Bryna Andressen Ma,CCC
I listen deeply, and approach counselling from a collaborative and strengths-based perspective. I’m currently accepting new clients for online sessions. If you have any questions about my work, please reach out.
Throughout the past 10 years, I’ve developed my skills and knowledge as a counsellor. I’ve had the opportunity to provide access to mental health care for clients of all ages, especially youth and adults. I gained experience with harm reduction, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed approaches in hospital and office settings. I currently serve clients in Alberta and British Columbia as a Canadian Certified Counsellor.
I currently work as a counsellor in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) where I live and practice on Treaty 6 and Métis Nation 4 territory. I’m a settler in this place, seeking to work actively against white supremacy and colonization as a counsellor.
My practice is influenced by creativity and the arts, and I seek to accompany people in healing according to their own values, and their experiences of dignity and possibility. I have an affinity for supporting resilience and recovery, as well as being with uncertainty and bringing attention to what’s happening in the present moment.
My work is informed by my perspective as a queer and non-binary person, and as someone with lived experience of mental health concerns. I invite clients into collaboration and shared curiosity in support of mental health and well-being. In sessions, I offer depth, practicality, humour, and grounded presence.
I volunteered with the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre in Vancouver, BC from 2014 to 2017 – a low-barrier clinic where care is provided by trans and gender diverse practitioners, setting standards for gender affirming health care in BC. I’m a current volunteer with the mental health team supporting Camp fYrefly, an 2SLGBTQ+ summer camp for youth based in Edmonton.
I’m listening, exploring, and always learning. I participate in on-going professional development, with a current focus in the areas of Narrative Therapy, somatics, poetry therapy, and social justice.
Associations
Canadian Certified Counsellor (#10006159) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
Member of the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (#2131)
EDUCATION
MA in Counselling Psychology – California Institute of Integral Studies (2013)
BA in Gender Studies and Creative Writing – University of Alberta (2007)
San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Certificate – Provincial Health Services of BC