Dena holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria and is a member of the Board of Registration for Social Workers in British Columbia. Throughout Dena’s time in university, she had the incredible fortune of working with elderly people as a Resident Care Aide/Palliative Care.

Completed two practicum's at North Okanagan Youth and Families and Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Social Worker for 5 years working with a variety of multi-disciplinary teams to assist children, youth, adults, families, and groups to help manage crises and life changing events within the Ministry of Children and Families and the Spallumcheen Indian Band.

Created and Facilitated a Long-Term Care Placement support group for care givers at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital;Co-Facilitated (P.O.W.E.R) Pregnancy Outreach for Women and Education Resources in the Youth Outreach program at the First Nations Friendship Centre in Vernon, BC; Co-Facilitated Anger Management group at Kelowna Women's Center.

	Extensive volunteer work in Vernon, BC at the Upper Room Mission, Vernon Transition House, Vernon Jubilee Hospital Extended Care Facility, the First Nations Friendship Centre.
	Documentary filmmaking. Films are being used as an educational tool to help produce greater efficiency in service provision and violence prevention work by the RCMP, schools, anti-violence service providers, lawyers and used within the curriculum of the Bachelor of Social Work program at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan.

	Life Coach for over 4 years/currently facilitates group sessions twice a week at an addiction recovery treatment facility in Kelowna BC.
	Coaching for 7 years, Dena works with individuals and groups with a wide variety of personal and relationship challenges which are reflected in the scope of services offered on this website.  BRSW Code Of Ethics

 

My interest in social work developed while attempting to connect my own personal obstacles and life struggles that were relevant to my world traveling, extensive volunteering experience, and education. Travel, movement and change are the best education. Aside from touring around my own Canadian backyard, about 14 of the 22 countries I've traveled around were in the form of backpacking and intense trekking(!) As a long time activist, traveling greatly broadened my understanding about different ways of being, different ways of knowing, allowed me to learn and acquire cross-cultural communication skills, gave me a strong appreciation of life, extreme diversity, and widened my frame of reference with respect to social realities. The answers to people's struggles do not lie in therapeutic blueprints. They most often lie in a redefinition of the struggle itself. I'm inspired by my travels and activism to try to create change in different ways including through film documentation. This has led to opportunities in which I've lent a hand to the process of film making of several documentaries. Also, as a professional actor of theatre, film and television, coaching blends well with my creative side and allows me to 'walk the talk'! Solution Oriented Creative Counseling, Kelowna, BC