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Meet our Team
Our Founders
(Fatima) Natascha Lawrence, M.A., R.C.C., BCRPT
I use she/her pronouns and am a BIPOC first-generation Canadian settler of mixed Asian ancestry, an ADHDer, Queer and have a mobility disability due to a chronic pain neurological condition.
When I started as a clinician, I was stunned and disappointed that many mental health services, organizations, and programs did not meet the needs of neurodivergent clients or those who have experienced complex trauma. I founded FASD Counselling and co-founded The FASD Institute to provide the services I could not find.
Some therapy modalities prescribe interventions that do not consider equity-seeking populations. At the FASD Institute, we believe that counselling should focus on meeting folx where they are and that counsellors should walk alongside clients, honouring intersectionality and empowering lifelong holistic healing.
Natascha is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, BC Registered Play Therapist, Certified Synergetic Play Therapist, and EMDR Practitioner who works from a somatic, attachment-based, decolonized, neurodiversity-affirming, and anti-oppressive framework.
Kyle Lawrence
I use he/him pronouns.
My mother's mother was born in eslhá7an, a Squamish village community located on the shores of North Vancouver.
Growing up, I knew only a small portion of my Skwxwú7mesh lineage and only recently understood the impact of my grandmother's attendance at the Residential School system in North Vancouver. Feelings of loss and not belonging were always present.
I had thought that the Indian Act had succeeded in eradicating my connection to my ancestors and their wisdom. As I learn more about this Intergenerational Trauma and reconnect with my traditional teachings, the drive for recovery resonates with me. I do this to honour my ancestors.
I am the past, present and future; I am Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw.
Experts
FASD Expert
Sibling Expert & Helper
Sibling Expert & Helper
Jocelyn
Hello, my name is Jocelyn and I also have FASD. :) Thank you for wanting to learn more about FASD and how to help people.
Sibling Expert & Helper
Sibling Expert & Helper
Sibling Expert & Helper
Consultant
Courtney Farrow-Lawrence
Gwe’. My ancestry lies in what is now referred to as Nova Scotia in Turtle Island. I am of the Mi’kmaq, African Nova Scotian, Japanese and Acadian French peoples. I previously lived on the territory of the Sto: lo people in British Columba, where I married into the Fraser family of the Snnuneymuxw Nation. I have two beautiful Indigenous children.
Over the last 11 years, it has been my pleasure to specialize in FASD support, training, and advocacy while working from an Indigenous worldview to address concurrent and colonial trauma, including the removal from the land and upholding the importance of traditional Indigenous knowledge. I focus on holistic wellness, which starts with our connection to the land. It is also vitally important to me that our youth have a voice, a positive sense of identity and advocates within our communities. I am most grateful to learn from my children and the youth I support, who have given me the opportunity to walk alongside them, for a moment in time, as they journey to becoming our next knowledge keepers – Wela’lin, all our relations hold you up.
Please get in touch with me at courtneyfraser84@gmail.com to discuss consultation services.
Administration
Athena Affan (she/her), BSW
Athena Affan (she/her) is a fat, queer, Black, Afro-Caribbean femme living with gratitude on the unceded and stolen homelands of the
hən̓ q ̓əmin̓ əm ̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples.
For over a decade, she provided crisis and trauma support to women survivors of violence and currently works with PeerNetBC as a community developer and facilitator. She was a founding Director of ARC CommUNITY; an educational enrichment program prioritizing BIPOC learners, educators and experiences, and is the current chair of Burnaby Pride. She is a neurodivergent parent to two wonderful ND kiddos and is working towards her MSW at the University of Calgary.
She enjoys Queer culture, science fiction and fantasy, listening to audiobooks and dreaming about collective liberation.
Parent Coaching
Jill Crichton (she/her), MA, Parent Coach/ Consultant
Available virtually on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
I am a mother, sister, aunt, and daughter born and raised in Vancouver.
I have completed two degrees from the University of British Columbia. An undergraduate degree in Linguistics (specializing in language acquisition in children) and a Master of Arts Degree in Special Education.
I have been an infant development consultant for 14 years and a Key Worker for the CDBC Program in the Lower Mainland for 11 years. I have certifications in STAT, a screening tool for Autism in Toddlers and Young Children, Watch, Wait, and Wonder, Group facilitation, and Developmental Parenting. I have developed groups for parents, children, and youth and facilitated trainings for school district personnel, ministry social workers, and foster parents.
I have a passion for working with caregivers of individuals with FASD. I believe in working collaboratively to expand understanding, help navigate systems, develop support systems, and find appropriate resources. Expanded knowledge of FASD and networking with other caregivers are necessary for families to feel supported and build strength and resiliency.
In my work, I have found that “it takes a village to raise children” is especially true. I hope to help families find and develop their village.