About Me

Hi, I’m Sonia!

Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) #11253581

Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) #28105

If you have read about Seeking Sunrise, you already know some of the heart behind this practice. This is where I get to share a little more about who I am, how I show up, and why Parker is not just here for the cuddles, even though he takes that part of his job very seriously.

I’m a warm but no-BS kind of therapist. I’ll meet you with compassion, humour, curiosity, and absolutely no expectation that you have it all figured out. I’m also not going to sit across from you, nod politely, and let you stay stuck in patterns that are hurting you. I’ll encourage you, challenge you when you need it, and sometimes gently point out the thing you might really rather I didn’t notice.

I’m not here to judge your choices or tell you how to live your life. I am here to get curious with you, cheer you on, and lovingly call you on your sh*t when it matters.

I came to this work through lived experience as much as training. I have moved through seasons of severe anxiety and depression and have lost multiple family members to suicide. I also had the kind of late-in-life clarity that arrived when I finally received my ADHD diagnosis. It was the moment where everything clicked into place and I found myself thinking, Aha. That makes a ton of freaking sense.

Those experiences don’t mean I know exactly what it feels like to be you. But they do mean I know what it’s like to sit on the other side of the therapy room and quietly wonder, Will you really get me? They shaped the kind of therapist I wanted to become: someone who can sit with the hard stuff without making it feel clinical or cold, and who isn't afraid to be a real human in the room with you.

I come from a blended cultural and biracial background. My mom is a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong, and my dad is of European descent. Growing up between cultures shaped how I listen, how I make sense of the world, and how I honour the many ways people carry their stories. That lens guides me in the therapy space, where I lead with curiosity, humility, humour, and care.

My academic and professional roots also began outside the therapy room, in environmental and land-based work. Much of my early career focused on how people connect with land, food, nature, and community. Long before I became a therapist, I knew I felt most grounded outside and moving. Walking a trail, being out on the water, or settling a hand into a dog's warm fur could help me breathe and hear myself think in a way four walls sometimes couldn't.

Those threads now come together at Seeking Sunrise. I integrate relational, evidence-based and experiential therapy with nature-based approaches, including walk-and-talk sessions, kayak sessions, and animal-assisted therapy with Parker, my sweet and very committed therapy dog. Sometimes talking face-to-face in a quiet room is exactly what we need. Sometimes our nervous systems need movement, fresh air, a trail under our feet, or a golden retriever leaning his entire body weight against our leg.

You don’t need the right words, a perfect starting point, or a polished version of yourself to be here. We can be serious when things are serious, laugh when things are ridiculous, sit with what hurts, and call out the patterns that aren't serving you anymore.

Therapy with me is supportive, but it isn’t passive. We’ll get curious about not only what you think, but what you feel and what your body has been trying to tell you. I want to help you connect with your emotions and your body in ways you may not have before, understand and trust yourself more deeply, and learn how to move through the inevitable rollercoaster of life without losing yourself along the way.

I’ll encourage you. I’ll challenge you. I’ll probably make you laugh at some point when you weren’t expecting to. And when things get messy, I’ll be right there in it with you, helping you figure out what the hell to do next.

That’s the kind of therapy I believe in.

I’m not the clipboard, “I have all the answers” kind of therapist. I show up as a real person, with presence, curiosity, honesty, and usually some dog fur on my pants because that’s just my life.
My approach is relational, trauma-informed, experiential, and grounded in evidence. I draw from Parts Work, ACT, Narrative Therapy, CBT, EFT, and attachment-based approaches, but I’m not interested in squeezing you into a particular model or throwing therapy jargon at you. Different people need different things, and sometimes the same person needs something completely different from one week to the next.
We’ll get curious about the patterns you’ve developed, where they came from, and what they might have been trying to do for you. Because usually, the things we’re frustrated with ourselves for doing make a lot more sense when we understand how they got there.
But understanding yourself intellectually is only part of the work. Therapy can also be a place to notice what happens in your body, connect with emotions you may have spent years avoiding or thinking your way around, and learn to actually trust yourself through them. The goal isn’t to never feel anxious, overwhelmed, sad, angry, or completely thrown off by life again. Life is a rollercoaster. I want to help you feel more confident in your ability to ride it without abandoning yourself along the way.
Sometimes that means slowing things down. Sometimes it means trying something experiential instead of talking in circles. Sometimes I’ll ask a question that makes you sit there for a second and go, “Well... shit.” We’ll follow what’s actually happening in the room rather than forcing every session into the same formula.
And sometimes the room isn’t a room at all. Sessions can happen in the office, virtually, walking a trail, or out on the water, often with Parker nearby. Nature, movement, and animals can give us another way into the work, especially when sitting across from someone and talking feels like too much. They can help create space to breathe, notice, move, and connect differently.
You can also bring your memes, TikToks, weird analogies, niche references, and pop culture spirals. If it helps me understand your world, it belongs in therapy. Humour belongs here too. Therapy can hold some incredibly hard things without having to feel heavy every second.
Ultimately, I want therapy to help you understand yourself more deeply, feel more connected to yourself, and build enough trust in your own internal compass that you don’t need a therapist telling you how to live your life.
These are the approaches I draw from, depending on what fits you best:
- Humanistic Therapy
  A client-centered foundation that honors your capacity for healing and meaning-making.
- Attachment-Based Therapy
  Explores how early relationships shape present-day patterns and connections.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) / Parts Work
  Helps you connect with the different “parts” of yourself — with curiosity, compassion, and care.
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
  Supports understanding and transforming emotions in a safe therapeutic space.
- Narrative Therapy
  Reclaims your story by helping you re-author the beliefs shaped by your lived experience.
- Solution-Focused Therapy
  Highlights strengths and supports change by centring what’s already working.
- Somatic and Body Based Approaches
  Helps you tune into the body’s cues, sensations, and wisdom to support regulation, grounding, and healing from stress and trauma.
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  Blends mindfulness and values to support living with purpose — even with difficult emotions.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  Helps shift unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns that may be impacting your well-being.
- Nature-Based Therapy & Mindfulness
  Draws on the grounding and regulating power of the natural world to support healing.
- Canine-Assisted Interventions
  Includes Parker (my co-therapist) in the process — offering connection, co-regulation, and laughter through the human–animal bond.
- Snacks, tea, coffee, and ginger ale are fully approved therapy beverages in this space.
- Parker thinks he runs the practice. Honestly, he isn’t wrong. If you leave with his fur on your clothes, consider it a complimentary grounding tool.
- At home, I have what I lovingly call the “Ferrari version” of Parker, Ellie.
- Nature is where I ground myself, whether it is a quiet walk or going out to earn a few bruises on my mountain bike.
- I also find steadiness in books, movement, cooking, and slow mornings.
- And yes, I love humour in the therapy room, the kind that brings a little breath when things feel heavy. You never need to hold back your humour, your swears, or your weirdness here.

Qualifications and Trainings

Professional Background

My path into counselling has been shaped by years of community-based leadership, land-based programming, and trauma-informed support.

My first professional role involved creating and running an organic farm–based work experience program for teens. I designed and facilitated hands-on, land-based learning that supported skill development, responsibility, and meaningful connection to land and food systems. This early experience laid the foundation for my later work in youth development and community-based programming.

Building on this foundation, I went on to co-design and lead land-based experiential learning and employment programs for youth and young adults, guided by Indigenous ways of knowing, including Two-Eyed Seeing. This work emphasized relationship with land, collaboration with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and support for participants navigating systemic and social barriers.

As my leadership roles expanded, I facilitated and managed youth leadership and employment programs and later co-developed and managed large-scale pilot initiatives supporting underrepresented communities. This included federally funded STEM pre-employment programs for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ women across British Columbia and Alberta, as well as paid work experience and internship pathways for BIPOC young adults. These roles involved supervising facilitation teams, building community and industry partnerships, and implementing wraparound supports to reduce barriers to participation.

Alongside program leadership, I have remained closely connected to mental health and crisis support through crisis line volunteering, youth mental health and substance use action teams, participation in a therapy dog program, and speaking at mental health and suicide prevention events.

These experiences led me to pursue a Master’s in Counselling Psychology to deepen my clinical skills. Today, as the founder of Seeking Sunrise Therapy & Counselling, I integrate this background into my work as a therapist, grounding my practice in social justice, cultural humility, relational care, and respect for each client’s lived experience.