Dee began her private practice in 2016 in the Calgary, Alberta area.  She utilizes various therapeutic approaches but specializes in trauma-informed therapy, currently working on her EMDR certification.  She holds several contracts in the Calgary area in addition to having her own office.   As a proud member of the Metis Nation of Alberta, her passion is working with Indigenous Peoples and she works as the therapist at an Indigenous women’s shelter.  Dee resides on a farm north of Calgary but keeps a balance in her life by visiting the city often which is where she grew up.

Elaine Berwald
Waawaasaa Waawaataa Waayabee Kwe
“She Sees the Northern Lights Woman”
Cultural Advisor/Liaison, Knowledge Keeper, Grandmother

Elaine is an Indigenous Cultural Advisor/Liaison and a Grandmother. Her work as an educator and facilitator in Indigenous post secondary education provides student support and faculty education through an Indigenous Circle process. She also works in Indigenous child welfare, anti-human trafficking, healthcare, and community support. Elaine is a strong facilitator and storyteller with a passion for bringing an Indigenous lens to non-indigenous peoples, organizations, institutions, and communities. She serves on the Elder and Knowledge Keepers Circe for the Indigenous Circle Chapter of the Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapist Association.

Elaine Berwald is of Mi’kmaq and Metis heritage. Her maternal ancestral territory is Northern New Brunswick and her paternal ancestral territory is Selkirk, Red River Manitoba. She follows the teachings and practices of the guiding principles of Etawuptamunk “Two Eyed Seeing” which is an Indigenous framework by Elder Albert Marshall of Eskasoni First Nation Unama’ki (Cape Breton) Nova Scotia.

Membership in the Indigenous Circle Chapter has been part of my connection to CCPA since joining as a Canadian Certified Counsellor over a dozen years ago.  I was drawn initially for both personal and professional reasons.

Personally, my children raised initially in Quebec but for the most part on Prince Edward Island, are members of the Nisga’a Nation of British Columbia. They met their Nisga’a grandmother on a few occasions and over time realized how her life was impacted by colonialist practices including residential schooling. During their formative years I sought to provide them with an awareness and appreciation of their Indigenous culture and community which they now cherish and pass on to my four grandchildren. Now young adults, they are working in the areas of justice, education and science which value Indigenous knowledge and recognition.

Professionally, during more than two decades of work as an educator, administrator, and school counsellor on PEI, I developed relationships with Indigenous students, their families and communities and valued the cultural insights and sensitivity I acquired through my work. The thesis I completed for my M Ed in Leadership and Learning with a Specialization in Counselling is titled, They Think They Know Me but They Really Don’t Know Me: Beginning to Explore the Schooling Experiences of Intermediate Mi’kmaq Students at a Provincial Intermediate School. My early CCPA Chapter involvements were with the School Counsellors Chapter and the Aboriginal Circle Chapter during the process to change the name to ICC, to adopt a logo and build a broader inclusive membership base.

Since my retirement from a career in education, I have maintained my CCC, served as Provincial Director for PEI on the CCPA National Board, served two years as ICC Treasurer and the initial committee work on recognizing Indigenous based educational activities for continuing education credit, and pursued life-long learning through occasional part-time work and volunteering. Over the past 6 years that my husband and I have made our home in Ottawa, I have contributed to the leadership of organizations in Ottawa that assist with refugee sponsorship and settlement and provide community meals and food bank services. As a lover of the natural environment, I am fortunate to live in an area that offers enriching opportunities to savour the outdoors through Nordic pole walking, cross country skiing, biking, and hiking. In late 2020, I felt the nudge to re-offer my perspectives, gifts, and skills to the ICC. I was warmly welcomed mid pandemic to a role as member-at-large role pending affirmation at the ICC 2021 AGM. I have much to learn from the full membership and I am open, enthused and grateful.