About Hearth Place

At Hearth Place, the stunning natural spaces and caring atmosphere support you in acknowledging and navigating through the defining experiences that are blocking your personal fulfillment. Guided sessions are thoughtfully designed to help you unplug and reveal, unblock and release, repair and rebound, feel awe and peace.

Hearth Place is located within the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Quw'utsun Nation near the traditional villages of Hul’qumi’num speaking Ts'alha'um and Quyxuletse‘ peoples. Hearth Place is located near Duncan on West Riverbottom Road next to the Cowichan River in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A photo of two wooden chairs facing the river with the sun shining and sparkling reflections on the water

Hearth Place is located within the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Quw'utsun Nation near the traditional villages of Hul’qumi’num speaking Ts'alha'um and Quyxuletse‘ peoples. Hearth Place is located near Duncan on West Riverbottom Road next to the Cowichan River in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A photo of dean leaning against a beautiful tree with an approachable gaze

Nature-guided, ability-inspired expertise

I’m dean diamond, a Canadian Certified Counsellor and Focusing Oriented Therapist with a Master’s of Education in Disability Studies.  I offer embodied, experiential, and playful forms of counselling with children, youth and adults. My areas of experience include belonging, body positivity, disability, dreams, gender affirming care, grief, ecological distress, eco-spirituality, embodiment, end of life, hormone readiness, identity, illness, injury, inner conflict, loss, meaning, polyamory, purpose, queerness, selective mutism, sensory sensitivity, and sexuality.

As someone living with persistent pain and sensory sensitivity, I understand how ableism can complicate navigating our modern culture, systems and relationships. Being gender queer identified myself, it is a priority for me that non-binary, gender fluid and other binary-disrupting folks find a safely supportive place to explore here with me, regardless of the reason(s) for coming to therapy. Having worked within Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities I am familiar with Deaf Culture, I have experience working with interpreters, and I am moderately fluent in ASL.

I work with the impacts of ableism, gender essentialism, heterosexism, sexism, and trans-antagonism. I will support you to explore and navigate the effects of being othered by systemic oppression and social injustice. I accompany you in cultivating a renewed sense of awe, wonder and belonging by helping you create deep relationships with your Self and Nature.

A photo of dean sitting cross legged in a chair outdoors, holding a tea mug with a welcoming expression

Ready to feel Wonder and Awe again? Book now to Reconnect with your Self and Nature.

Learn more about my Credentials, Education, and Training

Credentials

  • Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) ~ Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)

  • Focusing Oriented Therapist (FOT) ~ International Focusing Institute

  • Focusing Coordinator in Training (CiT) ~ International Focusing Institute

  • Equine Facilitated Wellness Mental Health Professional (MHP) Candidate ~ Professional Association for Equine Facilitated Wellness (Pro-EFW)

  • Sandplay Therapy Intern ~ Canadian Association for Sandplay Therapy (CAST)

Education

  • Master of Education ~ Community, Rehabilitation and Disability Studies ~ University of Calgary

  • Child & Youth Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate ~ Thompson Rivers University

  • Expressive Play Therapy Certificate ~ Justice Institute of British Columbia

  • Ecopsychology Certificate  ~ Pacifica Graduate Institute

  • Applied Positive Psychology Certificate ~ The Flourishing Center

  • American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Studies Certificate ~ Vancouver Community College

  • Bachelor of Arts ~ Double Major in Law and Sociology ~ Concentration in Criminology and Criminal Justice ~ Carleton University

In addition to ongoing professional development workshops, I have specialized training in the following areas

  • Equine Facilitated Counselling ~ Generation Farms ~ Professional Association for Equine Facilitated Wellness

  • Focusing Oriented Dreamwork ~ Dr. Leslie Ellis

  • Focusing Oriented Therapy ~ Dr. Leslie Ellis ~ International Focusing Institute

  • Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing ~ Cornelia Elbrecht ~ Institute of Sensorimotor Art Therapy

  • Holistic Expressive Play Therapy ~ Dr. Marie-José Dhaese ~ Centre for Expressive Therapy

  • LEGO Serious Play Facilitation ~ Strategic Play Group

  • Sandplay Therapy ~ Dr. Linda Cunningham ~ International Society for Sandplay Therapy