I offer non-judgmental, empathetic and gentle space for your healing. My work is grounded in feminist and anti-oppressive values. For me, this means that:
a) I recognize the larger systems of trauma and oppression that impact us through our families, cultures and the institutions of society. From there, I believe that everyone can take the skills and behaviors they’ve relied on to survive/cope and turn them into strengths. I believe everyone has what they need inside themselves to live a resilient, meaningful and fulfilling life, and that everyone is deserving of community support!
b) Whoever you are, whoever you love, whatever you have experienced, however you live your life: you are valid and deserving of respect. I am a queer, non-binary, mixed race filipinx/white parent living with chronic fatigue, who has dabbled in various alternative modes of being, and more. So I get it, and I welcome you and support you in all your uniqueness. At the same time, even having spent many years studying systemic oppression through personal experience and research, I am committed to the ongoing process of unlearning all the “-isms” and educating myself so that I can be as supportive as possible to my clients.
My approach to counselling is holistic, collaborative, creative and spiritual. I believe healing requires building self-awareness, transforming negative beliefs into loving ones, growing our capacity to feel our big feelings and be in our bodies, practicing healthy communication, and connecting to something bigger than ourselves, whatever that looks like for you. I have an integrated approach to tailor my work with you based on your unique needs and circumstances. I am trained in Bowen’s Family Systems Theory, Person-Centered counselling, Transpersonal Psychology, Gestalt Therapy, and my therapeutic interests include Interpersonal Neurobiology, somatics, trauma-informed care, expressive arts, and meditation.
If you are reading this, then congratulations – you are on a brave journey of recognizing that you are of value, and you deserve to be supported! As someone who has lived through depression, anxiety, burnout, chronic illness and a variety of trauma, I can tell you that undergoing therapy has really changed my life for the better. I always thought I could just figure it out on my own, but the biggest changes I have opened myself up to have been facilitated by the helping hearts of many wonderful, kind people.
If what I have shared speaks to you, please email me to set up a free 20 minute online consultation. I currently only offer online sessions to adults in BC, Canada.
