The last couple of years have been a time of deep change for so many of us. As I sit with my patients, friends, and colleagues it seems we all have been working through deep considerations of how we want to create our lives going forward. Personally, I have realized that it is in my nature to work in collaboration, rather than in isolation. I have been craving to be a part of something bigger, with far-reaching impact, and tapping into innovation and cutting edge science. As rewarding as clinical practice has been, and as natural as the role of clinician feels to me, I started to realize that just because we are good at something, that does not mean that is where we are supposed to focus ourselves in life. I have known for many years that I needed to change things up. I am so fortunate to have found a position as a Clinical Science Liaison with Microbiome Labs that literally ticked all of the boxes on my wish list. I couldn’t be happier with the company and my role therein.
The decision to fully move away from my Victoria clinical practice has come from an incredibly long consideration around my career path. Initially, I figured I would maintain a small clinical presence at U Retreat, but I have come to see that it divides my attention far too much to be in full integrity in either role. I am therefore closing my British Columbia clinical practice, effective March 1, 2026. My last day in the office will be February 11.
A key element that made this discernment process challenging was the uniqueness of my pelvic care practice. I have been the only person in BC who is trained in both Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy and Tami Kent’s Holistic Pelvic Care. To step away from this niche approach to women’s healthcare felt sacrilegious! I kept praying and inquiring about how to step away from this much needed offering with integrity. Enter Hélène Descoteaux, RAc. and Bri Beukeboom. Both of these women approached me with a commitment to and enthusiasm for carrying on this particular expression of women’s pelvic care, and it was then that I knew my time had come to pass the torch.
I could not be more excited to introduce you all to Hélène Descoteaux, who will be working at EarthSide Birth and Black Spruce Acupuncture, and Bri Beukeboom, who will be practicing out of U Retreat Wellness Centre.
Hélène Descoteaux is a Registered Acupuncturist who approaches the body as an interconnected system, with particular attention to how pelvic and abdominal function shape overall health. She brings a focused, attentive approach to care, offering a treatment that integrates acupuncture, Japanese hara diagnosis, and gentle abdominal and pelvic bodywork.
Hara (abdominal) diagnosis uses light palpation to identify areas of tension or diminished flow, which then guides acupuncture point selection—typically placed on the limbs to create movement through the channel pathways. While the needles are in, slow, deliberate bodywork through the abdomen and pelvis helps release held tissue, support healthy circulation, and encourage deeper systemic settling. This approach supports menstrual concerns, fertility, postpartum and pregnancy-loss recovery, pelvic pain or tension, digestive imbalances, and nervous system regulation. Her work is rooted in ongoing mentorship and complemented by training in tui na and somatic-informed bodywork.
Hélène brings a gentle, deep, curious wisdom to the treatment room, along with her own unique weaving of skills and intuition around pelvic health. She is also studying with a pelvic health acupuncturist whom I met years ago in California and who I respect deeply. I am very excited for what Hélène will offer to my patients who choose to continue their care with her.
Next, we have Bri Beukeboom. Bri is a doula, mother, holistic pelvic floor practitioner, and student of Chinese medicine whose work is rooted in lived experience, multidisciplinary studies, and deep listening. She has advanced training in Holistic Pelvic Care™ with Tami Lynn Kent, Arvigo® Maya Abdominal Therapy, and a lifelong fluency with the thresholds of birth, loss, and transformation.
Bri’s nine years of frontline harm-reduction work and devoted plant-medicine study have helped hone her energetic presence, refining her way of working with the body. Bri draws from workshops with Dr. Gabor Maté (trauma-informed), Kimberly Ann Johnson (nervous system + somatics), Malcom Clark (multidisciplinary bodywork) and Adelaide Meadow (biomechanics of pelvic floor + birth). Beyond the various mediums of study, Bri has learned the most through spending hours on the table of gifted healers, stubbornly and lovingly committed to her body.
Unlike most pelvic floor physiotherapy, which focuses primarily on assessment, Bri’s pelvic care sessions centre on attunement and hands-on recalibration—following the body’s own intelligence to unwind, realign, and restore connection. She meets women with reverence, humour, and unwavering curiosity in the sacred hoop of life, where all things meet.
I have been working closely with Bri in recent months to help her bring her trainings in ATMAT and Holistic Pelvic Care to life. I will continue mentoring Bri as she steps into her days at U Retreat. I feel confident and excited by her inspiration and insight, along with her grounded presence in the treatment room. Booking link with Bri.
Thank you to all of you who have brought fullness, vulnerability, laughter, curiosity, and so much more to my practice over the years. It has been an honor to walk with you.
