Welcome home

to those of you who have been in search of who you are, where you belong and who your ‘tribe’ is.

Psychotherapy services located in East Abbotsford, BC and online.

Welcome!

My name is Yoko, and I am delighted you are here. I recognize that you have taken an important and courageous step forward in contemplating therapy today. As you are about to begin this journey of healing, self-discovery and growth, I am honoured you are considering me as your personal guide.

Work With Me

I specialize in one-on-one individual experiential therapy with adults and youths 15+, and also offer parental support, art therapy and community workshops in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and the surrounding Fraser Valley.

line drawing of a paintbrush
line drawing of a face
line drawing of a human pyramid
line drawing of two parents with their child

Yoko’s Therapeutic Method

My training and therapeutic stance are drawn upon Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which are both experiential therapies.

When you work with me, we bring our attention to the experience of your emotions in your body. You may see me interrupt you at times so you don't get stuck in your stories, and I help you to access your emotions deep down, relationally, together. I will guide you to slow down and notice what’s happening inside of your body – so that we can listen to the wisdom of your body. My hope is that you will have a new experience of yourself and re-discover who you truly are.

“I will guide you to slow down and notice, so that we can listen to the wisdom of your body.”

simple line paintings from an art therapy session line the floor, you can see the artists feet coming in from the side of the frame

Art Therapy

Memories are stored in images and particularly ones that occurred in early childhood and ones of emotional impact tend to bypass the part of our brain that allows us to recall verbally. This can make talk therapy challenging. Through the creative process of simple art making these memories can gently be accessed and brought to our awareness in the presence and safety of our space together.

Art Therapy is different from traditional art making where an emphasis is made on the final product and the outcome. Rather, the emphasis is on the process of creating, building as you make meaning one line or movement at a time.

“The emphasis is on the process of creating”

Mental Health
Community Workshops & Support Groups

I also offer in-person/online workshops and support group to my community. Each workshop and group is carefully crafted to your organizational needs. Some of the popular topics are:

  • Various types of grief groups (for Refugees claimants, children/youth/adult grief group)

  • Identity and belonging

  • Self-discovery

  • Anxiety and any number of topics related to mental health and wellness

  • All of these workshops/groups can be combined with Art Therapy

    If you’re interested to chat more about what this could look like, please send me an email at hello@yokogifford.com

Kind Words from Clients

Testimonials

“Each session with Yoko, since the first one, has been incredibly meaningful and empowering. Yoko’s warm encouragement, insight and compassion allowed me to connect with my deeply buried emotions […] the anger, [the] sadness and grief that have been repressed for so many years, in a safe and profoundly healing way. Experiencing these repressed emotions and rewriting past stories (and therefore altering the emotional responses to these past events) with Yoko’s help was extremely freeing and powerful.

Staying committed to weekly sessions with Yoko was essential to create this momentum in my life towards transformation and growth as well as a deeper connection with my emotions and inner world. …I am now able to notice when my own emotions and the emotions of the others [when they arise].

Yoko made me feel truly seen and heard, and comfortable just being myself. Her wholehearted support, empathy and guidance propelled me to begin this invaluable life changing journey towards healing and transformation with a profound ripple effect on my family and friends. I will always be grateful to her!"

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy and Group Art Therapy

“My experience working with Yoko was amazing from the very beginning. It was easy for me to open up to her with the comfortable, safe environment she created.”

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy

“I really felt I needed to speak with someone right away and it was fortunate that it was you. At the beginning of our sessions I was in an unusual place for me, in that I was feeling very blue, alone, down and burdened with negative feelings. [By the end of our process] I felt part of a team, a team prepared to deal with the future and some of the past. I felt lighter emotionally, and more positive in almost every way.

[One of the memorable sessions were] where you guided me to confront ‘people’ as if they were actually present …It was so intense, [but] it was very positive for me. I said things during those moments that I have wanted to say for many, many years. [You also] guided me to speak about [the people who have had positive impact on] my life. [This was] a great gift that you helped me to recall and ‘re-see’, at a difficult time in my life.”

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy

"All I knew is that I loved art as a child, but at the beginning of therapy, I had no idea at the time what art could do for me as a human who was deeply struggling and hurting. Bringing to light the pieces of myself that reading books or gaining more knowledge could not touch. Art therapy has helped renew my sense of self in a world full of confusion and chaos so that I can function in a way that feels so right for me. Art has helped open the way to freedom for me and a knowing of who I am."

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy and Art Therapy

“I began meeting with Yoko at a time of caregiver burnout, family turmoil and exhausted relationships. There was a long hoped for adoption disrupting and my older children were transitioning to independence. I was experiencing major guilt, depression and hopelessness. Yoko’s empathetic and nurturing energy created a safe space for me to be vulnerable, she was able to successfully talk me through my internal dialogue and self-criticisms to gain important new perspectives on my and others’ actions in the face of pain. Despite major hesitation with revisiting childhood trauma she worked from my historical stories to the present and there were more than three major breakthrough moments of significant change for me. Through all of this Yoko’s receptive and caring reflection and encouragement were vital to my ability to relax into change and growth.”

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy

“My sessions with Yoko are very therapeutic and I feel a deep sense of healing and self-connection with each one. Yoko’s genuine care, compassion and guidance has created a safe space for me to explore my inner conflicts and has helped me to heal past wounds.”

— Adult Client, Individual Therapy and Art Therapy