Utku Ucay, Registered Clinical Counsellor
Utku Ucay, 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 NOTEI 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.
FEESIndividual sessions with Utku are $160 per 50 minute session. Couples sessions are $170 per 50 minute session.
HOURSTBD - 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
All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
