BIO

Located in a welcoming office overlooking False Creek and the North Shore mountains, Melina is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and member of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University, where she focused on trauma, family systems, and cross-cultural counselling. She also holds a Master of Arts and a nearly completed PhD in English from Western University, with research centred on immigration and diasporic literature in Canada through psychoanalytic and cross-cultural perspectives.

Her recent professional development through the WBCPS includes study groups on early childhood development (2021–2022, 2024), a seminar series on Basic Psychoanalytic Concepts (2022), and scientific meetings on topics such as the impact of early trauma (2024) and the inter-generational transmission of trauma (2026). She currently participates in a weekly peer supervision group (2021–ongoing), and in January 2026 she began a 1–2 year weekly seminar focused on deepening her understanding of infant development and the early parent–child relationship.

Among many professional contacts, Melina receives consistent referrals from Vancouver OBs and the Reproductive Mental Health Program at BC Women’s Hospital for her work supporting individuals and couples through pregnancy and the postpartum period, including birth trauma.

Melina has contributed to numerous writing and editing projects and has been involved in a range of university and community-based arts and literature groups. She also volunteers actively, serving on several community and educational boards and committees across Vancouver. Recently, she has formed strong community partnerships with a number of wellness practitioners, developing integrative workshops on a range of topics that have emerged from the needs her clients have raised.

Melina believes that positive change begins with cultivating an open, curious perspective toward one’s life story. Seeking support is a courageous step toward greater wellbeing, and she is committed to working with you in a safe, secure, and collaborative way.