Allie Murphy, Post-Graduate Intern Counsellor
Allie Murphy is a counselling practicum student at Bodymind Counselling who is seeing clients under the supervision of Sarah Pullman. Her collaborative, feminist, trauma-informed approach is grounded in humility, curiosity, and compassion, and willingness to learn. Allie has a special interest in supporting anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, sexuality and gender identity, neurodiversity, and life transitions.
Allie Murphy, Intern Counsellor (she/they)
AREAS OF FOCUS:
Anxiety
Life transitions
Grief and loss
2SLGBTQIA+
THERAPY MODALITIES:
AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy)
Body-centred and somatic approaches
Radical Self-Compassion
Emotion-Focused Therapy
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH ALLIE
First and foremost, I believe that healing is possible through the cultivation of safety, connection, and empowerment. Some key values for me are being culturally responsive, socially just, compassionate, and collaborative. My sessions are experiential, relational, and somatically oriented.
Working from a foundation of safety, I encourage and accompany clients to explore difficult emotions and experiences. I recognize that you are the expert in your own life and my goal is to help you uncover your own strengths, wisdom, and expertise. I offer my training and experience and together we work to address the challenges that bring you in, as well as whatever arises in the process. In session, I am deeply interested in your experience in the present moment and will encourage you to shift focus from in-the-head toward body-based sensing and feeling. We will check in regularly to ensure you feel safe and supported by the tools we use, and I welcome input and feedback throughout.
ALLIE’S EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING
I’ve always been drawn to our stories and how we tell them, and I have a B.A. from McGill University and an M.A. from University of Victoria in English Literature. During the pandemic, I returned to school to pursue an M.A. in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University, and completed it in Spring 2024. I have experience in queer and feminist organizing, community healthcare, and as a researcher about issues impacting young people at the Centre for Youth and Society. I have spent over 5 years supporting survivors of sexual assault on crisis lines and in support groups. Transformative experiences with my own therapist while navigating grief, loss, and major life upheavals showed me firsthand the power of the therapeutic relationship and inspired me to pursue this path.
I am an intern still practicing under supervision and expecting my registration in fall 2024.
ON A PERSONAL NOTEI grew up on the east coast but have lived in BC since 2015, and as a Maritimer, I am happiest near the ocean. My personal experience with grief, loss, queerness, anxiety, trauma, neurodiversity, and chronic pain inform my practice and my commitment to our collective liberation and healing. To unwind, I love to read, write, practice tarot, attend community acupuncture, spend time by the water, cuddle with my cat, and learn new things (pottery at present).
FEESSessions with Allie are $100, plus GST.
HOURSAllie is available on Monday mornings, Tuesday afternoons (online only), Wednesdays afternoon/evenings, and Sunday afternoons.
All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Özlem Mavis, Student Counsellor
Ozlem Mavis is a student counsellor under the supervision of Sarah Pullman and an expressive arts therapist in training. Her approach is gentle, creative, collaborative, and anti-oppressive. Oz has a particular interest in supporting people through their existential issues, relationship challenges, exploration of sexuality, chronic illness, major moves and/or cross-cultural immigration, and quest for home and belonging.
Özlem Mavis, Student Counsellor (she/her)
AREAS OF FOCUS:
Existential Issues
Relationships and Sexuality
Cross-Cultural Issues, Identity and Belonging
Chronic Illness or Pain
LGBTQ2SIA+
THERAPY MODALITIES:
Body-centered and Somatic Approaches
Expressive Arts Therapy
Focusing-Oriented Therapy
Embodied Experiential Dreamwork
Spiritually-Integrated Psychotherapy
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH ÖZlem
My aim is always to provide a gentle, creative, collaborative, and non-judgmental space. I deeply respect the courage it takes to begin this journey and approach each session with kindness, curiosity, openness, and a touch of playfulness to foster a supportive healing environment.
My sessions often include body-centered and somatic approaches, alongside a deeply relational approach. I also offer expressive arts therapy for interested clients, which can include creative processes such as painting, writing, storytelling, movement, or music, leading to surprising insights and unimagined possibilities. No prior experience required!
Özlem’s EXPERIENCE & TRAINING
My fascination with creative expression, psychology, and the existential-spiritual dimension of life led me to a B.A. in English Literature and World Religions from McGill University. I then earned a Graduate Certificate in Spiritually-Informed Psychotherapy from St. Stephen’s College. Since 2017, I've undergone extensive training in Focusing, an experiential therapeutic modality facilitating access to unique bodily-felt knowing. Additionally, I hold a certificate in embodied experiential dreamwork—a somatic, client-led process of working with dreams and nightmares.
I am currently pursuing my RCC designation as a Master’s student in the Expressive Arts Therapy and Psychology program at the European Graduate School. My previous roles, from supporting adults with diverse abilities to offering individual expressive arts therapy sessions to elementary school students, enrich my training with real-world empathy and understanding.
ON A PERSONAL NOTEThirteen years ago, I undertook a life-changing journey, moving from Turkey to Canada alone. This experience deepened my understanding of cross-cultural challenges, belonging, and self-discovery. My personal therapy journey, which has helped me explore my sexual identity, spirituality, chronic illness, and anxiety, informs my empathetic and non-judgmental counselling approach. I highly value authenticity and aim to remove shame from the process of self-exploration. No topic is off-limits in our work together.
In my free time, I find solace in freediving, nature walks, music, meditation, journaling, and painting, which keep me grounded and inspired.
FEESSessions with Özlem are $60 per 50 minute session for individuals, plus GST.
HOURSÖzlem is available Sundays, Tuesdays 2:30-8, and Thursdays 11:30 - 2:30.
Trainings:
Trauma-Informed Grief Support - 2024 - with Shauna Janz
Kink Education for Therapists - 2024 - with Sexual Health Alliance
Intro to AEDP - with Diana Fosha
Transform Trauma Through Fierce Love - AEDP Institute - with SueAnn Piliero
Making Good Use of Suffering - AEDP Institute - with Jerry Lamagna
Getting Started or Restarted with AEDP - AEDP Institute - with Ben Lipton
Graduate Certificate in Spiritually Informed Psychotherapy - St. Stephen's College
Focusing Level 4 - with The International Focusing Institute
Embodied Experiential Dreamwork Certification - with Dr. Leslie Ellis
Nature-based Expressive Arts Therapy Certification - with World Arts Organization
All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
August Waite, Student Counsellor
August Waite is a counselling intern under the supervision of Sarah Pullman. August has completed professional trainings in a range of modalities in both individual and couples (including non-monogamy/polyamory) counselling. Their approach centers safety, choice, and in working experientially with the here-and-now. They are passionate about working with trauma, shame, grief, anxiety and social anxiety, body image and self esteem, gender/body dysphoria and euphoria, transition and post-transition experience, and relationship challenges.
August Waite, Student Counsellor (they/them)
AREAS OF FOCUS:
Anxiety and social anxiety
Shame and self esteem
Complex trauma and attachment wounds
Body image and gender dysphoria
Couples therapy (including non-monogamy)
Sexuality, coming out, and transition/post-transition experience
THERAPY MODALITIES:
AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy)
Body-Centered and Somatic Approaches
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
Developmental Model for Couples Therapy
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH August
Whatever we are carrying becomes lighter when we’re connected to, and witnessed by, caring others.
I believe in experiential work, and in the power of something new happening in each session. In our work together, I strive always to create an environment that is safe enough to honour and hold your struggle, your courage, and your joy. My approach incorporates techniques to help us show up compassionately to all our parts and all aspects of our emotional experience, including the ones we may struggle to be with. I also work to create opportunities to return to the body, while honouring the reasons we may have had to leave it. As a trauma-informed counsellor, sessions with me always explicitly invite collaboration and choice, and I work with an eye turned toward the collective wounds we each carry from the trauma of social injustice.
In my work with couples and relationships, I am passionate about understanding the culture that your relationship exists within, and the culture which has been created between you. I work to see and mirror the patterns you elicit in one another, and experientially work with moments of connection and disconnection in the here-and-now.
I believe that when we ground into emotional safety and connection with one another, we can unlock our inherent capacity to grow and to heal.
August’s EXPERIENCE & TRAINING
My curiosity about the ways in which we are impacted by culture, communities, and social structures led me from initial study in Gender Studies to a B. A. in Psychology. I then began my Masters degree in Counselling Psychology at City University.
I have worked for years as a community volunteer counsellor at Citizens’ Counselling Centre, where I’ve experienced working with a diverse array of individuals and couples. Prior to this, I worked as a crisis line volunteer with trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks across North America. I also provide training to novice counsellors in gender and sexuality affirmative counselling. I am passionate about working with trauma, shame, grief, anxiety and social anxiety, body image and self esteem, gender/body dysphoria and euphoria, transition and post-transition experience, and relationship challenges (including non-monogamous/polyamorous relationships).
Beyond my Masters of Counselling Psychology coursework, I have also completed professional training in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Emotion Focussed Therapy for Couples, the Developmental Model for Couples Therapy, and will be completing training in Lifespan Integration Therapy this year.
ON A PERSONAL NOTEI’ve lived and worked as an uninvited settler on unceded Lekwungen territories for the past 10 years, and grew up in Nogojiwanong (so-called Peterborough), Ontario. I’m always striving to live in closer alignment with the teachings and decolonizing calls-to-action which the indigenous stewards of these territories so generously extend to us.
My counselling work is inspired by my lived experiences and desire to bring my whole self to the work. My experience as a queer, trans, and non-binary person has informed my interest in community, relationship, and our experiences of the self and the body. I’m an enthusiastic collector of art practices, and my time-tested art loves include poetry and music making. In times of challenge and times of celebration, I am grateful to be accompanied by my weird and wonderful chosen family and by my relationship with the land and water.
FEESSessions with August are $60 per 50 minute session for individuals, plus GST. Couples are $75 per 50 minutes, plus GST.
HOURSAugust is available Mondays 2:30 - 8pm and Tuesdays 8am - 12pm.
Trainings:
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Therapy Immersion - AEDP Institute 2024 - with Diana Fosha
AEDP Portrayals: The Dyadic Experiential Processing of Trauma to a Corrective Emotional Experience - 2024 - with Diana Fosha
AEDP for Trauma and Attachment Wounds - PESI 2024 - with Diana Fosha
Introduction to AEDP - AEDP Institute 2024 - with Diana Fosha
Intensive Course in Emotionally Focused Therapy: Attachment-Based Interventions for Couples in Crisis - PESI - with Sue Johnson
The Developmental Model for Couples Therapy Intensive - Adaptive Counselling Seattle 2023
Creating Well-Functioning Polyamory - Queering Mental Health Conference 2022 - with Martha Kappi
Introduction to Couples Counselling Training - Citizen’s Counselling Centre 2022
All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.