Dr. Rosa Wu (she/her)
Credentials and Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Clinical and Counselling Psychology (University of Toronto, Toronto, ON)
M.A. in Psychological Counselling (Columbia University, New York City, NY)
Registration with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia (CPBC#2259)
I have been seeing clients since 2005. I treat clients as unique individuals who bring their life stories, hopes, aspirations, struggles, and strengths into the session. I tailor my therapy approach to meet the unique cultural characteristics and needs of each client. My therapy approach is holistic and integrative, drawing primarily upon Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioural, Emotion-Focused, Experiential, and Sensorimotor approaches. This means I help clients understand how their past has shaped their present, and work towards changing how they think, feel, and behave. I help clients maintain these changes. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion work are also integral in my work with clients.
I believe that navigating through life entails having a set of skills and tools. Through our work together, you will acquire new, concrete, and science-informed skills to help you overcome your struggles. What might work for someone else might not necessarily work for you, so I will make every effort to help you build a "toolbox" that works specifically for you.
I am known to have a warm, compassionate, and engaging presence. I am also known to be goal-oriented and transparent in my therapeutic style. By transparent I mean I offer clients my honest feedback and inform them, at every step of the process, what interventions I am thinking of implementing and why. I believe it is this fine balance of warmth, firmness, and authenticity that sets the foundation of a strong working relationship.
On a more personal level...
I am a bit of a melting pot, having lived in Spain, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Panama, New York City, Toronto, and now Vancouver. Lifelong immersion in very distinctive cultural contexts has given me the gift of multilingualism (English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish) and a deep appreciation of and sensitivity towards cultural differences. You can be assured that my practice is firmly rooted in culturally-responsive and anti-oppressive practices, whether it is related to your ethnicity, sex/gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation.
My academic and work background has provided me the skills to work effectively with clients who have experienced discrimination and varying forms of oppression either in their work place or in their personal lives.
Personally, there is nothing more rewarding for me than helping others heal. It is a privilege to be invited into my client's lives, and I enjoy the journey of venturing into the unknown with them.
I look forward to working with you.
Gian Hermosura (he/him)
Doctoral-level student therapist
A little bit about me:
I was born in Bangkok, Thailand and moved to Canada when I was two years old. My cultural background is Filipino, and I’ve been fortunate to grow up surrounded by people from diverse cultural backgrounds. For example, I grew up hosting international students, mainly from Japan, China, Korea, Mexico, and Brazil, in my family home. As such, culture is an important part of my life, and I love learning more about different cultural traditions and trying new foods.
I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies at the University of British Columbia, and I am currently pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Adler University.
My approach in therapy is grounded in warmth, empathy and non-judgment, drawing from an integrative and holistic framework. I am drawn to cognitive-behavioural therapy, helping clients challenge unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours, and replacing them with more positive ones. I also resonate with humanistic-existential therapy, which emphasizes the uniqueness of each individual and our common desire for growth, fulfillment, and meaning in life. In addition, I am interested in exposure-based therapy, helping clients gradually overcome feared situations, activities, or objects. Importantly, I am committed to anti-oppressive, culturally responsive practice and strive to serve marginalized and underserved populations.
My clinical interests include working with individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma, grief, and acculturation or immigration-related stress. My doctoral dissertation explores how parenting styles and cultural values influence OCD symptoms in Asian Canadian populations.
In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, playing the guitar, watching new movies, and hiking.