Veralyn Chan

Background & Experience

Veralyn has over 20 years of experience working in the field of mental health in Canada. Prior to Singapore, Veralyn worked for the Provincial Health Services Authority in Vancouver in an integrated treatment facility for adults with the most severe and complex concurrent disorders (a combination of a severe mental illness and substance use disorder) in British Columbia. It is the only program of its kind in the province. Her role at the Provincial Health Services Authority including but not limited to leading individual client session and group therapy, supervising graduate students, designing and implementing new art therapy focused groups such as The Grief and Loss Art Group and collaborating on various projects like The Pet Therapy Program. She also owned a busy private practice supporting a diverse client population ranging from adults (including First Responders) to children (ages 5 to 14) and family.

Veralyn’s approach is client-centred, strengths-based, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed and collaborative. Her areas of interest include children and family, grief and loss (especially disenfranchised grief), mood disorders, trauma and loss, anxiety and life transitions. Veralyn practices from an integrative perspective and finds the best mix of modalities to support the client using approaches including creative expressive therapies (art, play, music and sand), solution-focused therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), psychodynamic therapy, somatic psychotherapy, narrative therapy, family systems approach, motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This approach enables her to better support the client as a unique individual. Coming from a diverse background, Veralyn can relate to those experiencing cross-cultural issues, relocation issues, and difficulty adapting to life transitions, practicing in both English and Mandarin. This environment has equipped her with the tools to support culturally diverse clients.

Working with Children and Family

Veralyn resonates with the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Hence she acknowledges the important role each member in the family takes on and how it can influence the family dynamics. Dedicated to helping families address any concerns and issues in a collaborative manner, Veralyn’s focus when supporting this specific client population is in providing skill building and a safe place for the child to express emotions and thoughts associated with the concerns while supporting the family in addressing their own concerns and help with understanding their child, along with managing the stress, anxiety, and any relational issues often resulting from these experiences. Veralyn also has extensive experience supporting families in highconflict divorce, co-parenting issues, sleep issues, and learning challenges.

Working with Adults

Creating a judgement-free hub, Veralyn welcomes clients with open arms, a listening ear, and a safe space to explore, navigate, overcome their challenges and optimize their well-being in a collaborative manner. She has supported clients with a diverse range of concerns including but not limited to relationship challenges, parenting concerns, life transitions, trauma and loss, cross-cultural issues, boundaries, selfesteem, grief and loss, anger management, anxiety, workplace stress, suicidal ideation, addiction and mood disorders.

Personal

Born in Singapore and raised in Victoria, Canada, Veralyn spent her formative years immersed in the Canadian cultural mosaic. Vancouver has been home for the last 15 years. Veralyn had also lived in Todos Santos, Mexico where she had the opportunity to surf daily while working on her thesis. A true Pacific Northwestern girl, she can often be found planning her next trip, paddle boarding or exploring the city (mostly in search of a good breakfast spot or a dog-friendly brewery) with her bird hunting-therapy dog (and peeps) in her free time.

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