Dyalla Popatia, RCC
Associate counsellor
Areas of focus:
Anxiety
Relationships
Depression
Cultural identities, acculturation stress & intergenerational trauma
Life transitions & Personal growth
Racial & Systemic trauma
Gender-based violence
*Dyalla is 2SLGBTQIA+ Allied
Trainings:
Narrative Therapy Foundations Certificate Training
San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, Core ICS
Topographies of (Dis)connection: Remembering self, community and land training series
Gender-based violence prevention & intervention training
Essentials in Emotionally Focused Therapy with Individuals Certificate Training
Ending Violence Association of BC Trainings: Core Foundations 1 & 2, Stopping the Violence (STV) Counselling & Queering Anti-Violence Work
Personal Vibe
In her spare time, Dyalla enjoys being by the ocean, drinking chai in cozy places with a good book, experimenting with new recipes and spending time with family and friends.
Starting therapy can feel both empowering and daunting. As a therapist, I am committed to co-creating a space where you feel safe, welcomed, and free to show up as your whole, unfiltered self.
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association for Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies. My therapeutic approach is integrative, trauma-informed, and holistic. I recognize that each client is unique, and our work together is always guided by your specific needs, values, and goals.
I draw from a range of therapeutic modalities, including (but not limited to) Narrative Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and somatic- and mindfulness-based approaches. At the heart of my practice, I prioritize a nurturing therapeutic relationship rooted in openness, compassion, and collaboration. You are the expert in your own life; my role is to honour your experiences and perspectives while drawing on my training and specific knowledge to support the meaningful change you desire.
I work with youth, adults, and couples navigating a wide range of challenges. I am especially committed to working with people of the global majority/BIPOC clients. Influenced by my own mixed-race, multiethnic, and cultural background, part of what drew me to this work is witnessing the ways individualistic Western therapy often fails to fully honour our cultural realities and complex identities. In my current practice, I work largely with adult children of immigrants and third-culture kids navigating identity and belonging, self-esteem, relationships, and intergenerational trauma and healing. I also have past and ongoing experience supporting newcomer, immigrant, and refugee communities; women and 2SLGBTQIA+ survivors of gender-based violence; and unhoused women and gender-diverse people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Both professionally and personally, I care deeply about collective liberation, decolonization, and justice. I strive to ground my practice in intersectional, culturally responsive, and anti-oppressive frameworks. I recognize how systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma shape individual and collective well-being, and I believe therapy is inherently political. Within our work together, there is always space to explore the breadth of personal, relational, and systemic influences shaping your unique experiences, healing, and overall well-being.
"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing"
— Arundhati Roy
