Chris Rama (he/him/his)- Registered Social Worker
Languages: English
Chris is in practicum mid-May until late August 2023.
Chris is holding a waitlist for new clients at this time.
Please email samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca if you would like to be added to Chris's waitlist
Languages: English
Chris is in practicum mid-May until late August 2023.
Chris is holding a waitlist for new clients at this time.
Please email samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca if you would like to be added to Chris's waitlist
Availability
Thursdays: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (in-person and virtual)
Fridays: 9:00 am - 5:50 pm (virtual)
Chris (he/him) is a South Asian student counsellor with Mauritian and Punjabi roots in the Indian diaspora and lived experience with intergenerational trauma. He grew up with a single mom in a diverse, low-income neighborhood surrounded by families living on the margins of society. A desire to transform the circumstances of his life and those around him drew him towards psychology and social work. He’s now in the final stages of completing a Masters of Social Work at University of British Columbia with a focus on clinical counselling.
Recognizing that you are navigating your own unique ecology, he believes that change happens in connection with your true self and in relationships. He will strive to meet you where you are and to honor your own expertise and agency. In working with Chris, you can explore meaning and integrate your experiences, as well as discover new possibilities and options for you. Your relationship with Chris will be rooted in respect and compassion for every part of you. When working with Chris, you can expect him to bring a grounding presence and a desire to co-create an environment of trust and safety.
Chris integrates an attachment and strength-based lens. Chris will use approaches that focus on the ways your experiences have affected your sense of self, relationship patterns and coping strategies. This includes a 'parts' perspective (IFS) where every repetitive reaction and response to the world developed to manage something that happened to you. In this way, it has value even though it may be creating difficulty in your life. We may work to slow down and turn towards these parts (reactions) to work through how they carry the effects of the past and connect with their true value. In addition, Chris uses approaches that help focus on the body as well as the mind and to create a safe relationship with him so that you can relax into your experience to connect with yourself in a new way.
Chris previously worked in the Downtown Eastside with youth and families experiencing incarceration, substance use and houselessness. He has also supported young adults navigating university alongside foster care, intergenerational trauma, disability, neurodiversity, depression, anxiety and other mental health experiences.
Outside of the session, he enjoys spending time in the forest, canoeing, meditation and martial arts.
Areas of interest:
· Trauma
· Depression and anxiety
· Navigating attachment styles
· Boundaries & communication
· Parent-teen conflict
· Identity and values
· Internalized racism
· Intergenerational tensions in immigrant families
Professional Training and Development:
· Shared Spaces: Foundations for Dialogue and Engagement between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People with Rain Daniels
· Narrative Therapy: Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy
· Motivational Interviewing: Justice Institute of BC
Thursdays: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (in-person and virtual)
Fridays: 9:00 am - 5:50 pm (virtual)
Chris (he/him) is a South Asian student counsellor with Mauritian and Punjabi roots in the Indian diaspora and lived experience with intergenerational trauma. He grew up with a single mom in a diverse, low-income neighborhood surrounded by families living on the margins of society. A desire to transform the circumstances of his life and those around him drew him towards psychology and social work. He’s now in the final stages of completing a Masters of Social Work at University of British Columbia with a focus on clinical counselling.
Recognizing that you are navigating your own unique ecology, he believes that change happens in connection with your true self and in relationships. He will strive to meet you where you are and to honor your own expertise and agency. In working with Chris, you can explore meaning and integrate your experiences, as well as discover new possibilities and options for you. Your relationship with Chris will be rooted in respect and compassion for every part of you. When working with Chris, you can expect him to bring a grounding presence and a desire to co-create an environment of trust and safety.
Chris integrates an attachment and strength-based lens. Chris will use approaches that focus on the ways your experiences have affected your sense of self, relationship patterns and coping strategies. This includes a 'parts' perspective (IFS) where every repetitive reaction and response to the world developed to manage something that happened to you. In this way, it has value even though it may be creating difficulty in your life. We may work to slow down and turn towards these parts (reactions) to work through how they carry the effects of the past and connect with their true value. In addition, Chris uses approaches that help focus on the body as well as the mind and to create a safe relationship with him so that you can relax into your experience to connect with yourself in a new way.
Chris previously worked in the Downtown Eastside with youth and families experiencing incarceration, substance use and houselessness. He has also supported young adults navigating university alongside foster care, intergenerational trauma, disability, neurodiversity, depression, anxiety and other mental health experiences.
Outside of the session, he enjoys spending time in the forest, canoeing, meditation and martial arts.
Areas of interest:
· Trauma
· Depression and anxiety
· Navigating attachment styles
· Boundaries & communication
· Parent-teen conflict
· Identity and values
· Internalized racism
· Intergenerational tensions in immigrant families
Professional Training and Development:
· Shared Spaces: Foundations for Dialogue and Engagement between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People with Rain Daniels
· Narrative Therapy: Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy
· Motivational Interviewing: Justice Institute of BC