“if you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to rise”
― Rupi Kaur


My approach to therapeutic healing is trauma informed, compassionate,
non-judgmental and collaborative. I believe every single individual is capable of transformation if they are committed to the process of unlearning, feeling and accepting their present moment and situation. No matter where you are on this journey, I hold a safe space that provides unconditional acceptance, humour, empowerment and positive regard, however you identify in this world. By building the therapeutic relationship and discovering more of your history, intergenerational patterns, and presenting issues, we collaborate to safely implement therapeutic techniques that get you closer to a more aligned narrative that is most authentic to you. This process may not be comfortable the entire time, however by guiding you safely through the practices of mindfulness, embodiment, exploratory questions, parts work, there is a sense of clarity and inner knowing that can be found within these most quietest and present moments with yourself.


I use a client-centred therapy approach, which means I trust my clients to bring up topics of concern with me. However, I will be there to guide you through aligned techniques, goal-setting and psychoeducation so you can leave therapy with a self-reliant therapeutic tool box for the future. Since I am a student counsellor who is on a continuous learning journey, I will be working with the Clinical Supervisor to learn how to best serve you through evidence-based therapeutic treatments. I welcome all walks of life to my therapy space and leave my assumptions and biases outside of the door, so you can show up as your authentic self at all times.

Elyse Eden

Born and raised in beautiful Vancouver, BC, I grew up surrounded by the majestic mountains, towering trees, and the calming embrace of the pacific ocean. I am a feminist, deep thinker, truth seeker, cycle breaker and intuitive spirit who is continuously unlearning the harmful, oppressive belief systems that have been projected onto me as a young woman. As the youngest in my family with two older brothers who were academically gifted, I often felt inferior compared to others. This could have been due to my early diagnosis of a learning disability (which was later diagnosed as ADHD in my adulthood) or the continuous self-doubting and critical thoughts that I may have adopted from previous generations. 

However, my life took a transformative turn when I began therapy, where I could safely uncover and release limiting beliefs and narratives that were never mine to begin with. Through participating in community, astrology, tarot, dance, and inner-child play I have found my path of least resistance, which has been committed to showing up as my authentic self in all areas of my life. If I am not exploring the wonders of nature or finding solace in the stars, I am soaking up what life has to offer with gratitude and
reflection.

I am currently pursuing my Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) at Yorkville University, where I continue to expand my worldview, counselling theory, skills and competencies with varied populations. Once I complete my clinical and supervision hours through this internship, I will be a registered clinical counsellor with the BCACC.

Previous to the MACP graduate program, I attained a Bachelor's Degree in Design & Communication from Toronto Metropolitan University, where I completed a thesis that qualitatively researched the negative impact of sexual- objectification in young female populations in the Toronto area.

$80 - 50-min — Individual Intake Session
$80 - 50-min — Individual Counselling
$120 - 80-min — Extended Individual Intake Counselling
$120 - 80-min — Extended Individual Counselling
$120 - 80-min – Relationship Intake Session (first time clients)
$120 - 80-min – Relationship Counselling
$120 - 50-min – Relationship Short Follow-up Session


Book your free 15-min Consultation using the BOOK NOW button below. 

Counselling Intern

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

My conception of therapy is a safe space where you can talk about absolutely anything: your fears, your dreams, the parts of you that you like, and the ones that you don’t like to accept as much. In this space, you can cry, you can laugh, you can be angry. I want us to embrace every part of you with compassion.

I believe therapy should be a collaborative process, in which we can agree on a treatment plan that suits you, and work together towards your goals: we are equal partners in the therapeutic process. From my side, I promise to remain curious, transparent, respectful, accepting, receptive, caring and thankful with you for trusting me and sharing your life story with me.

My work is from a feminist/anti-oppression framework, which means that I recognize the psychological impact of power, privilege, and oppression, and that I support an empowerment-centred therapy process.

I consider myself an integrative therapist, which means I combine ideas and techniques from different therapeutic schools of thought in order to tailor our sessions to your needs. After working with individuals from varied backgrounds and identities, I’ve learned that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Many of the patients that come to see me identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, immigrants/refugees, and/or neurodivergent with ADHD or autism. I want you to feel included, and that your uniqueness and differences are welcomed and treasured.

Among the treatment modalities that I utilize is psychedelic integration therapy. The recent advances made toward the destigmatization of these powerful medicines has helped to prove that they can act as a catalyst for inner healing and teach us life lessons when applied with proper guidance. Unlike other medicines, psychedelics can help us get to the root causes of our mental health problems and confront them. They have the ability to help lower the barriers that stand between us and true healing to feel more whole and connected with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us. Psychedelic integration therapy can support you in making meaning of your psychedelic experiences, and integrating the insights into your life, to ensure that you can create meaningful and long-term change.

Whether our sessions involve psychedelic-integration therapy or other forms of therapy, my intention of our work together is that you will become more aware of yourself: Your wants, your needs, your thoughts, your emotions, and your body, which will make it easier to make decisions that are more aligned with your values and intentions. I also trust that you will incorporate healthy habits and develop new skills for your toolbox that you can use whenever you need.

“As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself…The critical issue is allowing yourself to know what you know. That takes an enormous amount of courage.”

“Acknowledge and embrace your emotional needs. Don´t pretend you are anything other than who you are (...). Most people are only as needy as their unmet needs.”

Human brains are wired to connect with others. Just like babies, who need to remain in contact with their caretakers in order to feel safe to explore, adults feel more confident and calm when they build strong, nurturing bonds with their romantic partner(s). The word “build” is operative, as love is more of a decision or an action than it is an accident. Even if we all relish the fantasy of not needing other people to be happy, we can instead embrace our emotional needs and work towards a more secure attachment style, allowing space for the possibility of interdependence in our relationships.

Social connections have a great incidence in our well-being; for that reason, it is worth gaining skills to build more positive/healthy relationships, such as skills for managing conflict, skills for increasing the level of intimacy and friendship, and skills for creating shared meaning with our partner(s).

I find that there is significant importance in learning to pay mindful attention to what we feel, want and need, and learning assertive ways to communicate those discoveries with our loved ones. These skills can allow us to design the type of relationships we want or need, making it easier to create romantic and sexual agreements that work for everyone involved.

There are many factors, biological, psychological, relational, intergenerational, and societal, that can be influencing how we are experiencing sex. If left unaddressed, these internal and external elements can prevent us from enjoying the present moment of our sexual experiences. For example, it is understandable why someone would internalize societal ideas about how sex should supposedly work and focus only on achieving performance-objectives, such as having a certain type or amount of orgasms. Let’s explore what factors might be involved in your case, and let’s work towards your own idea of success!

“Treat cultural messages about sex and your body like a salad bar. Take only the things that appeal to you and ignore the rest. We'll all end up with a different collection of stuff on our plates, but that's how it's supposed to work.”

Trini Vergara (BA, MA)

I was born in Chile (South America) in a family composed of my two parents, my two siblings and my two dogs. I am bilingual with fluency in both Spanish and English. I was loved and well taken-care of, but at the same time, I didn’t experience much freedom growing up. I remember the phrase “a big bird in a small cage” often resonated inside of my head. My family had an ideal of perfection, disguised in optimism, that -even if I didn’t realize it at the time- had a lot of emotional costs.

We lived in a very conservative and religious (Catholic) environment and most people placed a high value on appearances. There was one traditional mold in which we were meant to fit into with many rules to follow, unquestioningly, that desired the impression of normalcy over authenticity. For example, a woman was supposed to stay a virgin until marriage, and should remain married even if she is abused and mistreated by the husband. I witnessed a lot of classism, racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism (and all of the “isms”) during those years.

When I finished my Master’s Degree, I decided to go to Australia for a year, with the purpose of exploring the world and myself, and freeing myself from that small cage. After that fulfilling year, I came to live in Vancouver, right when the pandemic started. During the pandemic, I started many new habits: I started working out, meditating, journaling and reading regularly, and I became vegan. In my free time, I enjoy going to cultural/artistic events, listening to live music, going to drag shows, dancing, being in nature, watching movies or going to different classes/workshops. But the activity that makes me feel more alive and happy is travelling.

I identify as a heterosexual, cisgendered, Latinx woman, and I consider myself privileged to work and live on the ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I recognize I am in a privileged position, and I work hard to make the world a place with more social justice for people of various identities and situations.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, both obtained in Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, which is the highest ranking university in Latin America - according to QS World University Rankings.

My Master’s thesis consisted of creating a guide for therapists to include a gender-based perspective with their adult patients. I am licensed as a Registered Clinical Counsellor (#19671) by the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors.

$180 - 50-min — Individual Intake Session 

$288 - 80-min — Extended Individual Intake Counselling 

$288 - 80-min — Extended Individual Counselling

$180 - 50 min — Psychedelic Integration

$288 - 80-min – Relationship Intake Session (first time clients)

$288 - 80-min – Relationship Counselling

$180 - 50-min – Relationship Short Follow-up Session


Trini sees clients in the office on Sundays, Fridays and Wednesday & Thursday evenings. She also sees clients online. Use the BOOK NOW button to view her available schedule for a free 15-minute Initial Consultation. 



Registered Clinical Counsellor (#19671)

Human intimacy cannot be cognitively planned or practised, in a way that allows us to grow within our own connections. Intimacy is felt, experienced, and learnt through the soma (the body).

For us to connect deeper, to unlearn limiting habits, or experience safety within touch, we must allow the soma to truly experience safety, pleasure and empathy, through experiential practice.

My approach to intimacy coaching is founded on the principles of:

In session I will support your expansion through authentic relating.If you require a sense of safety in your body, I may hold you lovingly.If you want to practise making the first move, I may encourage you to explore consensual touch with me.If you want to discuss the exploration of a new kink, I may join you in this conversation.

My practice is a portal for expansion. A safe space to be who you truly are, and embrace heightened levels of intimacy and embodiment into your life.

Jess Rodwell

As a self proclaimed muggle-turned-wizard, I’ve spent the last three years deeply evolving into the person in front of you. Queer, Non-Monogamous, and Kinky.

After leaving a corporate career, marriage, and lifestyle that were no longer serving me, I have embraced my true journey. When I realised how much better I felt, I wanted to help others by creating a space they could heal and grow within their own intimate lives.

I was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, where I attended catholic schools, before choosing to walk away from the church in my teens. I started young in the creative arts studying singing, dancing and acting. Then when I happened upon hockey, my life was consumed. I’ve spent over two decades playing ice and inline hockey at state and national levels, travelling the world for the sport.

After University, I lived in Toronto for a few years as I began my career in Marketing, and continued to work in that corporate career for 15 years. During that time I got married, spent almost nine years monogamous, moved to Vancouver, and shortly after divorced.

The last three years of my life have seen a level of transformation that I never could have imagined for myself. My sexual and spiritual awakening led me on a path that is truly in alignment with my core Self.

When I’m not helping others heal and grow within their own intimate lives, you can find me (still) playing hockey, snowboarding, doing partnered acro (commonly referred to as acro yoga), and going to MY church aka. Ecstatic Dance. I regularly participate in breathwork circles, energy healing, meditation and attend various tantra and kink events around Vancouver.

I studied with the Somatica Institute, obtaining Certification as a Sexologist and Somatic Sex and Relationship Coach. I have also studied Embodied Counselling with the Institute of Somatic Sexology.

In my muggle past-life, I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business (majoring in Marketing) from the University of Southern Queensland.

$150 - 50-min — Individual Intake Session 

$175 - 50-min – Relationship Intake Session (first time clients)

$225 - 80-min – Relationship Counselling


Jess sees clients in the office on Sunday and Monday. She's available online on Tuesdays. Use the BOOK NOW button below to schedule a free 15-minute Initial Consultation. 


Sexologist and Somatic Sex and Relationship Coach

In my sessions with clients, I always approach things from a compassionate, ethical, and thoughtful perspective. I am currently working as a sex and relationship therapist in private practice and am a Clinic Supervisor for An Elegant Mind. 

My specialty areas include consensual non-monogamy, kink, and differences of desire. I have also supported folks exploring, transitioning, and asserting authentic gender expression for themselves. In addition to sex and relationship therapy, I have 12 years of experience working with trauma and have supported hundreds of folks in reclaiming their lives from painful experiences. For over 12 years I was a therapist, and eventually the Executive Director, of the BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Although I no longer work for the BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BCSMSSA), I do still offer long term therapy for men and male identified clients working through the legacy of historic trauma. I have supported hundreds of men in overcoming their experiences of childhood sexual abuse.

As a counsellor, I work from an integral perspective, which means that I am deeply committed to helping people grow and untie the knots that life and circumstances have created for them. I work with Mindfulness and Somatic based interventions to help liberate trapped feelings and free up vitality in relationships and individuals. This can involve opening up new perspectives, creating room for personal resilience, and helping old patterns ease into change.

I am also informed by Narrative therapy and I often encourage clients to reflect on how the stories we tell about our lives come to define us. I tend to explore the meaning of these stories with clients, looking for practical alternatives that lead my clients toward their goals and a preferred sense of who they are. 

I have trained in psychedelic therapy with Therapsil under the tutelage of Dr. Ingrid Pacey and Charlotte Jackson. I believe that psychedelic informed psychotherapy offers a powerful tool in addressing deep trauma and various other challenging problems that talk therapy struggles to overcome. I see my role as supporting clients in making meaning out of the lessons they learned in a variety of expanded states of consciousness.

Daniel Kline (MA, MCP, RCC)

I trained at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Vancouver and have taken further study at the Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy. 

I also have a Master of Arts History in Religion, Mysticism and Western Esotericism from the Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

$200 - 50-min — Individual Intake Session 

$320 - 80-min — Extended Individual Intake Counselling 

$320 - 80-min — Extended Individual Counselling

$200 - 50 min — Psychedelic Integration

$320 - 80-min – Relationship Intake Session (first time clients)

$200- 50-min – Relationship Short Follow-up Session

Daniel sees clients online on Tuesdays. Follow the BOOK NOW button below to book a free 15-minute consultation. 

Registered Clinical Counsellor, AEM Clinic Supervisor

I believe that healing occurs at three levels: individually, relationally and sexually. One starts with knowing oneself individually and healing one’s inner child wounds, defence mechanisms, and maladaptive world views. Thereafter, one should learn relational skills of being with others. Once you are skilled in emotional intimacy, embodiment, mindfulness, we can start to look at barriers for stepping into being in divine sexual pleasure.

”One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

I use Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) as the main theoretical modality for psychological healing. The goal is to process emotions until completion to reclaim the authentic state of being joyful, sensual, calm, curious, connected, creative, and courageous. Via the therapeutic container, we begin to peel back the layers of the onion to reveal the “true self”. AEDP sees depression and anxiety and other psychological symptomatology as simply superficial indicators of a more layered internal experience. It is by granting ourselves the freedom to be totally transparent and allowing any nascent, unprocessed feelings to emerge, do we start to spontaneously heal.

In addition to providing space to process emotions, my approach to therapy regards psychedelics as valid epistemology (way of knowing). Together, we will consider how plant medicines, and other altered states of consciousness have informed your philosophies and ways of being in the world. The fact that psychedelics allows one to access a layer of healing that is different from psychotherapy is equivalent to how one needs to integrate mind, body, spirit if one wants to fully heal. 

My method involves a thorough assessment of trauma history, family of origin dynamics, and cultural conditioning. The more we are able to name in the outset via guided questioning, the richer your counselling experience will be.

”The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships.”

Relationships bring meaning to life. We literally cannot carve a sense of self without them, as Dan Siegel has so aptly articulated in his book Interpersonal Neurobiology, that how I make sense of myself is how others react and respond to me.

But things get dark and confusing when the mirror doesn’t reflect love, pleasure, connection and acceptance. This is where a therapeutic setting can be necessary in helping folks with discernment. Therapy can help you discern where you stand as an individual within a relationship and what psychological variables of your own are involved in your intersection of the problem. Therapy can also help you stay centred in calmness and openness for the other person's perspective.

My relationship counselling work is queer (LGBTQIA2S+) inclusive, and sex-positive.

My clients often identify as relational anarchists, creative spirits that seek to design their relationships, rather than assume the status quo. They are seeking to speak their truths for their most authentic expressions of their relational-sexual arrangements.

Using my combined trainings in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Gottman, and Sex Therapy, I tailor make a program for each couples/throuple/etc. for their unique relational, sexual and personal expressions as they enter my office. After gaining a clear understanding of each individual’s positionality, I help my clients translate messages from their deep soul, and I help the other(s) hear it accurately. Whether or not a relationship chooses to remain in union and to what degree of closeness ultimately depends on what each party chooses. 

"Never forget that you have every right to have a satisfying sex life.” — 

Sex is one of the most intimate forms of relational connection. Having good sex takes complete embodiment of one's soma and mindfulness skills. It requires the courage to initiate, the vulnerability to be truly intimate and the communication skills to direct your partner(s) towards what turns you on. As you can see, being a fully embodied sexual being requires all the skills that was built in individual and relational therapy, including un-doing any conditioning from culture, religion or society that tells you how to be. Underlying many sexual dysfunctions are actually issues of anxiety, feeling uncomfortable in one's own skin, or fear of rejection. A large portion of my sex therapy treatment is walking people through exploring their erotic template, the origins of it, and creating a broader, more fulfilling erotic template. 

Angela Leong (BA, MA)

I am born and raised in Canada to Chinese immigrant parents. I identify as a queer, cisgendered psychonaut (someone who explores altered states of consciousness). However, I also see myself as a transpersonal being. 

I knew I wanted to become a therapist when I studied Advanced Placement psychology in high school. In my personal journey, I have explored many alternative methods of healing, such as psychedelics, reiki, breathwork, meditation, neurofeedback therapy, and shamanic healing. 

Most recently, my personal path recently has involved reclaiming deeper understandings of my cultural identity, my sexual expression and following the Tibetan Tantric Buddhism path.

In my downtime, I read and I write. I'm currently curious about the laws of quantum physics and their relationship to how we understand our connection with others. I have found emotional expression through movement and dance, espeically Jamaican dancehall. I love to ski, climb, crawl and swim the various terrains of planet earth. 

I have a Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia (UBC), the only Canadian university accredited by the American Psychological Association.

My master’s thesis was a qualitative analysis on the experiences that individuals with traumatic brain injury have in counselling. It was regarded by an international expert in the field, Dr. Ron Ruff to be an important piece of literature to consider when providing treatment for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

I also have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UBC. My bachelor’s research looked at gene and neuronal expressions that mediate learning and pain behaviour in the animal model C. elegans.

I am licensed as a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) by the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors.

 (Couples, Polycules, Co-Founders, Siblings, Parent-Child, etc.)

 (Dysfunction to Pleasure Enhancement Strategies)

Individual Psychedelic Preparation + Integration 

Consultation (Psychology in Businesses and Organizations)

Angela is only seeing clients on a limited case by case basis. You may book a free 15-minute Initial Consultation to assess fit. You may also see the offerings from the other clinicians. Returning clients may continue to use the BOOK NOW button. 

Founder, Registered Clinical Counsellor (#16727)

“When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark” 

When I aim to create safe spaces, what I do is meet my clients exactly where they are. As such, the approach I bring to my sessions is fluid, moldable, and adaptable to the person with whom I am co-creating. This is the key difference between my style, and the style of Stanislav Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork. As with many things, the gifts of breathwork can feel outside of one’s reach and comfort zone when it is outside of our ability to intellectualize it. As if knowledge was a prerequisite to experiencing altered states of consciousness. 

As I come from a medical background, I create physiological healing via bioenergetic and emotional release, a process which is achievable through the breath. The journey we shall undergo is one of conscious, connected breath, amplified by the evocative beauty of music, presence, and guiding words. 

I aim to guide with safety, love, and compassion to uncover pertinent truths about, and within yourself. This co-creation between us is experiential. As such, I do not heal you. Rather, I help guide you to the parts of yourself that you hide. Through compassion, we will give you the strength to find what you are seeking. Together, we will help shine light and love within your darkness. 

In my previous life as a coach I had come up with a 4-part process: “End suffering”, “Open hearts”, “Choose joy”, and “Create miracles”. The ending of suffering is by noticing our attachment to pain. Pain is inevitable but it is suffering that is optional. I learned this from my teacher Ivan Rados. The first thing we need to do to end the suffering is by noticing our attachment our pain and to be curious about it and unconditionally compassionate towards it. In doing so, our hearts open to our true feelings. And by going through all the feelings, Thus, we might be able to find joy. And when we choose joy, we are awakened to the fact that we have a choice at every moment.


“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” 

Dr. Nicholas Wong (BScH, MD)

I was born in Buffalo, New York, and am the third son of parents who immigrated to the US from Hong Kong. We moved to Prince Edward Island, Canada, when I was five years old because the US would not accept my parents as citizens.

Every day I endeavour to make life more reflective of my ideal day and life. I have an amazing wife and son, and they are my priority. As such, I wake up early to have ample time for my own movement, meditation, and spiritual practices, to clear my own energetic field, and make room for my own healing, and thus the healing of my clients as well.

Also, I practice being a master receiver. I believe that we can only give as much love as we’re willing to receive, and so I create space to receive love from my Ohana, my soul family. The more energy flows, the more it grows!

Some upcoming dreams of mine include free diving with whales, hang gliding, exploring the pyramids in Egypt, hiking up to Machu Pichu, and snorkelling in the Maldives. More locally, we are enjoying exploring beautiful British Columbia in our giant truck camper - if you see an asian family driving a giant F-450 truck with a 13 foot high camper, come say hello!

I have a bachelor of science with honours in Biology from the Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. At that time it was the top undergraduate University in Canada. Funny enough I even made it to the cover of Maclean's magazine

I have a medical degree from the from Dalhousie medical school in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was awarded the award for demonstrating clinical skill and a sense of humor, which most brings art to the practice of medicine. I was also the co-director of arts and medicine and one of two peer counsellors for the class of 2006.

I've completed three years of Pediatrics residency in Calgary at the Alberta Children's Hospital. I completed my LM CC part two, but burned out prior to my final exams and graduation. This was part of my transition into life outside of being a medical doctor.