Utku Uçay, Registered Clinical Counsellor

Utku Uçay, RCC (he/him)

AREAS OF FOCUS:

• Relationships and Couples

• Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours

• Trauma

• Life Transitions & Career change

• Grief and Loss

• Clients with Immigration/Refuge Backgrounds

• Anxiety & Depression

THERAPY MODALITIES:

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

• Parts Work / Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Approaches

• Psychodynamic Therapy

• Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT)

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH UTKU

Many of the people I work with already understand their patterns but still find themselves repeating them. In our sessions we slow down and get curious about what those patterns have been protecting, paying attention not just to thoughts and feelings but to what the body is holding. My approach is warm, collaborative, and sometimes infused with humour, because therapy, like life, doesn't always have to be heavy.

When working with couples, I'm less focused on solving the argument than on helping both people understand the dilemma they're actually in: what each of them is longing for, and what gets in the way.

Utku’s EXPERIENCE & TRAINING

My clinical work began in London, on an acute psychiatric ward, where I co-facilitated group therapy under a clinical psychologist. After moving to Canada, I worked in community mental health in Montreal and then Vancouver and spent several years at Covenant House Vancouver supporting youth with substance use and complex trauma. While there, I designed and led a harm reduction-based treatment program in collaboration with Vancouver Coastal Health and Foundry. I've been in private practice with adults and couples since 2021.

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BCACC and a licensed psychologist in Turkey. My training includes EMDR (EMDRIA-approved), IFS, Dr. Sue Johnson's intensive in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, DBT, and ACT, and I'm a certified mindfulness instructor. Across all of it, I work through an anti-oppressive and feminist-informed lens.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

I came to this work through curiosity about how the mind works, but it was my own difficult seasons that turned that curiosity into wanting to accompany others through theirs.

I was born and raised in Turkey, and my path since has taken me through Finland, London, and Montreal before I settled in British Columbia, first in Vancouver and now Victoria. Those moves continue to shape how I understand identity, belonging, and the complexity of change.

Outside of work, I watch Formula 1, play volleyball, read novels, and spend time in nature, often by bike, which has become my favourite way to explore Victoria.

FEES

Individual sessions with Utku are $160 per 50 minute session. Couples sessions are $170 per 50 minute session.

HOURS

TBD - coming soon

Education and Professional Development:

• Integrating EMDR into Clinical Practice, 2024 - EMDRIA-Approved Training

• IFS Immersion: Internal Family Systems Across Clinical Applications - 2024

• Intensive Course in Emotionally Focused Therapy: Attachment-Based Interventions for Couples in Crisis - 2024 - with Dr. Sue Johnson

• DBT Foundational Training – 2024 – DBT board of Certification

• Certificate in Indigenous Studies - 2023 - University of Alberta

• Diploma in Early Childhood Education - 2021 - Cégep de la Gaspésie, Montreal

• Suicide Crisis Intervention and Active Listening Training - 2020 - Face à Face Listening & Intervention Centre, Montreal

• Certified Mindfulness Instructor - 2019 - Canadian Mindfulness Institute

• Licensed Clinical Psychologist - 2019 - Turkish Psychological Association

• Master of Science, Mental Health Studies - 2018 - King's College London, United Kingdom

• BA, Psychology - 2017 - Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Training - 2016 - University of Jyväskylä

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All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

Andréa Dorrans, Student Counsellor

Andréa Dorrans, Student Counsellor (she/her)

AREAS OF FOCUS:

• Trauma and Post-Traumatic Growth

• Anxiety and Social Anxiety 

• Burnout 

• Grief and Loss 

• Relationships and Attachment Patterns 

• Chronic Illness and Disability 

• Perimenopause and Life Transitions 

• Neurodivergence 

• Belonging and Identity

THERAPY MODALITIES:

• Trauma Informed 

• Somatic Approaches 

• Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) 

• Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT informed) 

• Narrative Therapy (Informed) 

• Existential Therapy (informed)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT informed)

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH Andréa

Many of my clients are creative, insightful people who feel exhausted, isolated, or unfulfilled  after years of trying to conform. Over time, they have learned to edit or minimize themselves to stay safe or accepted. When you share your story, I consider both the wider context and your  unique patterns: how struggle can reflect a mismatch between a person and the systems  around them, and how your coping strategies have helped you and what they have cost you. 

As your therapist, I show up as an authentic person. I’m present and curious, and willing to name what I notice, at a pace that supports your safety and self-trust. I’m interested in work that is felt, and happens in real time. 

Often, meaningful change can look like bringing forward the parts of your story that have been  concealed, including beliefs and feelings that may have felt too tender, unsafe, or complicated to name. When we make space for what has been guarded and explore it with care, the relief can be palpable. Sometimes it’s even joyful. 

With time, our work together can support you to live more fully, for yourself and in your  relationships.

Andréa’S EXPERIENCE & TRAINING

I am currently completing my Master’s in Counselling Psychology at City University and am a  student counsellor in practicum under the supervision of Sarah Pullman. 

I bring years of counselling experience in community settings, including as a volunteer  counsellor at Citizens’ Counselling Centre in Victoria and in youth-focused crisis support,  helping young people through acute distress. These roles shaped my commitment to ethical  practice and my belief that meaningful change can occur even in brief moments of feeling  connected and understood. 

Outside of clinical training, I draw from lifelong personal practices in yoga and meditation.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

I bring much lived experience to my therapeutic practice. While each person’s story is unique, my own includes chronic illness, grief and loss, and surviving interpersonal violence. It also includes post-traumatic growth and embracing my neurodivergent identity. 

In my personal life, I cherish connections with loved ones, all forms of art, deep rest, and simple  pleasures. I find solace and celebration in nature, play and beauty in creative expression,  comfort and joy in my chosen and inherited family, and great pleasure in doing very little. I adore  nothing more than reading a novel in a sunbeam with my darling cat, ZaZa.

FEES

Individual sessions with Andréa are $70 per 50-minute session. Limited sliding scale spots may be available, please inquire.

HOURS

Andréa is available in person on Sunday afternoon/evening, Friday afternoon/evening, and virtually on Mondays from 9-3.

Education and Professional Development:

• Master’s in Counselling Psychology, City University (in progress) 

• AEDP Immersion (April 2026)

• Citizens Counselling Centre Training Program (2023)

• Mental Health First Aid (2023) 

• Indigenous Perspectives Training (2023) 

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) (2022)

• Anti-Racism Response Training (ART) (2021)

• Suicide Prevention (QPR Gatekeeper) (2021)

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All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.