WHAT IF YOU COULD BE YOURSELF?

welcome!

If reading is not your thing, please feel free to book a consult via booking page or email instead, and we can just chat!

Who am I?

My name is Tamaki [they/them/theirs] (鹿野環). I am a trans (non-binary agender), gay (pan demi), disabled, neuroexpansive, POC, immigrant counsellor who also experience many privileges.

I like to demystify and destigmatize struggling by saying I did/do a lot of struggling, failing, and being targeted. Living marginalized in supremacy sucks. And we can do this together.

I am firmly decolonial, anti-imperialism, anti-genocide, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and trauma-informed (It is none of anyone’s business, but in case it matters to you and your trauma, I am an AFAB).

I actively support LandBack, indigenous self-determination (UNDRIP and beyond), BLM, harm reduction, safe supply, Trans Rights, Housing as human rights, StopTheSweeps, DefundThePolice (diversification of crisis response), disability inclusion, and mutual aid.

In my spare time, I enjoy making things and contributing to the community particularly using my skills to make and connect.

WHERE AM I?

I live on the unceded traditional ancestral territories of the the Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw Peoples (colonially known as “Vancouver”). My existence here is colonial.

I accept participants from so-called BC and other provinces and territories where my credentials allow me to practice.

Am I the right Counsellors for you?

Therapy to me is a healing of relationships by relationships. Please feel free to meet with me to see if it feels right to you.

If there are any specific questions regarding my alignment (e.g. Am I poly-affirming? Very. Anti-gencoide? Very), please feel free to ask.

If this is relevant or important to you, I work from Rogerian (Person-Centred), trauma-informed, art therapy, EMDR, CBT, DBT, ACT, body-centred (somatic), and existential therapy.

Credentials and Insurance Coverage?

I am a masters-level therapist with Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC) and Certified Canadian Counsellors (CCC). If the insurance is vague on coverage, please feel free to discuss with me or inquire the insurance agent.

I currently have limited free counselling availability for Palestinians in so-called “BC,” people who have been harmed in activism, and people who have suffered civilian casualties in their immediate circle.

WhoM Do I Support?

I support all people of various social locations and intersections (e.g. race, gender, disability, neurodiversity, relationship styles), typically 17 years old and over. Particularly:

Community member aka People who share a social location (marginalized identities)

Each marginalized community is a culture of our own, and it is valid to choose to do counselling within the community. Our norms are different, we have our own language and history, and we can speak so frankly about the harm of the dominant ideology.

Hello Neurospicy people

I am firmly neurodiversity-affirming. I do not “treat” ASD or ADHD but support healing from and protecting from the neurotypical-normative society’s harm.

This includes unlearning (“internalized”) ableism, resourcing up to navigate the society, and connecting with who we are outside of masking (we are very lovely).

Long-COVID

Unfortuanately psychotherapy cannot cure LC or ME/CFS. The literature recognizes the historical and current harm of GET and CBT prescribed as curative, as well as medical trauma of being distrusted by medical professionals.

Counselling may still help with emotional support, lifestyle adjustments, PTSD of the acute phase, grief of lifestyle/identity and relationships, mitigating “gaslighting,” medical trauma, and the anxiety of coming-out as disabled. But it only works when experiences are deeply believed and validated.

(Note: Literature unironically calls the post-GET/CBT therapy “ME/CFS-informed CBT.” Please feel free to ask about this.)

Movement-Grounded: Anti-Oppression / Anti-Racism activists, ALLIES, and Aspiring supporters

Ever been told you take up too much space? Workshops and books are great, but at some point, it could get a bit too deep and personal for that. Addressing complicity, facing down the sheer magnitude of oppression, processing the trauma of the work, and cultural transition to the movement spaces, therapy might be the space for that.

Do I see white cis het?

Yes! Being a POC but East Asian, trans but non-binary, and anti-imperialism but Japanese, I am familiar with how white cis hets experience the society and the movement / activism spaces.

In fact, I honour that it may take a degree of unlearning just to want to have me as your counsellor.

WHAT TYPES OF ISSUES?

Hard to describe by symptoms. Humans are incredibly unique, and one might present with anxiety and the other with depression after experiencing the same stress.

Broadly, relationship issues, life transitions, anxiety, trauma, depression, and anything that needs a safe space for exploration, such as identity, gender, impacts of white supremacy, internalized -isms. More specifically, please see this link for a long list.

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

Fees

If you are outside BC, please email me first.

Online Counselling or online art therapy

– $140 /60min plus GST/HST
– When covered by a program (FNHA, ICBC, BYRC, etc), the fees will be matched.

– Compassion / Reparation service: a few free spots available for Palestinians in so-called BC and/or those who suffered civilian casualties in their immediate circle.
– “Sliding scale”: Unfortunately, currently all free or half-cost counselling spots are taken. Please feel free to ask about or check back in at info@experiential.studio.

Peer Consulting

– $100 plus GST/HST per hour. This is offered to therapists and other DEI, mental health, and/or social service practitioners. This is for discussion of a topic, not of the participant or the practitioner.

Initial CONSULT

Free

CONTACT

Please email me in advance if I should use the camera set up at an angle to reduce eye contact.

A. Use the contact form or email. Please be mindful not to include details as email is not secure, or

B. Book an initial consult directly from the booking site. Please make sure to respond to the verification email from notifications@owlpractice.ca.

Accessibility

I do not require explanations for why you are requesting accessibility options.

The video platform has a “hide self-view” function.

One of my webcams is angled to reduce eye contact. Please request in advance.

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.

Note: Currently, only online counselling is offered. When transitioning to in-person,

I will choose an office that is accessible to wheelchairs of typical sizes,
it will be fragrance-free, VOC-reduced, and low stimuli,
Everyone will be asked to wear tightly-fitted N95 masks / respirators (I have a clear mask for those who need or prefer to see the face),
I will run a HEPA filter when tolerated and vent between sessions, and
I will continue offering virtual / online sessions.

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