EDUCATION

• Simon Fraser University  Bachelor of Arts – Psychology Major with an Extended Minor in Theatre and a Certificate of Liberal Arts

• Jin Yi University​  Mandarin Studies

• University of Lethbridge  Masters of Counselling Psychology

Certification and Specializations:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- Anxiety

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Grief   

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Trauma

Motivational Interviewing

Brain Story Certification 

​DBT Basics

EMDR

Attachment Focused EMDR

Preverbal trauma EMDR

Gottman Level 1

Gottman Level 2  

ADHD - Certified Clinical Services Provider

About Thea:

Vancouver is where I call home, however, I have lived in Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan. I’ve been a foreigner struggling to learn new cultural customs and languages. I know the blend of excitement and fear associated with change, I have navigated uncertainty, and I have faced the struggle to find strength in being me wherever I am.

When I first started counselling, I was working in schools then switched to working with non-profits in New Westminster and Burnaby a few years later.  In 2008, I joined the Health Authority initially I was working in adult Mental Health and Addictions but later moved to Child and Youth Mental Health. 

Over the past 20 years, I received specialized training in working with LGBTIQ2S, Aboriginal, refugee, and immigrant populations as well as those living with trauma. I am trained in suicide risk assessment, threat assessment, violence prevention, trauma informed care, decolonization, indigenous cultural practice, and intergenerational residential school trauma recovery, harm reduction, engaging difficult to reach clients, motivational interviewing, dialectical behavioural skills, and vicarious trauma prevention.

 In 2011, I became certified in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety. Then a year later, I completed certification in CBT for trauma and traumatic grief. I am also EMDRIA approved Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist, a Level 2 Gottman Couples Therapy counsellor, and trained in Attachment-focused EMDR. 

Outside of work, I make art, play/create music, swim in the ocean, and do yoga. I'm also passionate about animal rescue. I was involved in animal rescue and rehabilitation in Taiwan and have been a volunteer with both Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue and the BC SPCA as a foster parent for animals (now retired from fostering). Below are pictures of some of my former foster kittens.