Meet Shivani

Registered Clinical Counsellor & Trauma Therapist 

Shivani believes that her clients are already resilient and that their symptoms are adaptive responses to trauma rather than indications of brokenness or deficiency. She has a passion for helping her clients feel connected and present in their bodies, for exploring the underlying causes of their symptoms and current issues, and for helping clients reclaim their sense of inherent wholeness and aliveness after trauma. 

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Shivani was in private practice as a trauma-informed yoga therapist for 11 years. She also served on faculty for a number of training programs and taught public yoga and meditation classes. Currently, her main approach integrates EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Inner Child Reparenting. 

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As a white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, able-bodied woman, Shivani acknowledges her many privileges and strives to create a brave therapeutic space where all people can feel welcomed and respected. She works from a trauma-informed, feminist, LGBTQ+, and anti-racist lens.

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Meditation, breathwork, and walks in the woods are important aspects of Shivani's self-care practice, and therapy has played an essential role in her own trauma healing journey.  She is honoured to support her clients in discovering their own unique paths to healing and in reconnecting with their sense of embodied aliveness.

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Shivani is a registered provider with the Crime Victims Assistance Program (CVAP). Claimants can receive financial assistance from CVAP for counselling sessions with Shivani.

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Education & Training: 

• Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (#17248)

• MA in Counselling Psychology - Yorkville University

• BA in Psychology - UBC

• Research on post-concussion syndrome with UBC Psychiatry

• Internship at Avalon Women's Recovery Society, North Vancouver

• Comprehensive basic EMDR training with Jasmine Alexander

• Defense and Affect Restructuring - Advanced EMDR training with Andrew Leeds 

• Treating Dissociative Disorders with EMDR: The Progressive Approach; EMDR Therapy for Suicidal Clients and Self-harming Behaviors; Hostile Parts of the Personality in Complex Trauma with Dolores Mosquera

• Decolonizing 101 with Ta7taliya Michelle Nahanee & Jacqueline Jennings 

• Integrating the MID into EMDR Clinical Practice: Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation with D. Michael Coy  

• Advanced Equity Skills for Clinicians: Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed Care with Artic (Rebecca Davis and Shea Lowery) (in-progress)

• Somatic Experiencing® (Intermediate level)

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills, Crisis Centre

• Continuing education on trauma, somatics, and Polyvagal Theory through NICABM with van der Kolk, Porges, Ogden, Siegel, etc. 

• Spiritual Activism 101 & 102 (Racial Justice) with Rachel Ricketts

• LGBTQ+ Competency for Therapists with Rachel Harlich

• Power Dynamics Between White Women and Women of Colour webinar with Layla F. Saad, Ebony Janice, and Sinikiwe Dhliwayo

• Brainspotting, Phase 1 with David Grand

• Movement for Trauma, Level 1 with Jane Clapp

• E-RYT 500 Experienced Yoga Teacher

• Trauma-Informed Yoga Training with Yoga Outreach

• Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist & former faculty member

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