WHAT IF YOU COULD BE YOURSELF?

welcome

Hello! My name is Tamaki (鹿野環 | Kano, Tamaki), and my pronouns are they/them/theirs.

I am a registered clinical counsellor (RCC) on the unceded traditional ancestral territories of the the Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) Peoples (colonially known as Vancouver).

I have colonizer privilege and various other privileges (eg. credentialism, shadeism, mobility, housing) that I continually put toward concrete actions for equity and social change.

a chest-up portrait of an Asian person with a medium gold skin tone and short nearly cropped black hair.

I am a proud member of the following communities: POC / BIPOC / QTBIPOC, Asian, migrant, 2SLGBTQAIQ+ (trans nonbinary pan demi), neuro-awesome, art, disabled (non-apparent), JC, Gen X, action-based anti-oppression, harm reduction, and an ally to Indigenous sovereignty and Land Back.

Please feel free to contact me or book a free initial consultation to discuss any questions you may have about me or my practice.

WHY COUNSELLING?

Today’s society is very confusing. There is a lot of information on trauma, systemic -isms, anti-oppression, neurodivergence, and cultural sensitivity. But then after all that, the answer to how we feel better might feel so unclear.

So, what are we supposed to do to do well, be safe, and also be ourselves? You have the answer and solution to this, and counselling is the process of connecting with it, building a relationship with all of you, learning to trust yourself again, and deeply knowing that you are enough and worthy. Some of our uniqueness and wisdom have been silenced or stigmatized, some of that are in overdrive or shutdown from past trauma, and some of that are untapped depending on our life contexts when that was what you had to do to get through that moment. You may just be ready to reclaim them.

Yes, you are enough, and, no, you do not need to do this alone. My role is to accompany you in all of this with all of my skills, techniques, knowledge, and camaraderie. I might act as a sounding board or a blind-spot checker, offer techniques and training to accomplish your goal, facilitate transition from how it had to be to how you imagine it can be, and throughout it, I believe you.

specialty

One of the most important fundamentals of counselling is that it is healing of and by relationships. So, the first important specialty I offer is connection. It may be because we share intersectionalities. It may be due to my experience with healed and healing trauma. Maybe because I listen deeply and differently. But it is ultimately for you to assess our connection. Please feel invited to book an initial consult to check it out.

a closer up of the moss-covered base of a tree in a forest

The second specialty is that I come from a culture that engages with cognition, body / somatic, spiritual, people, and time differently, and it allows me to hold an embodied space where non-verbal communication is acknowledged and appreciated. Third, my knowledge of power dynamics, eg. how differently negotiations, setting boundaries, and accessing resources may look in different contexts. My analysis benefits from the decades of resistance by those who have come before me combined with years of my own lived experience. Forth, I show up to democratic actions (eg. protests, petitions, fundraising, organizing, etc). For me to call myself anti-oppressive and harm reducing, I have to live it by participating in the effort for a more just society. Lastly, I have training in and offer the following modalities: EMDR, trauma-informed, body-centered, person-centred / Rogerian, CBT, DBT, art therapy, existential, and culturally sensitive.

What does a session look like?

The basic approach is for you and me to co-create an optimum-for-you space for healing, and what that looks like varies. For instance, do you feel like people interrupt you a lot? Then you and I may create lots of space. Are you in choice fatigue? You and I might decide for me to offer more supportive structures.

tiled stairs surrounded by shrubs and trees in a marbled light from trees above

For most people, because we tend to operate around thoughts and reason in day-to-day, I will likely at some points suggest a different way of being. This may relate to art, attention, processing, body-centred / somatic, or “mindfulness” (Don’t worry – you and I will only pick the ones that you want to try).

When it comes to doing the work, depending on the person, counselling with me may be about

Reducing or managing symptoms
Healing from or addressing conflicts
Developing insight into the conflict between surviving and thriving,
- Living authentically vs giving up privilege/safety.
- aligning with power for survival vs. resistance / fighting for equity
- authentic self in a cultural, religious, or corporate contexts
- Healing / managing trauma of systems (systemic racism, systemic ableism), including the society as the system.
Reducing, mitigating, or managing symptoms of trauma, shifting your relationship with trauma from an obstacle to wisdom.
developing confidence and mastery to protect from new trauma
Unlearning the overvaluation of logic and connecting with your own somatic, emotional, cultural, spiritual experiences.
getting liberated from socialized or internalized expectations and -isms
acquired patterns / habits / thoughts (inadequacy, insecurity, imposter syndrome), including self-imposed ableism, productivism, and classism
developing confidence and mastery in navigating a context of power imbalance and/or systemic discrimination.

Fees

Online Counselling or online art therapy $140 plus GST for a 60-minute session or $210 plus GST for a 90-minute session. When covered by a program (FNHA, ICBC, etc), the fees would be reduced to match the program coverage.

A limited number of free or half-cost counselling spots are available. Please inquire at info@experiential.studio.

Consulting: $85 – $120 plus GST / hour

Initial Meeting: Free – please email or book from the client portal.

For any questions about the process of counselling and/or just to get a sense of how it feels to sit with me, please feel free to book an initial meet at my booking site.

Accessibility

Sudden or intense stimuli are only introduced with consent of the participants. Examples include a meditation bell, strobe lights, pulsers, vivid colours, both artificial and natural smoke and smells, textures, bright or fluorescent lights.

The video platform has a “hide self-view” function; however, unfortunately it needs to be turned on manually each session.

My camera can be configured to avert my line of sight so it feels less like an eye contact. Please email me ahead of time if this is preferred.

Note: Currently, only online counselling is offered. When transitioning to in-person, 1. I will choose a wheelchair-accessible office and bathroom, though there may be a barrier to larger-size wheelchairs, 2. it will be fragrance-free, VOC-reduced, and low stimuli, 3. Everyone will wear tightly-fitted N95 masks / respirators, 4. air is ventilated and/or filtered at each session, and 5. I will continue offering virtual / online sessions.

CONTACT

There are two ways to contact me.

Use the contact form or email. Please be mindful not to include details as emails are not considered secure.
Book an initial consult from the booking site.

All questions are welcome, and I typically answer within two business days. For all virtual appointments, your email address is used to create an account for secure video access. Please let me know in advance if you do not consent to this use.

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