Hi! My name is Lauren

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Registered Canadian Art Therapist working in Vancouver, BC. I have 10+ years working in community, mentorship, educational settings with youth and young adults.

I am a mixed-race, second generation Filipino-Canadian born and raised on the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-waututh peoples.

Before I became a therapist, I studied art, film, history, psychology and music. I also worked as a music teacher, a special education assistant, and volunteered in many community settings working with both children, youth and young adults. I also was a freelance photographer for several years.

Growing up, I struggled with my mental health due to chronic health concerns and societal/cultural expectations. Mental health was not understood or talked about in my formative years and I lacked the language and spaces to express the big feelings and complex thoughts that I had. But art, writing, and photography intuitively became spaces for me to connect with myself and make sense of my emotions and experiences. I've learned that having healthy therapeutic relationships to do that processing and healing in is essential. Now, after going for my own therapy and training in both counselling and artistic modalities, I've dedicated my career to giving back to support those who have gone through similar challenges.

I now work as a Clinical Counsellor and Art Therapist part time in a youth clinic and in private practice. I also am a founding Board Director of the BC Filipino Therapist Association.

Approaches & Modalities

My approach to therapy is relational, compassionate, and collaborative. This means I believe therapy is most helpful when you feel safe, understood, and supported in a genuine connection. Rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, I draw from different therapy models depending on your needs, goals, values, and lived experience. I consider the full picture of your wellbeing, including emotional, physical, relational, cultural, and spiritual aspects of life. My approach blends the following modalities and values:

• Narrative Therapy

• Art Therapy

• Somatic Internal Family Systems

• Adlerian Therapy

• EFFT (Emotion Focused Family Therapy)

• Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

• Solution Focused Brief Therapy

• Christian Faith & Spirituality

• Culturally Informed 

• Trauma-Informed

• Strengths Based

• Biopsychosocial-spiritual Model of Care