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Counselling
Counselling sessions available with Natascha Lawrence or one of our associates
Please note that Natascha Lawrence has a waitlist for new counselling clients. Bookings are only available for current clients and supervision sessions.
Our associate, Nicole Chan, has immediate availability for virtual sessions. Please book a free 15-minute telephone consultation to discuss how she may be a good fit to meet your therapeutic needs.
Our student interns Dana Patterson and Jasleen Mann have immediate availability. Sessions are $100 with sliding scale and limited pro-bono spaces are available.
Please note that appointment times are limited, and cancellations or changes are requested with 24 hours notice to avoid being charged the full session fee. Thank you!
FREE 15 minute Consultation
To learn more about a particular associate or student, please feel free to book a free 15 minute virtual or phone consultation to learn more about each clinician's approach.
Counselling Services Available
Play Therapy
Youth Counselling
Parent Coaching
In-person and virtual neurodivergent tailored play therapy sessions available from birth to adulthood. Infant, child, youth, and adult play therapy sessions available.
Parent Coaching
Youth Counselling
Parent Coaching
In-person and virtual neurodivergent empowering tailored collaborative parent coaching/counselling sessions. FASD specific parent coaching sessions also available.
Youth Counselling
Youth Counselling
Youth Counselling
Trauma-informed, decolonized, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, somatic-based, neurodiversity empowering services. In-person and virtual sessions available.
Adult Counselling
Couples Counselling
Youth Counselling
Trauma-informed, decolonized, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, somatic-based, neurodiversity empowering services. In-person and virtual sessions available.
Couples Counselling
Couples Counselling
Couples Counselling
In-person and virtual sessions for couples. neurodivergent empowering, LGBTQIA2S+, polyamorous, sex and kink positive.
Family Counselling
Couples Counselling
Couples Counselling
In-person or virtual sessions for families, anti-oppressive, collaborative, neurodiversity affirming.
Clinical Director
(Fatima) Natascha Lawrence (she/her), MA, RCC, BCRPT
Natascha is not currently accepting new counselling clients.
I use she/her/hers pronouns.
My father is of biracial Chinese ancestry, and my mother is of mixed ancestry from Macau. As a BIPOC clinician, I recognize the duality of colonial history in my family and being a person of colour. I am a first-generation Canadian settler and a child of immigrants.
I am an ADHDer, Queer, have Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and have a mobility disability.
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor, BC Registered Play Therapist, Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Supervisor, and EMDR practitioner. Over the last 15 years, through FASD Counselling, I have specialized in working with neurodivergent, particularly those with FASD, children, youth, and adults.
My teachers have included Eurocentric theories of somatics, interpersonal neurobiology, trauma-informed, attachment, EMDR, expressive arts, and Synergetic Play Therapy. These teachings have fueled my passion is to help people connect to themselves, their cultures, communities, histories, ancestors, and creation.
I am inspired by my Indigenous colleagues and the Elder teachers who have blessed and permitted me to share their wisdom and teachings about working with neurodiversity.
As I learn the ancient traditional Chinese medicine principles of connection to breath and movement to balance and cultivate Chi 的气, this connects me to my family and ancestors. It also grounds the roots of somatic wisdom modern theories have claimed.
Associates
Nicole Chan, MA, RCC (she/her)
Not accepting new clients.
Nicole completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She then moved to BC and completed her Master of Counselling Psychology degree from Adler University. Nicole is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with a longstanding passion for working with families, focused on helping people connect deeper to themselves and others.
Nicole identifies as Chinese-Malaysian, with generations of her family born in Malaysia and ancestry linking back to Guangzhou, China. As a first-generation immigrant, she understands how the stigma around mental health can prevent folx from seeking help. She hopes to break down this stigmatization and make mental health supports more accessible and inclusive to all.
Nicole has experience with supporting children, teens, adults, families, parents, and couples. She works from a person-centred, anti-oppressive and anti-ableist framework. She uses techniques from many modalities and has specified training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Emotion-Focused Family Therapy, and Gottman methods.
From a decolonized framework, Nicole incorporates somatic and play/expressive arts-based practices that aim to empower people of all abilities and identities with affirming and culturally responsive care.
Nicole completed her counselling practicum at Touchstone Family Association in Richmond. She has also worked as an Independent Living Specialist for Richmond Society for Community Living, supporting folx with developmental disabilities. Nicole has extensive experience working with neurodivergent youth and adults. She currently works as a Supporting Families Clinician for Richmond Addiction Services Society.
Nicole recognizes the individuality of each person she supports and aims to empower folx by giving them the space and tools necessary to empower themselves. .
Amanda Iaci, MC, RCC (she/her)
Not currently accepting bookings.
I am a Canadian settler living on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. I obtained my Master of Counseling Degree at City University and am a Registered Clinical Counselor.
I am passionate about play and connecting with children in a fun, grounded, and patient way. I love creating new and creative activities to empower kiddos using their special interests. I use an attachment and strength-based approach in my practice that affirms each individual’s neurodiversity.
For over 20 years, I have worked with children and families in private and community settings. I specialize in working with autistic children, those with Pathological Demand Avoidance, and kids in foster care. I am trained in a multitude of modalities, including Synergetic Play Therapy, Sand Tray Therapy, and Expressive Play Therapy.
Pamela Wallberg (she/her), MA, RCC, ECE/ITE, CPT
Available virtually Mondays through Thursdays.
The grandchild of Polish-Jewish immigrants who arrived in Canada post-WW2, I was raised on my grandparents' active farm in BC. I currently live with my three children on the unceded and stolen lands of the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm, sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and sel̓íl̓witulh peoples.
I hold a Master of Arts from the University of British Columbia, where my thesis focused on multimodal approaches to emotional literacy in preschool-aged children. I am a licensed Early Childhood / Infant Toddler Educator, Certified Infant Development Consultant, DiRFloortime practitioner, Registered Clinical Counsellor, and CAPT Certified Play Therapist.
Prior to shifting my career to providing counselling services, I worked within the early childhood sector, delivering inclusive support services and parent coaching to children and their families. I have extensive experience working with neurodiverse children and their families in school, childcare, nature/outdoor and home-based settings. I specialize in working with Autistic children and their families, providing a strengths-based approach to recognizing and meeting emotional, sensory, regulatory and attachment needs.
I am particularly interested in incorporating mindfulness, play therapy and expressive arts approaches. I work to provide a safe space for children and their families to recognize, understand and celebrate their sense of self and identity. I emphasize a warm, authentic approach tailored to meet the individual child and family needs while affirming their strength.
Catherine Aoyama (she/her), MEd, RCC
Available for virtual or in-person bookings in Port Moody on Tuesday evenings.
I am third generation Japanese-Canadian and I am grateful to be born and raised on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in the city of Vancouver, BC.
My mother immigrated from Japan as a young woman and my Canadian born father and his family were interned during WW II at the Lemon Creek Internment Camp in the West Kootenay Region, 26 km south of New Denver where his family ultimately ended up before making their way back to the Lower Mainland many years after the end of the war. I have experienced and worked with and through the generational cultural differences that come with growing up Canadian in a Japanese family and with these experiences, I have been blessed to learn more about and reflect on the effects of intergenerational trauma within families.
I am a BC teacher, a school counsellor and a Registered Clinical counsellor who feels passionate about inclusion and creating wraparound supports for all people in my community. My work as a teacher is with neurodivergent children and youth and I work very closely with an FASD initiative to support children and youth with FASD.
As a counsellor, I work from a person-centred, trauma informed, neurodiversity affirming, family systems and internal family systems lens and I welcome learning from the stories and histories of every individual I meet. I am very honoured to learn from each person with whom I work, and I am thankful for the opportunity that counselling allows me to walk along side for a time.
Practicum Students
Dana Patterson (she.her), Intern Counsellor
Available Fridays in person.
I use she/her pronouns. I am a third-generation Canadian settler of European-decent, living and studying on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus in Kelowna within the beautiful Syilx territory. I moved to Vancouver in the summer of 2023 to attend Adler University and pursue my Masters of Counselling Psychology with a concentration in School and Youth. My path to counselling has been paved through a lifelong personal interest in child psychology, mental-health, and passion of disability advocacy.
My approach to counselling draws from the strengths-based model of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, incorporating attachment and somatic interventions to best personalize each session to each individual. I am excited to connect with children and families in such a way that fosters safety, understanding, and affirmation.
As a practicum student, I am excited to grow my expertise in different play therapy and counselling modalities, and to learn from the exceptional FASD Institute staff, associates, and clients!
Jasleen Mann (she/her) Intern Counsellor, MCP in Progress
Available Fridays in person.
Hi there! My name is Jasleen, and I’m currently pursuing my Master of Counselling Psychology with a focus on supporting children and youth.
I’m passionate about creating safe, welcoming spaces for young people to explore their emotions and overcome challenges. As a South Asian woman, I understand the stigma surrounding mental health in many minority communities, and I’m committed to breaking that silence by offering culturally sensitive and inclusive care.
With my background in Psychology and my experience working with children, I believe in a holistic, person-centered approach to mental health. I’m all about recognizing each child’s unique strengths and helping them build on those. Whether a child is dealing with anxiety, trauma, or just needs help navigating the ups and downs of growing up, my goal is to offer support that meets them where they are. I use tools like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and trauma-informed care to create a nurturing, individualized approach that promotes healing.
I’m passionate about making a difference in young lives and helping families feel empowered and supported through every step of the journey.