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). She is the owner and founder of Safe Space Counselling Services based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is also the Site Supervisor and a Clinical Supervisor for Safe Space's clinical internship program. She is an approved provider for ICBC, First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), and Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) and is a therapist for the Professional Counselling Team and Foster Parent Support (FPS) program at Hollyburn Family Services (HFS).
Shalene 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 the Fraser Health Authority and Atira Women's Services Society providing counselling to parents 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. She is also a mentor for WeBC's One-to-One Mentoring Program for women entrepreneurs in BC and a member of the Perinatal BC Advisory Committee for the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA).
Shalene offers individual, couples and family therapy and may be booked for in-person, phone or video sessions. 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 EMDR, EFT and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy 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. She 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. In addition to being a therapist, she also provides clinical supervision to Master's-level clinical practicum students and consultation to new and established clinicians.
Shalene has completed advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) (Core Skills and Level 2 Masterclasses) for individuals (EFIT), families (EFFT) and couples (EFCT) with Drs Sue Johnson, Scott Woolley, Gail Palmer and Marlene Best, as well as training in 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 becoming a Certified EFT therapist.
She completed training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma with Drs Kekuni Minton and Rochelle Sharpe Lohrasbe and has been a teaching assistant for SP Level 1 training.
She is also an EMDR-trained clinician and completed EMDRIA-approved 150-hour Comprehensive Basic EMDR Training with Certified EMDR Trainer Sue Genest. She received advanced EMDR training in Ego State Therapy from Robin Shapiro and has been training in Shirley Jean Schmidt's Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS) and Sandra Paulsen's NEST approach for working with Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) and dissociation. She will be working toward becoming a Certified EMDR therapist with Barbara Sheehan-Zeidler and Nancy Lasater beginning September 2024.
In addition to the above, 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, 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) and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) with Dafna Lender, and Intersectional Feminist Therapy training with Dr. Laura Brown and Jennifer Hollinshead. 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 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.
