Dawna practices virtually or by phone and is not available for in-person services. She is accepting new patients.
Dawna Silver is passionate about living — and about helping you find your way to a more soulful, satisfying and meaningful life experience. She is a true believer in the power of healing, gratitude, positive manifestation and following your dreams. She also knows, after nearly 20 years of working in mental health, that getting there usually takes more than wishing: the path to a more satisfying life most often involves a combination of skill building and healing.
Dawna has a particular passion for supporting people who have experienced trauma, and specializes in EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). She has been using EMDR since 2010, and loves it because it helps people loosen the stranglehold that negative, soul-wounding beliefs can have on their ability to engage with life. Clients are often surprised by how quickly those shifts in how they see themselves can happen — and how lasting they are.
Her path to private practice ran through some of counselling’s hardest and most hopeful rooms: eight years at a Vancouver drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre, and eight years providing problem-gambling counselling and education for the Province of BC.
The experience of helping people walk through some of the most challenging periods of their lives taught Dawna to believe fully in the resilience of the human spirit. People are amazing, and they can honestly face life lessons and tragedies with great courage, a willingness to learn and the knowledge that living is worth the growing pains.
Having personally experienced Major Depressive Disorder in her life, Dawna is both excited and humbled by the opportunity to help clients struggling with depression move through the experience. While the process is neither quick, nor simple, it profoundly impacts how a person views life, self and others in perpetuity. Dawna has expertise in helping others heal from trauma, manage anxiety and navigate life transitions, attachment wounds and interpersonal issues.
Dawna believes that people in the midst of life challenges need to be heard and have their experiences witnessed in a caring and thoughtful manner. In the first session with Dawna, a safe space is created that can hold who you are, your truth and what troubles you. Within this confidential container, the pieces that create the problem will be used to find solutions that work for you and address your needs.
Dawna holds an MA in Counselling Psychology and a BA in Psychology with a minor in Human Development, and has been a Registered Clinical Counsellor since 2011, including over a decade in private practice.
“My own challenges of living and ageing led me to realign my life towards what is actually fulfilling and away from what ‘should have been’. For me soul-full living is flexible, dynamic, creative and an ongoing process of joy, humility and engaged growth.”
**Schedule your complimentary 15-minute meet and greet appointment with Dawna to see if she’s the right fit for your needs.**
