Clinical Counsellor & Psychotherapist
- ABOUT DOROTA
I am a member in good standing with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). My Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) number is 9099 and my Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) number is 1124616. I am also a member of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association.
I received my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology (Marriage, Family, and Child Counselling) in 1999 from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, CA, and a PhD in Medical Sciences in 2008 from Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland.
I have had the privilege of working in the non-profit sector in areas of chronic pain, child and family welfare, trauma, LGBTQ2S+ issues, academic instruction, and program development for three decades.
I have an incessant thirst for learning and unquenched curiosity. You can often find me seeking out knowledge and experiences that expand and enrichen my own self, always with a purpose of passing on and sharing those learnings with others.
Above all, I am a human being immersed in the stream of life just like everyone else – sometimes I am gloriously, with a smile on my face floating down the stream, sometimes I am frantically swimming upstream, confused and frustrated, sometimes in dangerous waters, I am holding on fearfully to a rock fighting for my dear life, and sometimes I withdraw to the shore sad and beaten down. Only to jump back and keep on going.
One could describe me as someone who has a passion for the possible.
Dorota Hedzelek, PhD
Clinical Counsellor
She/Her
My Approach
I employ a wide range of theories and techniques tailored to one’s situation.
My overriding theoretical orientation honours:
- The mind-body connection
- Neurobiology,
- Somatic, experiential, psychodynamic, existential-humanistic approaches,
- Bio-psycho-socio-spiritual nature of our lives.
I am trained and certified in the following:
- Pain Reprocessing Therapy
- Sensorimotor and Somatic Experiencing Therapies
- Mind-Body Psychotherapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
- EMDR for Chronic Pain
- Empowered Relief
- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
- Neurobiological Approach
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Applied Polyvagal Theory
- Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) – In training
- Interpersonal Neurobiology
- Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment
- Mindfulness
- Family Systems
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Play Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strength-Based Therapy
- Culturally Sensitive Therapy
My Expertise
- Chronic (persistent) Pain
- Psychophysiologic Disorders
- Trauma and PTSD
- Stress, anxiety and panic
- Depression
- Family of origin issues
- Adverse childhood experiences
- Childhood abuse
- Relationship issues
- Life transitions
- Grief and loss
- Immigration
- Self-esteem
- Self-compassion
I am a landed immigrant of Eastern European descent immensely grateful to live and work on the traditional, unceded, ancestral homelands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I acknowledge my ongoing responsibility to treat all neighbours with respect and do no harm to the land.
