We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
Skip to content We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
Now more than ever, counsellors, social support agencies, and practices are being called to transform the colonial and oppressive practices that underpin the development of our professions. With the overwhelming amounts of information, shadow-banning algorithms, and the harms of academia + colonial indoctrination; this work can be daunting.
“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.” – Maya Angelou
There is no shame in not knowing. Nowhere does ethics and the depth of commitment to justice-oriented practice show up more than in places where you don’t know. Places where new information invites pause and shifts your worldview. Places where you feel vulnerable and uncomfortable, but you choose to shift anyway.
Our justice-oriented clinical supervisor in Vancouver can offer an external perspective and guidance as you seek to foundationally integrate your ethics of equity and justice into your work.
Anti-oppressive clinical supervision supports you to lead practices and conversations that challenge oppressive systems and deconstruct power dynamics within work, life, and community settings. Let’s develop your practice through generative exploration so that your work is grounded in justice-doing.
MA, RCC-ACS (she/her)
I’m an avid explorer of wonder and possibility, aspirational human database for systemic awareness, co-creator with the magic that still manages to survive in this dumpster fire world, lover of all things with faces that probably shouldn’t have faces on it & cat-reel aficionado.
I navigate the world as a cisqueer, working-turned-middle class, straight-sized settler from Hong Kong who lives with chronic pain and ADHD. My ancestors come from roots in Chaozhou and Nanjing, and a lineage of creating sneaky practices to survive necropolitics, and refugeeism.
My work from frontline victim services to clinical counsellor and then to providing clinical supervision and teaching in postgraduate programs kept me curious about what it means to be human in this world, and what it means to be well in a world that’s so unwell.
For the last decade, I’ve had the privilege of working with folx resisting multiple systems of oppression, which often manifests as being impacted by the criminal punishment system, addictions, and relational trauma.
And now? I founded and run Venturous Counselling and Reflecting on Justice, a virtual community for therapists to unlearn systemic oppression together through free resources, a community membership, and various training programs. As well as co-founded and co-run Prospect Counselling, a Queer, POC-led, radical training practice that redirects proceeds from services to provide further training so that SDQTBIPOC+ communities can access justice-oriented counselling, while funding projects for collective healing within communities. I am also part of the operations team at Healing in Colour and clinically supervise various local non-profit agencies and group practices.
The biggest guiding force in our work together is co-creation. Instead of only asking you questions about what you would do in a particular circumstance or telling you the “right way” to move forward, we’ll explore together the ethics and values you want to embody; the intricacies of supporting your clients with the contextual awareness of societal systems in its current and historical iterations; and the vision of the world you want to build in your life, practice and the larger context of the world we live in.
No healing practice or logistics-related question is off-limits, and we look at all topics of consideration through a systemic, political lens that recognizes the messiness of being complicit in the medical industrial complex, while dreaming up liberatory practices for our collective wellness.
Let’s dream up something so, so much better.
Aside from workshopping together, humour is a big part of my approach, as well as holding space for grieving and radically loving accountability, offering perspectives from anti-oppressive scholars and activists.
I read a lot — particularly around liberatory praxes like intersectional, anti-carceral feminism, disability justice, transformative justice, and abolition — so make sure to tap me in as a human database to support your processing and clinical decision making!
Above all else, I want you to know that you are not alone in this work. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel by yourself and there’s always more community and solidarity and joy and sustainability available to you than you know.
Let’s dream up something so, so much better.
Client love
Hear what your fellow therapists are saying about their experience with the Happening Project and/or business consulting supports.
Click to access
How we work
Anti-oppressive clinical supervision in Vancouver is a justice-oriented approach that supports counsellors, social workers, and mental health professionals in integrating equity and justice into their practice. Unlike traditional supervision that focuses primarily on clinical skills and compliance, anti-oppressive supervision challenges oppressive systems and deconstructs power dynamics within therapeutic work. Through co-creation and generative exploration, we examine the ethics and values you want to embody, the intricacies of supporting clients with contextual awareness of societal systems, and the vision of the world you want to build through your practice. Sessions can be virtual across BC or in-person at our Vancouver and Port Moody locations.
Our anti-oppressive clinical supervision rates vary depend on the scope of supervision work you’re hoping to access. If you know several practitioners hoping to access supervision together, we can also discuss group supervision options at reduced rates per participant. Each session focuses on co-creation and systemic analysis rather than traditional supervision models. We understand that many practitioners are seeking supervision that aligns with their values while building sustainable practices. Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your supervision needs and explore how our approach might support your professional development and justice-oriented practice goals.
The biggest guiding force in our work together is co-creation. Instead of only asking you questions about what you would do in a particular circumstance or telling you the “right way” to move forward, we’ll explore together the ethics and values you want to embody. We examine the intricacies of supporting your clients with contextual awareness of societal systems in their current and historical iterations, and the vision of the world you want to build in your life, practice, and the larger context we live in. No healing practice or logistics-related question is off-limits, and we look at all topics through a systemic, political lens that recognizes the messiness of being complicit in the medical industrial complex while dreaming up liberatory practices.
Anti-oppressive clinical supervision is ideal for counsellors, social workers, and mental health professionals who want to integrate justice and equity into their practice. This includes practitioners working with marginalized communities, those seeking to decolonize their therapeutic approaches, professionals wanting to challenge oppressive systems within their work, and practitioners who feel isolated in traditional supervision models. Whether you’re a new graduate seeking foundational supervision or an experienced practitioner wanting to deepen your justice-oriented practice, this approach supports your professional and ethical development.
Traditional clinical supervision often focuses on symptom reduction, compliance with professional standards, and individual therapeutic techniques. Anti-oppressive supervision shifts counselling from a symptom-reduction profession to a world-building profession. We examine how systemic oppression impacts both clients and practitioners, explore liberatory practices like intersectional feminism, disability justice, and transformative justice, and integrate political analysis into clinical decision-making. This approach recognizes that healing cannot be separated from justice and that practitioners need support in navigating the complexities of working within oppressive systems while dreaming up something better.
Yes, we offer group supervision for practices, organizations, or groups of practitioners who want to collectively explore anti-oppressive approaches. Group supervision allows for peer learning, shared accountability, and community building around justice-oriented practice. This format is particularly powerful for teams wanting to align their practice values, organizations seeking to transform their approaches, and practitioners who want to build solidarity with others doing similar work. Group supervision rates are reduced per participant and can be customized to your organization’s needs and goals.
Absolutely! We provide business consulting alongside clinical supervision to help you start up and manage your independent or group practice through a justice-oriented lens. This includes developing sliding scale and accessibility policies, creating anti-oppressive intake and assessment processes, building community partnerships, navigating the tensions of working within capitalist healthcare systems, and developing sustainable business practices that align with your values. We also offer website and branding design support to help you communicate your approach authentically.
Abby Chow (MA, RCC-ACS) is our clinical supervisor with over a decade of experience working with folks resisting multiple systems of oppression. She has worked in frontline victim services, clinical counselling, and now provides clinical supervision and teaches in postgraduate programs. Abby founded Venturous Counselling and Reflecting on Justice, co-founded Prospect Counselling, and is part of the operations team at Healing in Colour. She clinically supervises various local non-profit agencies and group practices, bringing extensive experience in anti-oppressive frameworks and liberatory practices.
Yes, we provide supervision of supervision for practitioners seeking their ACS (Approved Clinical Supervisor) designation with BCACC (British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors). This specialized supervision supports experienced practitioners in developing their own supervision skills through an anti-oppressive lens. We explore how to integrate justice-oriented approaches into supervision practice, examine power dynamics within supervisory relationships, and develop skills for supporting other practitioners in their anti-oppressive development.
Anti-oppressive supervision recognizes that burnout and secondary trauma are often symptoms of working within oppressive systems rather than individual failings. We explore how systemic factors contribute to practitioner stress, develop sustainable practices that honor your humanity, examine the impacts of vicarious trauma through a political lens, and build community and solidarity as antidotes to isolation. This approach helps you understand your experiences in context while developing strategies for resistance, resilience, and joy in your work.
Yes, we provide virtual anti-oppressive clinical supervision sessions across British Columbia. Virtual supervision can be particularly effective for practitioners in remote areas, those with mobility challenges, or during times when in-person sessions aren’t possible. The co-creative and exploratory nature of anti-oppressive supervision translates well to virtual formats, and many supervisees appreciate the flexibility and accessibility of online sessions. You can always switch between virtual and in-person sessions based on your needs and preferences.
All topics are welcome in anti-oppressive supervision, examined through a systemic, political lens. This includes clinical case consultation with contextual analysis, exploring liberatory therapeutic approaches, navigating ethical dilemmas through a justice lens, developing anti-oppressive assessment and treatment planning, building sustainable and accessible practice policies, processing the impacts of working within oppressive systems, and integrating activism and therapy. We also explore business and logistics questions, professional development goals, and personal growth as it relates to your practice.
Anti-oppressive supervision is where the personal and the political meet inside your practice. These resources explore adjacent territory for practitioners doing this work.
occupying the stolen, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. Our relationship with these lands dictates our commitment to understanding and responding to the ongoing impacts of colonization in our practices in and out of the counselling room.
Learn more about the land you’re occupying at native-land.ca
