Shalene Takara, MA, RCC-ACS, (she/her) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor - Approved Clinical Supervisor licensed by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC License No. 13254) and the owner and founder of Safe Space Counselling Services based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and has been working in the field of mental health since 2009. She completed her clinical practicum through Fraser Health and Atira Women's Services Society providing counselling to adults coping with experiences of trauma, drug/alcohol misuse, parenting challenges, and co-occurring and reproductive mental health issues. Since 2012, she has been working for non-profit and community agencies providing counselling to individuals, couples and families and in private practice since 2016. In addition to being a therapist, she also provides clinical supervision to Master's-level clinical practicum students and clinical consultation to intern counsellors and new and established clinicians.
Shalene offers individual, couples and family therapy and may be booked for in-person, phone or video sessions Mondays through Thursdays 9am-4:30pm. She speaks English and French.
Clinical Supervision/Consultation for Students and Professionals
If you are a professional or post-practicum student looking for clinical supervision/consultation:
If your are a Master's student wishing to do a clinical practicum under Shalene's supervision:
Shalene primarily uses EFT, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR in her practice with an affinity toward intersectional feminist, narrative and existential-phenomenological approaches. Her passion is bringing an intersectional, intergenerational and socioculturally sensitive lens to attachment-based, trauma-informed work with individuals, couples and families, as well as bringing the healing power of play into supporting the strengthening of families and the bonds between parents and children.
Shalene completed her clinical practicum through Fraser Health and Atira Women's Services Society providing counselling to adults impacted by experiences of trauma, drug/alcohol addiction, parenting stresses, and co-occurring and reproductive mental health issues. Since 2012, she has been working for non-profit and community agencies providing counselling to individuals, couples and families and in private practice since 2016. In addition to being a therapist, she also provides clinical supervision to Master's-level clinical practicum students and clinical consultation to intern counsellors and new and established clinicians.
Shalene has provided French-language crisis counselling and advocacy support to Francophone immigrants and refugees, and she has co-facilitated men's and women's groups focused on managing experiences of anger using a method developed by Dr. Harry Stefanakis incorporating neuroscience, mindfulness and self-compassion.
Since completing her Master's clinical training, she has continued to deepen her knowledge through ongoing professional development, including training in Narrative Therapy with Drs Stephen Madigan and David Nylund, Core Addiction Practice (CAP) through Fraser Health, Domestic Violence Focused Couples Treatment (DVFCT) with Dr. Sandra Stith, Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) with Dr. Adele Lafrance and Natasha Files, Collaborative Problem-Solving for parenting children with challenging behaviours with Dr. Ross Greene, attachment-based parenting with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for trauma with Drs Kekuni Minton and Rochelle Sharpe Lohrasbe, Indigenous Cultural Safety training through San'yas, Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) with Drs Paul Gilbert, Dennis Tirch and Laura Silberstein-Tirch, Theraplay® with Dr. Hannah Sun-Reid and Monique Gougeon, Integrative Attachment Family Therapy (IAFT), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) with Dafna Lender, Intersectional Feminist Therapy training with Dr. Laura Brown and Jennifer Hollinshead, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Sue Genest. She has also received over 60 hours of training in clinical supervision, including training in Feminist Supervision with Dr. Laura Brown and Jennifer Hollinshead.
Shalene has completed advanced training (Core Skills and Level 2 Masterclasses) in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for individuals (EFIT), families (EFFT) and couples (EFCT) with Drs Sue Johnson, Scott Woolley, Gail Palmer and Marlene Best and the Attachment Injury Resolution Model (AIRM) with Lorrie Brubacher. She engages in ongoing clinical consultation with Certified EFT Supervisor Yolanda von Hockauf and is working toward certification as an EFT therapist.
Currently, she is working toward certification as a Certified EFT Therapist and Theraplay® Practitioner.
Shalene conducted Master's thesis research on the psychosocial needs of refugee and asylum-seeking children and youth, which she presented as part of the International and Cross-Cultural Psychology section at the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Convention in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2015. She has also given talks to non-profit management and staff on supporting the needs of refugee families, a subject that garnered much attention during the Syrian refugee crisis.
We would be happy to hear from you and book a free consultation for you. If you’re interested in getting in touch with us, fill out our contact form and let us know if there was a counsellor you’d prefer to work with. We will do our best to accommodate requests based on counsellor availability and specialty.
