simplest needs. We don’t listen. The Girl begins to show up differently. She sends stronger signals.

Today The Girl is ready to engage in conversations and explore all possibilities of her existence.

By using a tool such as The Girl, the truth of your character is allowed to emerge from a safely observable distance. By using this technique in combination with coaching, we can easily shift perspectives.

The Girl is the right brain. She is your living organism, the light behind the eyes, and your life force.

She is free to flow, and open to creating possibilities and solutions.

The Girl has originated from the creative lineage and expression in my family.

With a maternal grandmother who was constantly sketching and drawing, the grandchildren were given a Drawing Room inside her home, where they were welcomed to hang their many masterpieces.

Drawing turned to painting…

… and The Girl lives on.

As long as I can remember, I’ve visualized the meaning of my life as a cycle of learning, connecting and sharing. I used to ask myself what the point of learning is, if our experiences aren’t shared?

At the core, art as self expression is highly valued in my family.

As a child, I spent hours drawing and painting with my grandmother. She had a special room dedicated to hanging all our drawings.

The other strong value in my family was caring for others, and valuing their cultural differences. A blend of foster family, adopted children, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, and social worker form part of our lineage, so my choice to practice psychology was aligned.

Like many people, I got married, pursued a career, and had children. My partner’s work and our mutual passion for traveling took us around the world which was exciting, and I gained many memories, experiences, and wisdom over the years.  

I learned adapting to our surroundings was key to integrating our children into a new culture and we can create our own support systems within expat communities and new local friends. This is what made living aboard manageable and enjoyable .

However, I strongly focus on the wellbeing of my family, solely raising our children aboard without a familiar support system, made it all too easy to put my wellbeing last. 

In order to adapt and accommodate the needs of my family, I slowly and surely lost myself, without realizing it.

were moments where I was fighting my own loneliness, sense of disconnection, and an agenda full of parenting activities but empty for myself.

Sometimes it’s easy to be defined by a role, an identity, or a title… and we can find ourselves lost not knowing who we really are anymore. It was difficult to maintain my professional credentials from country to country due to work VISA challenges, language barriers and some countries not recognizing my credentials. It forced me to re-invent myself each time we moved.

Reconnecting with my own creativity when facing the challenge of the separation with my partner has been a powerful healing process for me to stay grounded for my 3 children.

I started doing my art again and with each stroke I felt joy and reconnect with my own self expression.

The Artist in me couldn’t hide anymore and I wanted to share this with others.

Creating Helene and the Girl business allows me to bridge art and psychology in my unique way so I may have an impact on my clients lives.

Designations and Experiences

• Clinical Psychologist, University of Paris V, France

• M.A. in Art Therapy and Pedagogy, University of Paris V, France

• Coach, Certified in Organizational Coaching, University of British Columbia, Canada

• ACC, Accredited Certified Coach from ICF, International Coaching Federation

RECENT NORTH AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL & SELF DEVELOPMENT

• Building Self-Esteem and Resilience for Women, UBC (2013)

• Courageous Conversations for Leaders, UBC (2013)

• Group Leadership and Team Dynamics, UBC (2014)

• Strategies for Effective Intercultural Communication, UBC (2014)

• Solution Focused Brief Therapy, UBC (2013)

• Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, UBC (2013)

• Assertiveness Training 1 and 2, UBC (2015)

• A Coach Approach for Enhanced Facilitation, UBC (2015)

• Planning for Success in International Assignments, UBC (2015)

• Parent coach for Confident Parents Thriving Kids program at CMHA, BC (2017 -2018)

• Core training on Mindful Self -Compassion, Centre for Mindful Self- compassion (2019)

• Fierce compassion training, Kristin Neff, Mission empowerment ( 2021)