Hi, I’m Steph!
So glad you’re here. I know firsthand that seeking out new supports can be daunting. Sometimes getting ‘curious’ about oneself, and making space for vulnerability, can feel like the last thing we want to engage in. It takes courage and resiliency to live within oppressive social conditions - whatever brings you here, my hope is that we can co-create a space for you that’s rooted in care, curiosity, and that comes to feel like a soft-landing place.
I believe that if our supports are rooted in safety and trust, we can create space for individual and collective healing, connecting to more joy, more pleasure, more choicefulness, and more aliveness. Part of building trust requires you to know a bit about me.
I’m a cisgender, queer, Latine femme, uninvited settler living on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, which includes the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I offer trauma-informed counselling and work alongside adults and youth. I have lived experience with complex trauma, anxiety, and as a queer brown femme of Nicaraguan ancestry, my lived experience informs my relational, politicized, and justice-oriented approaches to healing and holding space.
Prior to working as a counselling practitioner, I worked as a support worker advocating alongside families and children being impacted by oppressive systems and doing harm-reduction work. This laid a foundation for the versatile, dignity-centered care I extend as a counsellor. I now work with a mix of individuals and relationships (all relationship structures welcome), and love supporting families and youth. I speak both English and Spanish, and greatly value accessibility in the counselling space. Your comfort is so important - whether we’re meeting virtually, in my office space, or for a walk and talk session - we get to be adaptable as needs arise.
If you’ve struggled with feeling outside of the normative/dominant culture, felt shame, burnout, grief and rage, longing for more internal safety, and value collective liberation, we may be a good match for working alongside each other.
In my spare time, I enjoy being in the ocean, taking in a full moon, and motorcycle rides with my partner. I love being an aunty, gathering beloved’s over meals, showing up for community, and the occasional dance party. I’m excited to connect and meet you wherever you’re at in this season of life.
Licensure and degrees
Registered Clinical Counsellor, BC Association of Clinical Counsellors
Master of Counselling, City University of Seattle - Vancouver
Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography, University of British Columbia
ADDITIONAL TRAININGS COMPLETED
The Sexually Competent Therapist Training - Allura Sex Therapy Centre - Oct 2020
Somatic Therapy 101 with a Focus on Working with Queer and Trans Clients, Andrea Glik - June 2021
Foundations in Somatic Abolitionism with Resmaa Menakem - September 2021
EMDR Comprehensive Basic Training, EMDR Consulting - August 2022
San'yas Core Indigenous Cultural Safety Mental Health Training - completed December 2022
Heart, Politics, and Healing: An Introduction to Generative Somatics' Methodology - March 2024
Advanced Somatic Trauma Treatment Methods with Linda Thai - 2025
Bodies of Medicine: Mentorship for BIPOC Practioners with Fayza Bundali and Nazbah Tom, 2025