About
The Teacher
Lesley Machon: BA, BEd, PMEd, Interfaith Ministry/ Counselling/ Integrative Thanatology
I have taught for more than a decade in a variety of settings with individuals from all walks of life.
To me, literature is a way to explore what connects us as human beings. The deeper purpose of reading and writing is to explore and understand the human experience. Literature can serve as a reflection, helping us to better understand ourselves, others, and the world around us. It can facilitate self-expression, offer emotional containment or an escape from reality (two things teens are often looking for!) and provide insight into the human condition and the nature of existence.
I am drawn towards the “tough” topics, and infuse my work with explorations of some of the darker parts of our humanity and collective experience, unpacking things like death, diagnosis, and depression through poetry and themed literature units. The work done in my class has been recognized internationally in journals and publications.
My challenge is to consistently meet standards/outcomes, while introducing students to meaningful and relevant content, and it’s a challenge I take seriously.
All my studies and a decade of direct classroom experience confirmed what many of us already know: human beings crave purpose and connection. And teenage rebels and wildflowers are the gold that makes it all worth it
The Therapist
Kim Fraser – Harrison: BN, MA, RCC
After seven years as a registered nurse in acute care environments, I observed healing happening on many planes beyond the ones I was bandaging. I became fascinated with the mind-body-spirit connection, and the complexities of trauma healing. So, I did what any sensible bleeding-heart would do, and went back to school to study psychology.
I love the way problems are seen as opportunities in psychotherapy. Wounds are like doors in the words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes, or “cracks where the light gets in” as Leonard Cohen eloquently puts it. Struggle is the invitation to transform.
Most of my work as a therapist centers around relationships. This includes the ones we have with others, and the ones we have with ourselves: our bodies, psyches, dreams, emotions and inner worlds. I help people unpack their meaning-making minds, connect the dots and hold their lives up to the light. Teenagers, I’ve found, are especially courageous in this endeavor. They have a penchant for self-discovery, and are often just waiting for the right question to unlock a new level of consciousness.
