Wendy Wan Yi Huang

Short Biography

My name is Wendy, a registered clinical counsellor and a professional art therapist. I’m a member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association, BC Art Therapy Association, International Association for Creative Arts in Education and Therapy, and Taiwan Art Therapy Association. I work with children between 5 and 14 years old and adults. I help them learn emotional regulation, and use creative ways to experience therapeutic processes. I’m also an approved therapist for ICBC claims, CVAP (crime victim assistance program), accepting autistic funding from AFU autism funding unit, and most extended health insurance benefits. I’m a Taiwanese Canadian immigrant who speaks fluent Mandarin and English, so I understand how difficult to be a newcomer in Canada and how challenging to face life transition, loss and grief in this process of relocation. I like to use puzzles as an analogy or a metaphor to describe our lived experiences. Sometimes it isn’t easy to put a puzzle by yourself because there are things you are worried about, fearful to think of, or something you have not discovered yet. I am here to help you put the pieces together to understand yourself better. Although it may take some time or it may not be perfect, you are not alone. I hope to get to know you through art therapy, help you find a way to repair the trauma, reconnect your body, mind and soul through consultation channels, let art therapy reopen your creativity, and explore your subconscious together.

Therapy Philosophy

Bottom-Up Approach We work with the “base” of the brain to help clients acknowledge and explore their memories, feelings, and sensations. Clients can learn to mindfully map what is happening in their body and make sense of their emotions and thoughts. ARTivity Finder Counselling focuses on a bottom-up approach, that focuses on bodily sensations and nervous system regulation, then moves up to emotional regulation and cognitive processing. One of the art therapy benefits is to emphasize on the kinesthetic and sensory level, which can help clients engage with materials through hand movements and senses to express, and eventually achieve the affective and cognitive levels. In ARTivity Finder Counselling, although art therapy is our specialty, we offer other counselling services that are based on bottom-up approach to meet client’s needs. Some bottom-up counselling approaches we use to help you include somatic experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy, play therapy and internal family systems. We treat stress and anxiety, trauma, loss and grief, life transitions, children’s emotional regulation, and we serve autistic and neurodivergent people.

Special Training & Certifications

I am now registered with: RCC as a Registered Clinical Counsellor under BC Association of Clinical Counsellors Membership from Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association Professional Membership from Canadian Art Therapy Association Professional Membership from BC Art Therapy Association Membership from Taiwan Art Therapy Association Membership from International Association for Creative Arts in Education and Therapy Registered service provider with ICBC Registered service provider with CVAP Crime Victim Assistance Program Certifications: Certification of ASDCS Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Special Training Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) Certification Certification of Child Cognition and Art Development Certification of Child Art Assessment Certification of Psychological Projection and Art Creation Certification of Child Assessment on Human Figure Drawing Certification of Child Assessment on Bird Nest Drawing Certification of Child Assessment on Kinetic Family Drawing Certification of Child Assessment on Graphic Family Portrayal Certification of Mindfulness-Based Somatic Therapy Level I Certification of Sound Therapy Completion of Art Therapy Supervision

Clinical Focus / Specialties

Therapist Methodology

Core Values

Clinic / Practice Environment