About
Hi! I'm Jessamyn
(jess-ah-min, they/them).
Here's some info that might help to get to know me. If you're curious about something I haven't mentioned, we can chat via email or during an intro session!
I'm a queer, neurodivergent counsellor and a 2nd-generation Taiwanese settler on the stolen lands of the Musqueam Nation, colonially known as Richmond.
Outside of counselling, I'm involved in community sexual health services. I bring a background in queer and trans liberatory healthcare and harm reduction to my counselling.
When I'm not at my desk, you can find me growing food and flowers, babying senior dogs, and finding ways to bring more animal friends into my life.
Approaches
I often draw from community practices, stories, and writing. I also find pleasure in exploring and renegotiating our relationships with power and possibility. To my delight, here are some words folks have used to describe me: casual, creative, adaptive, cozy anarchist, public library punk.
Narrative Therapy
Therapeutic approaches can feel pretty abstract, so here's a short introduction to Narrative Therapy. Narrative therapy is explicitly community and justice-centred. If these points align with your values and perspectives, Narrative Therapy might be a fit for you.
- Context is important. What's happening around us shapes our lives and problems.
- Healing is justice. Justice is healing.
- We work together with care, respect, and without blame for our problems.
- We are the experts of our own lives.
- We are not our problems.
- We have skills, values, and experiences that can help shift the problems in our lives.
You can read more about Narrative practices here.
Experience
Work Experience
- Independent Counsellor: March 2025 - Present
- QMUNITY Practicum Counsellor: May 2021 - April 2022
Community Publications
Education
- Masters of Counselling Psychology, SFU
Thesis: Treading Water: The Healthcare Experiences of Racialized Queer & Trans Young Adults - Bachelor's Honors in Psychology, Minor in Counselling & Human Development, SFU
Certification
- Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC #11251864)