Silvana Espinoza Lau (she/her/ella)

My foundation is in liberation psychology, anti-oppression, and decolonization. The main conventional approach I use is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This lets me support you in rediscovering how to live a meaningful and fulfilling life aligned with your values. When we are not clear on what our values are, we tend to go about life knowing what we don’t want, but not knowing what we want or what we are passionate about. In this process I also use IFS and Attachment theory to identify past hurts that affect you in the present. This will help you figure out how to set boundaries and know how to have your needs met. It will also let you keep on growing authentically at work, at school, or in your community. I like to help the helpers, whether you work in a traditional health service setting or supporting people in other systems in your community. I offer a non-judgmental approach to get you unstuck and one step closer to experiencing a healthy and wholesome life.

I believe that therapy is political. I believe that all of your identities deserve to heal, no matter what systems or structures hurt them. Whether it is a problem you are currently dealing with, something that simply feels “not right” within you. This could be due to intergenerational trauma, or due to your daily interactions with bigger systems (beyond family and work) that affect you. Whether it is because one or the other, you deserve to do the work to heal. I believe that healing takes time if you want to do it right. So I will not promise fast results or quick “band-aid-like” fixes. If you are willing, we can embark on a deeper journey of working with the subconscious, with symbols and with dreamwork so that all of your parts can have a voice and be acknowledged. I believe that healing is a holistic endeavour; you cannot separate your mind from your body. I believe that your body speaks to you all the time and it will let you know when you are not listening to your emotions.