Today I have the immense pleasure of introducing you to TWO.WONDERFUL.WOMEN. Meet: Maria & Tricia.  

I’ve known, admired, and been inspired by Maria for – 🤔 – must be a decade+ now?… and, while we’ve chatted about my portraiture throughout that time, it was only this summer that the stars aligned and we got to work together in creating a headshot for her revamped website.  With my daughter along to assist; we met early one beautiful, summer morning in the park…we chatted, got caught up IRL (yay for in person meet ups after this past year+, am I right?!), we laughed (Maria isn’t necessarily used to having random strangers ride & walk by hollering out compliments💃🏻), and we made some images that – for me, as her friend – capture her authentic soul, generous heart & warm demeanour. She’s one of my favourite humans and her smile will forever make me smile too!

Then, just a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting Maria’s colleague, Tricia, for the first time when we got together to create her headshots.  Tricia – like Maria – is a down to earth, nature-loving soul and so we thought a headshot amid the Fall colours would be perfect.  Alas, we seemed to pick THE day that the sun decided to set earlier than expected and we were left with only a few minutes of good light - thank goodness for my daughter’s assistance as we shot fast!… not to be deterred by this unexpected challenge, we spent a quick minute shooting in front of the silhouetted Rockies and twinkling city lights – just for fun! – before heading back to the studio for a few frames to ensure we had a bit of variety for Tricia to choose from!   Honestly, I could have spent all night getting to know this kind soul better!

I’m always keen to share my beautiful clients’ portraits here… and it’s even more rewarding when I can also share their offerings with you. Maria and Tricia are registered psychologists who both offer empathic, constructive, and objective counselling for people who are working through: LIFE.  ⭕️

Over the years I have often said, ‘who wouldn’t benefit from therapy?’… and I gotta say that the older (wiser 😉 ) I get, the more I believe this to be true.   

My first experience with seeing a psychologist came in 1997 after Mom died…

- I was overcome with grief + loss,
- I felt physically disconnected from my family as I was working nights at the hotel front desk, while my family all worked ‘regular hours’,
- and I was loath to place more of a burden on my loved ones who were also reeling from the loss (note: I did a lousy job of not burdening them and the weight of my perceived inability to ‘just deal’ was heavy)…

…I felt stuck in a loop of too little sleep, too much pain, and no idea how to get off the hamster wheel of grief.  I honestly couldn’t understand how the world kept on turning: people getting drinks after work, chit chat about last night’s game, musings about the weather, etc. – how did ANY of that matter anymore??? A gracious family friend offered me the name of a psychologist and – HOLY DINA – it was such a powerful and liberating experience.  Thus began my profound belief in the power of therapy, *when you have a skilled therapist. (I wish I could remember her name to tag her here…she was a godsend for me.)

I say all this for two reasons… 

• when you’re not feeling well you should seek help – whether it’s a broken arm, a hurting heart, or a confused mind… suffering needlessly is no good for you nor for those you love. From my perspective, it shows a deep love + respect for self to move conscientiously, vulnerably, and fearlessly toward healing + support.

• and, I’ve always felt that when we believe in someone or something the onus is on us to share those gems with others…we all deserve to have first-hand recommendations whenever possible and so I share these two phenomenal women with you in the genuine hope that if you, or someone you love, could use a little help you might find solace, empowerment, and renewed strength in Maria and Tricia’s services.

Now: is every therapist right for every person…of course not!  That said: Are Maria and Tricia at the TOP of my list when someone tells me they could use an objective, intuitive, kind, and empathetic ear?  HELL YES!

Maria and Tricia are both registered psychologists with Maria Schmid & Partners, you can find more information about them, their colleagues, and their services here:  mariaschmid.ca

How lucky am I to get to ‘work’ with such amazing women! My genuine thanks to Maria and to Tricia for their trust and for their beautiful hearts!

xo Lori

PS a shout out to my amazing kids who have been assisting for the last few years…the work experience is of course great for them, the extra set of hands is so helpful to me, AND - more than all that - I love that they get to experience that ‘being of service’ can have many ‘faces’ - for me, us, it looks like: empowering women + supporting those who are facing diagnoses.🦋