Dr. Lydia Kwa
Affirming, Compassionate, Transformative
About Me
I am a clinical psychologist in private practice in Vancouver. My office is conveniently located in the Broadway corridor, near Mountain Equipment Co-op, about 3 blocks east of the Broadway-City Hall stop on the Canada Line. I studied and trained at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario for my Masters and PhD, after obtaining a Bachelor of Science at University of Toronto. I have worked at university counselling services, a women's health collective as well employee assistance services. I work with adults in both individual and couples therapy. While I am mostly using cognitive-behavioral techniques, I am also interested in exploring how personality is multi-faceted and fluid, depending on situations, cultural and social factors. As well, dream material can offer some important insights. I also work with clients toward integrating the mind and body, paying attention to cues from the body and emotions in addition to what is being verbalized.
I have worked with clients from a variety of cultural communities and I am queer-positive. Although I am conducting therapy in English, I have done assessments with clients who are refugee claimants and who may use interpreters in sessions. Occasionally, I may use a smattering of Mandarin and Cantonese with Chinese clients, but this is a modest ability. I am a Buddhist practitioner who has experience in various martial arts, so I can teach clients some meditation and visualization techniques and I focus on breath work and centering as ways to be more present.
Although clinical diagnosis is an important and useful tool toward identifying conditions such as depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder, I focus my work on supporting the inner and outer resources available to people, and how symptoms are expressions of need and attempts to heal. I am also a published writer, and I have worked with artists, musicians and writers, assisting with their creative process. I teach a course at Harbour Centre in the Writing and Publishing program. For more information about my writing career, consult my website at: www.lydiakwa.com
Aspects of Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral
- Mind-Body Integration
- Feminist Approaches
- Culturally Sensitive
- Queer-Positive
- Meditation and Visualization Techniques
Contact Me
Dr. Lydia Kwa, PhD RPsych
Vancouver, BC
Phone: 604-682-5818
Email: lydia@lydiakwa.com