Yiya Yin, MA, BA, RCC

I offer cross-cultural, trauma-informed, holistic counselling services to individuals, families, and groups. My aim is to journey alongside you to build a strong foundation of trust and integrate therapies that cater to your needs, goals, cultural context, and health concerns. I work from a strength-based approach while using mindfulness and embodied techniques to bring awareness to both thought patterns and bodily responses.

I have supported clients to discover ways to manage and overcome issues such as :

grief, anxiety, depression, chronic illness management, alcoholism, drugs and substance or pornography misuse/abuse, PTSD, teen bullying, boundary-setting, domestic abuse and destructive narcissistic relationships within family systems, fears of abandonment and challenge with intimacy, attachment challenges, separation and divorce transition, identity and body image challenges, caregiver burnout (supporting family with illness or traumatic brain injury), career transition and workplace conflicts, miscarriage grief support, self-advocacy and preparing for sabbatical rest or career transitions due to burnout.

Being an immigrant (born in China), I am aware of the challenges many families and immigrant communities face navigating between values and mindsets. I support clients who are seeking help with cross-cultural conflicts, family of origin challenges, attachment issues, intergenerational trauma, and diaspora challenges in the face of social, economic and racial barriers and/or injustices.

I value and respect people of diverse faith/religious backgrounds. I offer faith-informed counselling at your request. I define well being as is a synthesis of mind, body, heart and soul. I believe spiritual needs, values and experiences are important to discuss within counselling to bring insight and synthesis. I am passionate to support you to integrate your experience in ways that are authentic and adds value and depth to your spiritual life.

I received my Master of Counselling degree in 2017 from Philadelphia from Missio Seminary with additional training from the Global Trauma Recovery Institute. My previous practicum experience in a private counselling clinic, as well as offering support groups of various kinds. I have worked with urban high school students. I have delivered mobile expressive therapy and play therapy for families with children who have ADHD.

Previous to counselling, I worked in a business Lean Agile coaching/consulting firm. With an awareness of the complexity and implications of leadership along with corporate culture systems and management dynamics, I am passionate to support professionals and entrepreneurs who are struggling with overwhelming demands. and want to integrate their business needs and authentic self into a more coherent and sustainable lifestyle.

My life passion is to offer my non-judgmental presence and respect to support clients along their healing and transformation. Feel free to book a 20min free consult. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

 

 

BEYOND THE SESSION

What centers me are times out hiking and exploring mindful sketching or photography.  Yoga keeps me embodied daily and helps me come into awareness of body tension that needs to be released and cared for daily.

I love the pure joy and exhilaration of art and music making. You can see my art here: yiya.ca. I also love collaborating with local and global artists to create sacred creative healing events and spaces. 

Listening to Stevie Wonder makes my day brighter and chores become rhythmic cardio time. Now that’s redemption. In meal time, my inner child enjoys dancing around my tiny kitchen while I cook. For me, soul food is more about the process of connecting with people while making food as well as feasting on yummy dishes. Diet is very important to balance since I sustain proximal health with an auto-immune disease.

Prayer, rooibos tea and beeswax candles support me in my downtime and help me maintain my sleep hygiene. Shameless to say, my bedside table has a leaning tower of art, spirituality, psychology, and architecture books which I think eventually will topple over but I love being surrounded by books and journals and cozy blankets.

That’s my life in a nutshell, perfectly imperfect.