Lynette Pollard-Elgert
Executive Director and Therapist

I have my Degree in Criminology; I am a Family Life Educator; Registered Clinical Counsellor; and a Certified Reality Therapist, I am one of several therapists Certified in BC as a Grief Counsellor and Thanatologist through the Association for Death Education and Counselling, (ADEC). I am also certified in Neurofeedback - a useful therapy for someone dealing with the pain of grief and loss.

I have worked in BC for 25 years as an individual and group therapist as well as a Canadian trainer in the field of Loss and Change Management. Some of my areas of interest are working with families who have been traumatized by a homicide, violent crime, accidents, loss of a child or other loved ones. I use the reality therapy model which supports, educates and strengthens peoples coping skills. I am passionate about working with people to bring about personal change that has a positive and sustaining impact on their day-to-day lives.

Having experienced many losses myself has assisted me in creating an atmosphere of compassion and understanding for those grieving.

It is a very honoring experience for me to be able to share with or walk with my clients on their painful journey of change.

Judy Capes

In addition to one-on-one counselling, I facilitate LTLC's Drop-In Group (Loss Through Death) and the six week Healing Group designed for people adapting to the pain of loss through death. My areas of expertise include bereavement training, loss of health, anticipatory loss, peer support training and lesbian and gay issues. I have a master's degree and am certified in Applied Choice Theory, Thanatology, Healing Touch and Labyrinth Facilitation. I also have many years experience in the hospice palliative care field as a volunteer and trainer.

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John DubÉ

I am a registered social worker with a M.Ed. focus on suicide. I began my work in the area of suicide and bereavement in 1985 responding to family and community needs to a suicide or traumatic death.

My areas of interest are working with clients who are struggling to incorporate a health diagnosis, bereavement due to a suicide, traumatic death or homicide and working with men. I work from a gender ecological systems approach that encourages the client to find the answer within and utilize her/his own resources for change and to heal. I provide a respected and safe place that supports the client to do self-reflective work and discover new ways of coping and navigating their world. I am a Level One EMI practitioner.

Over the past 20 years, I have conducted numerous workshops and trainings to professionals (therapists, counselors, teachers, social workers, victim services personnel, nurses) on topics such as:

• Grief - The Basics; Complex Bereavement Issues
• Bereavement due to Suicide, Homicide and Multiple Loss
• Bereavement: Sensitivity for Children, Cross Cultural and Unrecognized
• Suicide Intervention Strategies
• Professional Self-care, Communication
• Program Evaluation and Outcomes

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Mia Tremblay

I am an Art Therapist who is a graduate of the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute (DVATI) and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (BFA). I have worked with over 700 children across five “inner-city” schools in the past 7 years. In introducing Art Therapy to schools, I have designed and implemented art therapy programs, trained co-facilitators to assist with art therapy groups, and facilitated educational professional development workshops for school staff.

My forté is creating a warm, safe, irresistibly creative, therapeutic environment for children to explore and express a range of issues and emotions. Children are often unable to express in words their experiences and difficulties. Art can provide a healing, non-threatening vehicle for self-exploration and transformation. My spectrum of experience with children's issues includes:

• abandonment by one or both parents
• illness and/or death of a family member
• foster-care
• separation and divorce
• physical challenges or illnesses
• substance abuse in families
• witnessing abuse
• family relocation
• physical and sexual abuse
• selective mutism
• self-esteem
• neglect; behavioral challenges and developmental delays or disabilities including deafness (I am fluent in American Sign Language)

Influential in my practice is my experience in the “Learning About Us” summer programs working alongside UBC Professor Dr. Shelley Hymel in partnership with the Psycho-Educational Research and Training Center of UBC. This program encouraged the development of interpersonal intelligence through the exploration of feelings, abilities and self-expression using a variety of techniques such as:

• creative movement
• relaxation techniques
• drama
• mask making
• drawing and painting
• guided mental imagery
• sound and rhythm

I am passionate about children's art and their ability to heal and transform through creative expression. For an example of the power of Art Therapy with children, view my i-movie “Art Therapy in Schools” (10 min), click: http://gadgetry.ca/art_therapy.mov .

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Sheryl Kramer

Although I have always fostered a keen interest in psychology, a devastating loss I suffered in 2003 was the catalyst for my decision to become a counsellor.

Motivated by my desire to assist others in their healing, I obtained my Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia and have worked as a clinician providing therapy to individuals, couples and families. One of the most rewarding aspects of my work involves facilitating groups for women healing from grief and loss. 

I am gratified and honoured to have the opportunity to accompany others on their grief journeys through my work with Living Through Loss Counselling.

Nancy Szastkiw

I do grief and loss counselling with drop-in groups and individuals in Vancouver’s downtown east side (DTES). My focus is to help people work through the process of grief and loss and other life changes. Respectful listening and an awareness of multiculturalism are cornerstones in my work with clients.

My background includes a business degree in organizational culture, certification as a life coach, and an undergraduate degree in counseling psychology. I am in the final stage of completing my Masters in Counselling Psychology.

A focus in my volunteer experience over the years has been in hospice care, education and promotion of healthy activities for people with terminal illnesses and in grief and loss work with children.

Tatjana Jensen

I have a Masters of Counseling and an art therapy degree and have been a practicing counselor and art therapist for the last 18 years. My work has been focused in the field of trauma and I have been privileged to witness how creative expression can help clients reduce stress, communicate difficult issues, and even transform and transfigure traumatic events imaginatively. I believe that everyone has the capacity to be creative and that the arts are a way of making meaning and expressing longing.

My training includes EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a form of treatment used with individuals who are struggling with traumatic events such as accidents, abuse and neglect. I have also received training in the Satir model of family therapy, a systems approach to helping families. I have worked extensively with children, adolescents, and adults in a range of programs and have experience in the following areas:

• Child physical and sexual abuse
• Adult survivors of sexual abuse (group and individual)
• Children who have witnessed abuse (group and individual)
• Selective mutism
• Children with sexual behavioural issues
• Attachment issues
• Group work with individuals who have a life-threatening illness
• Grief and loss issues such as divorce and separation
• Palliative care

Some of the losses we have are not necessarily traumatic, but cause us to suffer. I have experienced a number of difficult losses in my own life and I believe that in our suffering, we need to be cared for, in order to open ourselves to the world and live our relations in the world.

Robin Toma, Office Manager

In November of 2003, my life changed dramatically, I lost my best friend of over 25 years tragically in a house fire. Unknown to me at the time, it would lead me on a journey of healing.

One year after her death, and me carrying on in my life (thinking I was doing okay) I reunited with a good friend, who suggested to me that I go and seek counselling at an agency in Vancouver that she was going to. I took the card she gave me and stuck in somewhere in the depths of my wallet, and did not think of it again.

A year later, another friend, who worked closely to the agency, brought up Living Through Loss Counselling as a place that I should go. This time, I took the advice, and made an appointment. For one year I received counseling in this healing environment, and started making changes in my personal growth.

A short time after my counselling a job opportunity opened up at LTLC, for office manager. It seemed to come at a perfect time for me. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and feel truly blessed to be a part of LTLC.