Lisley Siqueira (she/her/hers)
Individual Counselling: $120/50 minute session- enquire about sliding scale
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $170/50 minutes, $200/75 minutes- enquire about sliding scale
If you are interested in connecting with Lisley, please contact her at lisleysqrcounselling@gmail.com or email us at samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
Days and Hours
Wednesdays 8:00 am-1:30 pm (in-person)
Thursdays 5:30 pm-8:30 pm (online)
Fridays 5:30 pm-8:30 pm (online)
**Lisley is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Lisley (she/her) is a pre-licensed counsellor associate. She identifies herself as a queer, fat, body-abled, black, Brazilian, latinx, cis-gendered woman. Born and raised in the "periferias" of Campina Grande, Brazil, she completed most of her studies in counselling and psychology while also working as a trauma-informed full-spectrum birth worker (doula). Since 2016, she has lived and worked on the stolen, ancestral, and unceded territories of the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Lisley has helped over 300 families transition into parenthood, seeking to provide them with a more positive birth experience by informing and supporting pregnant people, no matter the pregnancy outcome.
Lisley believes counselling is a means through which she and her clients can co-create new life perspectives. She is committed to offering an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and trauma-informed approach. In the counselling room, Lisley supports clients in having an understanding of the impacts of systems of power, cultural expectations, loss, and trauma on their realities and relationships. She draws from client-centred approaches, cognitive schema therapy, perinatal psychology, attachment theory, community psychology, and systemic family therapy.
She has experience working with individuals and families from the BIPOC and LGBTQI+ community, as well as immigrants and people who are experiencing major life transitions. She also has experience with people navigating pregnancy, loss and infertility processes.
Lisley is happy to provide care in both Portuguese and English to Adults and Families, BIPOC and from LGBTQA+ communities.
When she isn't working on counselling and reproductive justice, she enjoys baking, crocheting, riding her bike and spending time with her partner.
If you are interested in connecting with Lisley, please contact her at lisleysqrcounselling@gmail.com or email us at samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
Individual Counselling: $120/50 minute session- enquire about sliding scale
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $170/50 minutes, $200/75 minutes- enquire about sliding scale
If you are interested in connecting with Lisley, please contact her at lisleysqrcounselling@gmail.com or email us at samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
Days and Hours
Wednesdays 8:00 am-1:30 pm (in-person)
Thursdays 5:30 pm-8:30 pm (online)
Fridays 5:30 pm-8:30 pm (online)
**Lisley is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Lisley (she/her) is a pre-licensed counsellor associate. She identifies herself as a queer, fat, body-abled, black, Brazilian, latinx, cis-gendered woman. Born and raised in the "periferias" of Campina Grande, Brazil, she completed most of her studies in counselling and psychology while also working as a trauma-informed full-spectrum birth worker (doula). Since 2016, she has lived and worked on the stolen, ancestral, and unceded territories of the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Lisley has helped over 300 families transition into parenthood, seeking to provide them with a more positive birth experience by informing and supporting pregnant people, no matter the pregnancy outcome.
Lisley believes counselling is a means through which she and her clients can co-create new life perspectives. She is committed to offering an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and trauma-informed approach. In the counselling room, Lisley supports clients in having an understanding of the impacts of systems of power, cultural expectations, loss, and trauma on their realities and relationships. She draws from client-centred approaches, cognitive schema therapy, perinatal psychology, attachment theory, community psychology, and systemic family therapy.
She has experience working with individuals and families from the BIPOC and LGBTQI+ community, as well as immigrants and people who are experiencing major life transitions. She also has experience with people navigating pregnancy, loss and infertility processes.
Lisley is happy to provide care in both Portuguese and English to Adults and Families, BIPOC and from LGBTQA+ communities.
When she isn't working on counselling and reproductive justice, she enjoys baking, crocheting, riding her bike and spending time with her partner.
If you are interested in connecting with Lisley, please contact her at lisleysqrcounselling@gmail.com or email us at samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
Pin-Han Hsu (she/her/hers)- Registered Clinical Counsellor
50 minute sessions: sliding scale of $80-120 per session, generous rate of $130+
75 minute sessions: sliding scale of $140-175 per session, generous rate of $185+
Approved Crime Victim Assistance Program and First Nations Health Authority provider- contact Pin-Han for exploring counselling coverage
If interested in working with Pin Han please contact counsellingpinhanhsu@outlook.com
Days and Hours
Sundays 9:30 am-3:00 pm (online)
Pin-Han is passionate about providing anti-oppressive and nonjudgmental care to marginalized individuals including, but not limited to, people in the LGBTQ2S+ communities, immigrants, people who use substances, and survivors of domestic violence. She provides services in English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.
Pin Han is a cisgender, queer, Taiwanese, settler living on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations. As a student migrant from Taiwan, Pin holds a framework of multiculturalism and intersectionality to support individuals experiencing layers of systematic oppression such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, class and culture.
Pin’s approach to therapy is person-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed. She strongly believes that you are the expert of your own experiences and that her role is to guide and support you through the therapeutic process. Pin collaborates with her clients to find the integrative therapeutic approach that best meets their needs.
Pin recognizes your vulnerability and is honoured to walk alongside with you. She aims to meet you where you are at and offer a safe and confidential space in your journey. She looks forward to meeting with you. Pin has just completed her practicum and is finishing off her Master of Counselling degree from City University of Seattle. You can contact her to set up an initial no-cost consult through: counsellingpinhanhsu@outlook.com
50 minute sessions: sliding scale of $80-120 per session, generous rate of $130+
75 minute sessions: sliding scale of $140-175 per session, generous rate of $185+
Approved Crime Victim Assistance Program and First Nations Health Authority provider- contact Pin-Han for exploring counselling coverage
If interested in working with Pin Han please contact counsellingpinhanhsu@outlook.com
Days and Hours
Sundays 9:30 am-3:00 pm (online)
Pin-Han is passionate about providing anti-oppressive and nonjudgmental care to marginalized individuals including, but not limited to, people in the LGBTQ2S+ communities, immigrants, people who use substances, and survivors of domestic violence. She provides services in English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.
Pin Han is a cisgender, queer, Taiwanese, settler living on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations. As a student migrant from Taiwan, Pin holds a framework of multiculturalism and intersectionality to support individuals experiencing layers of systematic oppression such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, class and culture.
Pin’s approach to therapy is person-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed. She strongly believes that you are the expert of your own experiences and that her role is to guide and support you through the therapeutic process. Pin collaborates with her clients to find the integrative therapeutic approach that best meets their needs.
Pin recognizes your vulnerability and is honoured to walk alongside with you. She aims to meet you where you are at and offer a safe and confidential space in your journey. She looks forward to meeting with you. Pin has just completed her practicum and is finishing off her Master of Counselling degree from City University of Seattle. You can contact her to set up an initial no-cost consult through: counsellingpinhanhsu@outlook.com
Angel Sukkau (she/her/hers)- pending Registered Clinical Counsellor
Individual Counselling: $120/50 minute session- enquire about sliding scale
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $170/50 minutes, $200/75 minutes- enquire about sliding scale
Please contact Angel directly via angelsukkaucounselling@gmail.com
Days and Hours
Wednesdays 11:00 am-6:00 pm (online)
Thursdays 11:00am-7:00 pm (online)
Fridays 1:45 pm-7:00 pm (in person)
**Angel is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Angel is a cisgender, queer, Egyptian-Canadian settler living on the stolen homelands of the the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt (Key-Kite), Stz'uminus (Sha-main-us), S'ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwee-Kwet-Lum) Nations. Angel was born and raised in British Columbia and has been working towards a career in counselling for the past six years.
Angel believes in supporting folx through hardships and growth and believes her work is best described as helping people help themselves. She has worked with marginalized individuals including, but not limited to, LGBTQ2S+ folx, Indigenous peoples, sex workers, and people who use substances. She approaches counselling from a harm reduction, anti-oppressive, trauma informed lens and utilizes a collaborative approach integrating a variety of techniques from theories including person-centred, narrative, and adlerian as well as others.
Angel is passionate about the outdoors, music, art, and writing and would love to incorporate these forms of expression into her practice if they resonate with you. She seeks to understand your perspectives and meet you where you are at so she can provide counselling best suited to your unique needs and goals. has just completed her practicum and is finishing up her Master of Counselling degree at City University of Seattle. She is looking forward to meeting with you in person.
Please email angelsukkaucounselling@gmail.com to book an initial consult!
Individual Counselling: $120/50 minute session- enquire about sliding scale
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $170/50 minutes, $200/75 minutes- enquire about sliding scale
Please contact Angel directly via angelsukkaucounselling@gmail.com
Days and Hours
Wednesdays 11:00 am-6:00 pm (online)
Thursdays 11:00am-7:00 pm (online)
Fridays 1:45 pm-7:00 pm (in person)
**Angel is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Angel is a cisgender, queer, Egyptian-Canadian settler living on the stolen homelands of the the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt (Key-Kite), Stz'uminus (Sha-main-us), S'ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwee-Kwet-Lum) Nations. Angel was born and raised in British Columbia and has been working towards a career in counselling for the past six years.
Angel believes in supporting folx through hardships and growth and believes her work is best described as helping people help themselves. She has worked with marginalized individuals including, but not limited to, LGBTQ2S+ folx, Indigenous peoples, sex workers, and people who use substances. She approaches counselling from a harm reduction, anti-oppressive, trauma informed lens and utilizes a collaborative approach integrating a variety of techniques from theories including person-centred, narrative, and adlerian as well as others.
Angel is passionate about the outdoors, music, art, and writing and would love to incorporate these forms of expression into her practice if they resonate with you. She seeks to understand your perspectives and meet you where you are at so she can provide counselling best suited to your unique needs and goals. has just completed her practicum and is finishing up her Master of Counselling degree at City University of Seattle. She is looking forward to meeting with you in person.
Please email angelsukkaucounselling@gmail.com to book an initial consult!
Stephany Blandino (she/they), Registered Clinical Counsellor
Individual Counselling: $140/50 minute session, $180/75 minute session
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $185/50 minutes, $230/75 minutes
Approved First Nations Health Authority provider- contact Stephany for exploring counselling coverage
Available for online or outreach in-person counselling.
Please contact Stephany directly: sblandino.counselling@gmail.com
stephanyblandino.com
I’m Stephany (she/they). I’m a cisgender, queer, Latinx, uninvited settler living on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, which includes the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor and approved First Nations Health Authority provider.
I see counselling as an opportunity to walk beside folx, co-creating safety and dignity as they navigate their healing journeys and call in their own wisdom. I believe my role is one of facilitating and collaborating, and that each client brings their own expertise, gifts, and the seeds for resilience. I have experience working alongside QTIBIPoC, politicized folx using a trauma-informed, social justice based, and integrative approach.
My offerings are informed by intersectional feminism and rooted in the belief that this work can be deeply liberatory. I want to affirm folx as they dream of new possibilities and collect the tools to enact the changes they seek. I’m also passionate about anti-oppressive work and the ways counselling and social justice fuel and inform each other. Both in my counselling work and in my personal life, I aim to centre justice and equity, and hold space for individual and community healing. I also recognize that doing so requires ongoing learning, unlearning, and the ability to stand back and listen. I hope we can do some of this together.
In my spare time, I enjoy being in the ocean, making playlists for all my moods, and spending time in my East Van neighbourhood. These days you can usually find me in a sunny spot reading a book and nuzzling the neighbourhood cat. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!
Please email sblandino.counselling@gmail.com to connect with Steph.
Individual Counselling: $140/50 minute session, $180/75 minute session
Couples/Relationship Counselling: $185/50 minutes, $230/75 minutes
Approved First Nations Health Authority provider- contact Stephany for exploring counselling coverage
Available for online or outreach in-person counselling.
Please contact Stephany directly: sblandino.counselling@gmail.com
stephanyblandino.com
I’m Stephany (she/they). I’m a cisgender, queer, Latinx, uninvited settler living on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, which includes the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor and approved First Nations Health Authority provider.
I see counselling as an opportunity to walk beside folx, co-creating safety and dignity as they navigate their healing journeys and call in their own wisdom. I believe my role is one of facilitating and collaborating, and that each client brings their own expertise, gifts, and the seeds for resilience. I have experience working alongside QTIBIPoC, politicized folx using a trauma-informed, social justice based, and integrative approach.
My offerings are informed by intersectional feminism and rooted in the belief that this work can be deeply liberatory. I want to affirm folx as they dream of new possibilities and collect the tools to enact the changes they seek. I’m also passionate about anti-oppressive work and the ways counselling and social justice fuel and inform each other. Both in my counselling work and in my personal life, I aim to centre justice and equity, and hold space for individual and community healing. I also recognize that doing so requires ongoing learning, unlearning, and the ability to stand back and listen. I hope we can do some of this together.
In my spare time, I enjoy being in the ocean, making playlists for all my moods, and spending time in my East Van neighbourhood. These days you can usually find me in a sunny spot reading a book and nuzzling the neighbourhood cat. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!
Please email sblandino.counselling@gmail.com to connect with Steph.
Maryanne Wong (she/they)- Registered Social Worker and Counsellor
Individual Counselling: $130 per 50min session. Sliding scale waitlist open
Video, telephone, and walk & talk sessions available
If you are interested in connecting with Maryanne they can be reached at maryannewongcounseling@gmail.com
Availability
Monday 12pm-8pm (video, telephone)
Tuesday 12pm-8pm (video, telephone, walk & talk - email to book walking sessions)
Thursdays 12pm-8pm (video, telephone)
Saturday 1:30pm-7pm (video, telephone, walk &talk - email to book walking sessions)
**Maryanne is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Sometimes we need a place where we can kick off our shoes, speak our minds plainly, and work through difficult situations, thoughts, and feelings. Grounding sessions in respect, empathy, and curiosity, Maryanne strives to co-create a space where you can exhale, unpack, explore, grow, and move forward.
Maryanne has been a registered social worker since 2012, providing counselling and social work services for a wide range of folks including
· 2SLGBTQIA+
· QTPoC
· Second-generation diaspora
· Folks with disabilities and/or neurodivergence
· Seniors aging in place
· Caregivers of vulnerable adults
· Poly/ethical non-monogamy
· BDSM/kink/leather
Counselling Style and Focus Maryanne uses an integrative counselling style, pulling from person-centered, narrative, somatic, internal family systems, and evidence-based traditions (if requested). Their perspective is inflected with an intersectional feminist social justice lens.
Maryanne has both professional and lived experience in these areas:
· navigating multiple group memberships (e.g. sexuality and cultural minority; gender and disability)
· traversing daily life with neurodivergence
· self-esteem, anxiety, depression, perfectionism
· exploring sexuality and gender (including initial conversations about hormone therapies)
· alternate relationship configurations
· life transitions
· Medically based services (just an order change of services below
· advance care planning and end-of-life planning
· Medical Assistance in Dying
· adjustment to changes in ability
· caregiver burnout
· navigating medical systems
What are sessions with Maryanne like?
Maryanne approaches their work with a relationally accountable, inquisitive spirit and trauma-aware, harm reduction approach. Sessions often feel like a friendly conversation - both laughter and inconveniently truthful reflections are commonplace. Expect to explore both your internal landscape and the larger systems in society impacting what we think/feel. With Maryanne’s social work hat on, problem-solving, brainstorming, planning, medical systems navigation, and supportive resource scaffolding are possible.
About me
Maryanne is a queer, neurodivergent, gender-fluid, fat, working-turned-middle-class, second-generation Chinese Canadian settler with invisible disabilities. They live upon the stolen territories of the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations. As a settler, Maryanne strives to treat the First Peoples, land, and plant/animal relatives with care and respect. When not in conversation with clients, Maryanne enjoys snuggling with their small fluffy dog, welcoming folks into various alt-spaces, planting urban food forests, choreography, and introducing friends to dim sum. They look forward to connecting with you!
You can reach Maryanne at maryannewongcounseling@gmail.com
Individual Counselling: $130 per 50min session. Sliding scale waitlist open
Video, telephone, and walk & talk sessions available
If you are interested in connecting with Maryanne they can be reached at maryannewongcounseling@gmail.com
Availability
Monday 12pm-8pm (video, telephone)
Tuesday 12pm-8pm (video, telephone, walk & talk - email to book walking sessions)
Thursdays 12pm-8pm (video, telephone)
Saturday 1:30pm-7pm (video, telephone, walk &talk - email to book walking sessions)
**Maryanne is vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are required for in-person appointments.
Sometimes we need a place where we can kick off our shoes, speak our minds plainly, and work through difficult situations, thoughts, and feelings. Grounding sessions in respect, empathy, and curiosity, Maryanne strives to co-create a space where you can exhale, unpack, explore, grow, and move forward.
Maryanne has been a registered social worker since 2012, providing counselling and social work services for a wide range of folks including
· 2SLGBTQIA+
· QTPoC
· Second-generation diaspora
· Folks with disabilities and/or neurodivergence
· Seniors aging in place
· Caregivers of vulnerable adults
· Poly/ethical non-monogamy
· BDSM/kink/leather
Counselling Style and Focus Maryanne uses an integrative counselling style, pulling from person-centered, narrative, somatic, internal family systems, and evidence-based traditions (if requested). Their perspective is inflected with an intersectional feminist social justice lens.
Maryanne has both professional and lived experience in these areas:
· navigating multiple group memberships (e.g. sexuality and cultural minority; gender and disability)
· traversing daily life with neurodivergence
· self-esteem, anxiety, depression, perfectionism
· exploring sexuality and gender (including initial conversations about hormone therapies)
· alternate relationship configurations
· life transitions
· Medically based services (just an order change of services below
· advance care planning and end-of-life planning
· Medical Assistance in Dying
· adjustment to changes in ability
· caregiver burnout
· navigating medical systems
What are sessions with Maryanne like?
Maryanne approaches their work with a relationally accountable, inquisitive spirit and trauma-aware, harm reduction approach. Sessions often feel like a friendly conversation - both laughter and inconveniently truthful reflections are commonplace. Expect to explore both your internal landscape and the larger systems in society impacting what we think/feel. With Maryanne’s social work hat on, problem-solving, brainstorming, planning, medical systems navigation, and supportive resource scaffolding are possible.
About me
Maryanne is a queer, neurodivergent, gender-fluid, fat, working-turned-middle-class, second-generation Chinese Canadian settler with invisible disabilities. They live upon the stolen territories of the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations. As a settler, Maryanne strives to treat the First Peoples, land, and plant/animal relatives with care and respect. When not in conversation with clients, Maryanne enjoys snuggling with their small fluffy dog, welcoming folks into various alt-spaces, planting urban food forests, choreography, and introducing friends to dim sum. They look forward to connecting with you!
You can reach Maryanne at maryannewongcounseling@gmail.com
Sandra (she/her/ella)- Registered Clinical Counsellor, Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, Registered Counselling Supervisor
50 minutes session(1-1 and clinical supervision) regular: 160 + GST
50 minutes generous: 165 +
Family or relational: 185 +GST
To connect with Sandra, please email her at suasnabars@gmail.com
Only virtual sessions. Some limited in person to vaccinated folks. Sandra has had 3 COVID vaccines and will wear a mask for in person sessions.
Sandra was born in Lima, Peru. Sandra is a queer, cisgender, migrant, Latinx, Indigenous woman and mother offering trauma informed counselling and Expressive Arts therapy in the traditional lands and unceded territories of thexʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Sandra is passionate and committed to offer a safe, transparent and nourishing holding space in the counselling relationship. She is eager to accompany folks with curiosity, playfulness and humbleness towards their healing journey. Sandra believes in the possibility of accessing and expanding our inner reservoirs of hope- resources and justice. Sandra specializes in supporting survivors of trauma (intergenerational, gender based and sexualized), folks navigating identities and life transitions, grief and loss, and historical systemic oppression. Sandra works with children (6 years old +), youth, adults, BIPOC community members, and 2SLGBTQAI+ folks. She also offers workshops and consulting support to diverse community agencies and postsecondary institutions.
In addition to her western-based training, Sandra’s practice is rooted in her lived experience, the experience of her ancestors/ communities and the communities she has been supporting as a front line worker and counsellor. In recent years Sandra has been living and working in northern rural Indigenous communities in so-called “Canada”.
Outside the counselling space, Sandra is dedicated to raising her little one, dancing, biking, playing in nature, making art and poems, connecting to her community and culture, and learning traditional ways of knowing and healing.
Approaches:
Indigenous worldviews (decolonial practices)
Intersectional feminism
Popular Education
Trauma informed
Expressive Arts Therapy
Relational and attachment
Narrative Therapy
Mindfulness
Somatic
Resource Oriented
Harm Reduction
Professional Training and Development:
Trauma Informed Expressive Arts Therapy, Cathy Malchiodi, Trauma Informed Practices & EXA Therapy Institute, US
Somatic Experiencing, Somatic Experiencing International, US
Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Hakomi Institute, Vancouver, BC
Narrative Therapy Counselling Skills, VSNT, Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy
Collaborative Practice: Ethics, Safety and Consistency, Dr. Vicky Reynolds, Vancouver, BC
50 minutes session(1-1 and clinical supervision) regular: 160 + GST
50 minutes generous: 165 +
Family or relational: 185 +GST
To connect with Sandra, please email her at suasnabars@gmail.com
Only virtual sessions. Some limited in person to vaccinated folks. Sandra has had 3 COVID vaccines and will wear a mask for in person sessions.
Sandra was born in Lima, Peru. Sandra is a queer, cisgender, migrant, Latinx, Indigenous woman and mother offering trauma informed counselling and Expressive Arts therapy in the traditional lands and unceded territories of thexʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Sandra is passionate and committed to offer a safe, transparent and nourishing holding space in the counselling relationship. She is eager to accompany folks with curiosity, playfulness and humbleness towards their healing journey. Sandra believes in the possibility of accessing and expanding our inner reservoirs of hope- resources and justice. Sandra specializes in supporting survivors of trauma (intergenerational, gender based and sexualized), folks navigating identities and life transitions, grief and loss, and historical systemic oppression. Sandra works with children (6 years old +), youth, adults, BIPOC community members, and 2SLGBTQAI+ folks. She also offers workshops and consulting support to diverse community agencies and postsecondary institutions.
In addition to her western-based training, Sandra’s practice is rooted in her lived experience, the experience of her ancestors/ communities and the communities she has been supporting as a front line worker and counsellor. In recent years Sandra has been living and working in northern rural Indigenous communities in so-called “Canada”.
Outside the counselling space, Sandra is dedicated to raising her little one, dancing, biking, playing in nature, making art and poems, connecting to her community and culture, and learning traditional ways of knowing and healing.
Approaches:
Indigenous worldviews (decolonial practices)
Intersectional feminism
Popular Education
Trauma informed
Expressive Arts Therapy
Relational and attachment
Narrative Therapy
Mindfulness
Somatic
Resource Oriented
Harm Reduction
Professional Training and Development:
Trauma Informed Expressive Arts Therapy, Cathy Malchiodi, Trauma Informed Practices & EXA Therapy Institute, US
Somatic Experiencing, Somatic Experiencing International, US
Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Hakomi Institute, Vancouver, BC
Narrative Therapy Counselling Skills, VSNT, Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy
Collaborative Practice: Ethics, Safety and Consistency, Dr. Vicky Reynolds, Vancouver, BC
Sam Kaplan (they/them)- Registered Clinical Counsellor/Clinical Supervisor
With the exceptions of RHAP clients, clinical supervision and hormone readiness assessments, I am currently full with a closed waitlist. samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
For the last fourteen years, I have been working as a counsellor with children, youth, adults, and the important people in their lives. I especially enjoy working alongside neurodivergent children and young adults (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), gender creative kids, and people who have coping strategies they would like to explore shifting. I am also able to offer support to parents or caregivers who wish to find effective ways to support the children, youth, and young adults in their lives.
After completing my Master’s degree, I engaged in further training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Art Therapy, EFFT (Emotion Focused Family Therapy), Somatic-Attachment, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Early Psychosis Intervention. In working with clients, I draw on these approaches to support people in developing skills and strategies that are practical and creative. I am really drawn to somatic and trauma centred engagement approaches to create space for the body to heal.
I see people as experts in their own lives and it is really important to me to work collaboratively alongside people.
In my personal life, I love the woods, the ocean, making art, gardening, and animals. I am non-binary (they/them), neurodivergent, and of European and Arab Jewish background. I strive towards anti-oppressive, social justice oriented practices, and also recognize that this is ongoing work of listening and learning and unlearning.
I am located on the unceded traditional and ancestral homelands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
With the exceptions of RHAP clients, clinical supervision and hormone readiness assessments, I am currently full with a closed waitlist. samkaplan@expressivewellness.ca
For the last fourteen years, I have been working as a counsellor with children, youth, adults, and the important people in their lives. I especially enjoy working alongside neurodivergent children and young adults (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), gender creative kids, and people who have coping strategies they would like to explore shifting. I am also able to offer support to parents or caregivers who wish to find effective ways to support the children, youth, and young adults in their lives.
After completing my Master’s degree, I engaged in further training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Art Therapy, EFFT (Emotion Focused Family Therapy), Somatic-Attachment, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Early Psychosis Intervention. In working with clients, I draw on these approaches to support people in developing skills and strategies that are practical and creative. I am really drawn to somatic and trauma centred engagement approaches to create space for the body to heal.
I see people as experts in their own lives and it is really important to me to work collaboratively alongside people.
In my personal life, I love the woods, the ocean, making art, gardening, and animals. I am non-binary (they/them), neurodivergent, and of European and Arab Jewish background. I strive towards anti-oppressive, social justice oriented practices, and also recognize that this is ongoing work of listening and learning and unlearning.
I am located on the unceded traditional and ancestral homelands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.