Title - Creating Space for Authenticity: Ideas About How to Enhance Inclusivity, for All Clients

Presented by - Kara Ko, Giovanna Heron, Eaman (Amy) Thompson, Parneet Chohan, Judy Lui, Angela Grier & Dr. Melissa Jay

Date/Time - April 8th 2022 from 12-1pm EST

Location - Online via Zoom

Event Description - 

How we, as counsellors and psychotherapists, think about and speak to clients impacts our therapeutic rapport. In this video we invite you to wear a trauma-informed lens as we shareideas on how to create opportunities for authentic connection, in session. Together we will explore the importance of becoming aware of our assumptions about lived experience, culture, ethnicity, orientation, while ensuring our clients are not required to educate us. Join us to learn how our use of language can promote authenticity through enhanced client care.

Presenter Bios - 

Judy Lui
Judy is a Registered Psychotherapist practicing Individual and Relational psychotherapy with a special interest in Racial and Sexual Trauma. She is the Founder and Director of Your Story Counselling, a private practice in Vaughan Ontario offering Individual, couple, family, sex, and trauma psychotherapy. Your Story Counselling is a women led multicultural practice with services available in multiple languages. Judy runs a student training clinic at YSC where she supervises therapist interns who offer low-cost therapy to those needing sliding scales and reduced fees in the community. She is also one of the contributing chapter co-authors to an upcoming textbook title: An Intersectional Approach to Sex Therapy: Centering the Lives of Indigenous, Racialized, and People of Color.

Parneet Chohan, CCC
Parneet is a certified Canadian counsellor, somatic experiencing® practitioner, meditation coach and naturotherapist in private practice. Parneet works predominantly with queer, trans and non-binary folks, racialized folks, as well as first-second generation immigrants. They predominantly utilize mindfulness, self-compassion, authentic relating and attachment frameworks in their healing work. They are founder and admin of Mtl Healing Space, an online resource sharing group in Montreal, Quebec. They also facilitate meditations with Queer Sangha, a queer buddhist group as well as facilitate authentic group gatherings in various communities. 

Eaman (Amy) Thompson, Mc:AT, PAT, CCC
Eaman has been involved in the mental health community for more than half her life. She began in volunteer positions, and has since earned her masters degree in counselling with a specialization in art therapy. Eaman holds the designations of Professional Art Therapist, Certified Canadian Counsellor, and Counselling Therapist. Eaman currently balances her time between coaching autistic/neurodivergent adults in postsecondary, professional, and peer support settings, alongside her private practice where she provides services in the areas of identity, grief, and trauma.

Giovanna Heron, CCC
Giovanna has completed their Masters in Clinical Counselling in 2018. Since then they’ve worked as a child & youth mental health clinician in BC. I provide individual counselling for with youth who have moderate to severe presentations of mental health including depression, trauma, eating disorders, substance use, or anxiety. I also work with early years, and with neurodiverse children and their families. I am a CCC and one of the co-chairs elect in the Social Justice Chapter.

Dr. Mellisa Jay, Registered Psychologist, CCPA Indigenous Director
Dr. Melissa Jay (she/her) integrates ancient healing traditions and modern psychology. As a Métis-Cree woman, Dr. Jay's work as a registered psychologist, assistant professor at Athabasca University, and Indigenous Director of the CCPA is dedicated to creating paths to reconciliation through good relations.

Angela Grier - CCPA Lead of Indigenous Initiatives
Description to come!

Facilitator - Kara Ko, MSc, RCC
With a background in emotion management and respectful/assertive communication, Kara Ko has a MS in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT and counselling and mediation training from Yorkville University, UBC and the Justice Institute of BC. She has more than 15 years of experience working with individuals, families and organizations and more than 10 years as co-host and co-producer of "It Takes a Village" parenting and family radio program. Her private practice in Vancouver focuses on cross-cultural issues and Asperger's, ADHD and giftedness. In October 2020, Kara facilitated "The Costumes We Wear," Part 1 of the CCPA BIPOC Panel Series. She was a speaker at the 2019 BCACC Conference with her Lightning Talk "Cultural Considerations and Inclusive Language Can Promote Therapeutic Rapport in Counselling."

Questions? Contact zfraser@ccpa-accp.ca!