Hi. My name is Susanne. I'm originally from Germany but have pretty much all of my adult life lived elsewhere, first in England, later in Canada.
I graduated with a Bachelor in Social Work 10 years ago and briefly worked as a Palliative Care Social Worker / Counsellor. My social work career plans were put on hold when I moved to Canada and started a family. It was here where I began to re-invent myself as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor for pregnant women and new moms.
In 2010, I began my journey of self-employment and gave birth to my business Kangaroo Fitness. I became a Restorative Exercise Specialist through the Nutritious Movement Centre after completing training with biomechanist, Katy Bowman, MS, and have helped women understand how their bodies work and how to make changes to their alignment and movement habits in order to support a healthy, pain-free body throughout pregnancy and motherhood.
Over time, I felt compelled to re-trace my social work roots and connect it to body work – a personal and professional growth path that I continue to walk ... In 2015, I came across Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to trauma therapy developed by Peter Levine. It was an AHA moment for me, as this work seemed to be the answer to my search for the next step in my quest to integrate my social work and body work selfs.
The month I began my first year of training, I also decided to apply to the Masters of Social Work program in Ottawa. I have been a Registered Social Worker with a Masters degree since 2017.
During the first pandemic year, we decided to move to Germany to be closer to our extended families. I have maintained ties to my group practice in Ottawa and continue to meet virtually with clients in Ontario as a Registered Social Worker, i.e. I write social work receipts.
In the summer of 2022, after some studying and a couple of exams, I've received my permission to practice psychotherapy in Germany (Heilpraktiker fuer Psychotherapie). I provide sessions out of my office in Dresden Neustadt for those who want to attend in-person. I also provide therapy sessions virtually for everyone else.
Some of the learning that I have done over the years:
2022 - Attachment & Trauma Mastery Program online training program with Diane Poole Heller
2020 - Dropping into Prenatal and Perinatal Implicit Memory with Ray Castellino
October 2020 - Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family Systems (IFS) with Frank Anderson
February 2020 - Safe and Sound Protocol
April 2019 - Somatic Experiencing Deepening Touch with Sage Hayes
November 2018 - Motivational Interviewing
2015-2018: Somatic Experiencing with Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner since 2019 and assisting at trainings since 2020
2016-2017 – Masters in Social Work
2013: Birth Doula Workshop with DONA International
2012-2013 Restorative Exercise Specialist / Personal Trainer with Nutritious Movement Centre (formerly known as Restorative Exercise Institute)
2012 - Healthy Foot Practitioner with Nutritious Movement Centre (formerly known as Restorative Exercise Institute)
2012 - Palliative Care training course at Algonquin College
2010 - Pre and Postnatal Fitness Specialist with Baby & Me in Toronto
2008 - Personal Trainer Specialist with CanFitPro
2004-2007 - Bachelor in Social Work (England)
