Sonya is a polydisciplinary creator whose practice is rooted in living decolonization, neuroqueer world-making, and justice-oriented mutual care. I am a white settler of Irish, germanic bukovinian ancestry that came to live on and benefit from the unceded stolen lands of the Xwsepsum and lək̓ʷəŋən peoples by way of her peoples occupation of several First Nations lands including Kahnawá:ke (Mohawk), Anishinabek, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) and homelands of the Métis. My practice is an emerging action of coming into right relationship with this land and the impact that my being here has on local peoples.

I consider myself a recovering benevolent. My work is deeply personal and related to my own lived experiences of struggle, grief and transformation. I am a neuroqueer solo mom to two autistic teens surviving in capitalism. I spent 23 years as an RN working in healthcare (street outreach, reproductive justice, harm reduction) where I became increasingly aware of the violence of the status quo and my role in that. Last year I gave up my registration as a nurse - but kept all my lived experience with people and relationships! I have refocused my practice towards art and am just about finished a 2 year diploma in art therapy. I work from a decolonial, intersectional framework that centers relationship and access. I am currently using a sliding scale and pay-what-you-can model rooted in mutuality and collective sustainment.

Through relational, somatic (body-based) art-making, Sonya’s work fosters personal growth, embodied political action, and a critical awareness of the interconnectivity of the personal, collective, and systemic narratives that shape us and we shape. Their practice integrates neurobiology and eco-attachment-informed approaches while challenging dominant therapeutic frameworks that reinforce settler colonial and capitalist ideologies. Sonya is a student at Kutenai Art Therapy Institute where she is completing a 2 year post graduate diploma, a member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association, a facilitator with the Erotics of Liberation Practice Field and a care weaver member with The Liberatory Wellness Network (LWN).

Sonya is a polydisciplinary creator whose practice is rooted in living decolonization, neuroqueer... Read More

Jenna (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and certified art therapist living on unceded lək̓ʷəŋən, Esquimalt, Songhees and Chekonin traditional territory. Jenna is a white body settler with ancestry coming from the UK, Ireland, Czechia and Spain and have benefited coming to these lands while Indigenous people of turtle island endured genocide and colonialism that still exists in oppressive systems today. Entering the field of art therapy, one of my practices is learning how to come into better relationship with the land and community- I feel a responsibility to show up authentically, with love, compassion, and cultural humility.

I am an artist, cat mom, change agent, pickle loving lady who loves to be in her garden. Growing up I always was curious and that has propelled my experiences in life which eventually lead me to Camosun College and then Emily Carr University to complete my BFA in curating, sculpture and painting. A big shift occurred in my life after the final year of university was cut short due to the pandemic. I am grateful now as I found art therapy which informs my own healing journey of acknowledging the lineages of violence that runs through me and my ancestry- both of harming others and being harmed.

In therapy talk I say I am relational, client led, trauma informed, and strengths-based highlighting our individual talents and our interconnectedness to the natural world. In everyday words that means I like to meet people where they are at, get to know and support people to be more of who they are, and I love to do it outside sometimes. It also means I celebrate people’s individual needs when it comes to safety and comfort. My practice is emergent! I am developing who I want to be as an art therapist, but am rooted in ecological, relational, intersectional and systems frameworks that acknowledge environmental and intergenerational impacts. I work with people of all ages, but am passionate about collaborating with youth and being with them on their times of growth. The setting is dependent on client needs, but no matter if we are outside, in person or online, you can always expect art making and collaboration on how we want to use our time together.

I offer a pay what you can model rooted in mutual care and accessibility, in an ongoing effort to decolonize my practice. I am also interested in restorative justice work and co-facilitates a free art therapy group at Our Place Society community center for people that are systemically oppressed and struggle with housing security.

Jenna (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and certified art therapist living on unceded lək̓ʷ... Read More

Jade (she/her) is a white settler trans woman who came to Chinese medicine after 8 years of work in activist communities where she honed collectivist values and observed a shared need to address our physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies alongside liberation work for the social body.

Moving to Victoria from Alberta to start on this path, Jade started studying Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at Pacific Rim College in the Fall of 2017 and earned her Diploma of Acupuncture in December 2020. She has been licensed to practice acupuncture in this province since December 2021.

As a student of this medicine, Jade is interested in the ways in which the Daoist philosophy underpinning Chinese medicine and classical Chinese medical texts makes space for identities, bodies, minds, and hearts unrecognizable to mainstream Western culture. Part of this exploration has led her to undertaking mentorship as a Balance System Acupuncture certified practitioner under Shīfu Dr. Sonia Tan. She completed the formal certification in April 2025, but the mentorship provided by BSA instructors is a lifelong path.

As a trans woman, during a time when the rights of trans people and many other oppressed people are being offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of fear and division, Jade is particularly interested in how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be accessed as an effective and financially accessible form of health care to fill in the gaps that many of us experience when engaging with the conventional medical system. She intends to provide a space where people can be seen and held in their unique embodied humanity while taking care of their earthly form and all its needs and intricacies.

She is also deeply passionate about the role acupuncture – and community acupuncture in specific – can play in helping communities and individuals to be more engaged in their own health care, and more aware of- and connected to their own bodies/hearts/minds/spirits. Jade finds the profoundly accessible, effective, and minimally invasive medicine we practice to be a radical intervention in the health of our culture as a whole.

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Breanna or Bre (she/they) lives and practices on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, also known today as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

She came to acupuncture not as a calling, but as a lifeline. In her early 20s, Bre entered what would become a long and often isolating stretch of illness — years of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and trying to survive with complex conditions no one could quite name. Like many, she had to become her own advocate: researching, navigating fragmented care, and trying to piece things together on her own.

In 2009, she was lucky enough to experience community acupuncture at Six Degrees in Toronto, where, for the first time, she felt truly seen. The care offered there was financially and physically accessible, consistent, and rooted in mutual respect — and it changed the course of her life. Acupuncture has supported her ever since, and it’s been a long-held dream to pay that care forward.

Bre is currently offering relaxation massage and craniosacral therapy at Heart & Hands while preparing to write her licensing exams in October. In addition to her Diploma of Acupuncture—which included extensive training in anatomy, physiology, and hands-on techniques, her bodywork education includes relaxation massage training with Krystel Harvey, an experienced massage instructor with over a decade of practice. She also studied Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (Level 1) with Kari Toft and Jamie Lee Mock of Healing Hands Training, both long-time practitioners and educators in trauma-sensitive, nervous system-focused bodywork. Through their guidance, Bre learned a 10-step full-body craniosacral protocol that informs her current practice. Her roots in bodywork go back to 2010, when she studied Swedish massage, and introductory Shiatsu at the Transformational Arts College in Toronto.

Her work is shaped by lived experience with chronic illness and disability, and by a long history of navigating the healthcare system from both sides — as a patient and now as a practitioner-in-training. She’s passionate about reimagining what care can feel like: accessible, collaborative, and rooted in dignity. Being part of a community clinic like Heart & Hands allows her to offer care in a setting that reflects those values. She welcomes people of all backgrounds and bodies, whether you’re managing complex, chronic conditions or seeking support for acute pain or stress.

Outside the clinic, she makes experimental music and engages in community-rooted creative work that helps her stay connected to process, collaboration, and care.

While continuing to grow in her practice, Bre brings presence and sensitivity to each session. As a lifelong student, she is committed to showing up with care, gentle curiosity, and deep respect for each person’s pace and process.

Breanna or Bre (she/they) lives and practices on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples... Read More

Bara completed her Diploma of Acupuncture at Royal Pacific Institute, studying closely under the well respected Doctor and author, Dr. Ganglin Yin. She completed a Certificate in Microneedling at the BC Academy of Medical Aesthetics and Skin Care and has additional training in Tui Na, Acupressure and Reflexology. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia, where she studied health research and disability justice. She continues to write on health research topics and has advocated for the rights of women and gender-diverse people with disabilities at the United Nations in Geneva.

She uses a variety of techniques such as Acupuncture, Electro-Acupuncture, Electro-Moxibustion, Reflexology, Acupressure, Hot Stone, Herbal Compress, Gua Sha, Cupping, Lymphatic Drainage and Holistic Facial Rejuvenation Techniques. Her practice is informed by Traditional & Classical Chinese Medicine techniques, Sports Medicine, Advanced Balance Acupuncture, Neuroacupuncture, and ongoing extensive studies on evidence-based research.

She is passionate about accessible health education and trauma-informed care. Her treatments support recovery from pain, injury, chronic illness, mental health and more. Having personal experience with Ankylosing Spondylitis and chronic pain, she is particularly passionate about treating pelvic health, spinal conditions, auto-immune disease, complex chronic pain, digestion, mental health and women’s and LGBTQ health.

Bara completed her Diploma of Acupuncture at Royal Pacific Institute, studying closely under the ... Read More

Alyssa (she/they) lives as a white, neurodiverse settler on the unceded ancestral lands of the Lkwungen-speaking peoples. Drawing from her lived experiences as a patient with invisible disabilities within the Western healthcare system, Alyssa is dedicated to providing non-judgmental, neuro-affirmative, trauma-informed, compassionate, and accessible care. Alyssa’s holistic approach integrates mind, body, and spirit. Recognizing the interconnectedness of all of these aspects of a person’s well-being, Alyssa views energy work as a complementary modality to enhance and support clients’ ongoing journey towards stress reduction and improved quality of life.

As a Usui Reiki Level II Practitioner, Alyssa channels universal life energy (Ki) through traditional hands-on (or off your choice!) healing techniques to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Usui Reiki focuses on restoring the flow of life energy, which, when blocked or imbalanced, can cause undesired chronic symptoms like illness, pain, anxiety, and depression. Alyssa aims to rebalance this energy and work with clients towards increased relaxation and stress reduction. Since beginning her training to be a Qigong practitioner, a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, she has begun to integrate some Qigong techniques like gentle movements, breathing exercises, and meditations, all harnessing the body’s innate and intuitive ability to channel and balance energy in the body further helping to remove blockages, and supporting stress reduction.

After completing her Reiki level II Practitioner certification in 2022, Alyssa decided to expand her holistic studies to deepen her knowledge base and skills to better help clients. In 2025 she will be completing both her Usui Master level III and Medical Qigong Practitioner certifications. Outside of her energy practice, Alyssa is completing her Master of Science in Clinical Counselling, with a focus on substance use and addictions, neuro-affirmative care, and trauma and somatic therapies.

Outside of her professional work, Alyssa is passionate about advocating for patient safety and care as well as disability equity and rights through local and provincial organizations. When seeking balance in her life, Alyssa finds joy in connecting with the natural world, cooking with her family, sharing a tarot reading with friends, tending to plants, storm-watching at the beach, and finding inspiration for her abstract paintings and sculptures.

Alyssa (she/they) lives as a white, neurodiverse settler on the unceded ancestral lands of the Lk... Read More

Vic Lee (he/they) is a Trans, Nonbinary, Chinese-Canadian Tattooer, born and raised on the unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territory. They have been tattooing since 2021, in street shops and private studios. Their tattoo practice is based in kindness, consent, respect, and collaboration with their clients.

Vic aims to create a welcoming and warm environment for your tattoo appointment. Accessibility is an essential part of Vic’s tattoo practice and is thrilled to be working at Heart & Hands Health Collective, a wheelchair accessible and masked space. As well as their regular studio throughout the week.

His favourite designs to tattoo are silly, bold, bright, and colourful, although he excited to do almost any style! Custom work is always available! Not sure what you want? Vic has an extensive collection of designs available and free consultations are always available.

Along with tattooing, Vic is also a painter, specializing in reverse glass painting. When Vic is not working on art, you can find them riding their bike in the woods, walking their dog, Rizzo, or getting themselves a little treat.

Vic Lee (he/they) is a Trans, Nonbinary, Chinese-Canadian Tattooer, born and raised on the uncede... Read More

Christina (she/her) is a first generation, Hong Konger-Canadian originally from the Greater Toronto Area, the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinaabeg and since 2005, has been a visitor on the unceded territories of the Lekwungen peoples.

She is a Community Acupuncturist, grassroots organizer-educator, martial artist, lupus survivor and high functioning spoonie. In 2006, Christina became certified as an National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA) provider. Then completed her training as a Registered Acupuncturist at the Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) in Victoria, BC in 2009.

Christina is a Balance Method practitioner, training in the system since 2010, initially with the late Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan, followed by Si Yuan Balance Acupuncture based in the EU and in November 2023 completed the 9 level Balance System Acupuncture certification with Gold Level certified Dr. Sonia Tan, based in Vancouver, BC. Currently, she is part of a 2 year mentorship in the 8 Extraordinary Vessels with the esteemed Dr. Yvonne Farrell.

Active in the community, she is passionate about using acupuncture as a tool for positive social change through providing outreach, increasing accessibility and bringing the practice back to its traditional roots. She continues to explore her own personal experiences as a woman of colour living with chronic illness, Asian diaspora, working class organizer-educator, and founder of an unorthodox social enterprise in Lekwungen Territories, otherwise known as Victoria BC.

Christina (she/her) is a first generation, Hong Konger-Canadian originally from the Greater Toron... Read More