Yana Petronis Counselling

I approach therapy as a creative and collaborative process that involves the whole being of both the therapist and client. In order to lead fulfilling, joyful lives, humans need access to the intelligence available through their physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual selves.  Trauma, shame, and fear can disrupt our ability to access and experience these aspects of self fully, and can leave us feeling dissatisfied with our lives.  By working directly with clients’ felt sense of their bodies, as well as their stories and their feelings, I support clients in deepening their relationship to all aspects of themselves so they can increase their capacity to be present to their experiences. I’m committed to collaboratively creating a genuinely safe and supportive therapeutic space, honoring the strategies people have developed to navigate their struggles while helping them find new approaches that better serve them here and now. I trust that all people, with dedication, practice, and support, can create more freedom, meaning and joy.

My practice is informed by somatic, narrative, and relational perspectives, as well as by feminist and queer theories and emerging understandings of neurodiversity.

I honor and celebrate the diversity of experiences people have of gender and sexuality, as well as the many ways people have of thinking, processing, and communicating.

I have an M.A. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Victoria, and am a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).