Hi! I'm Keren 

I am a dual qualified Family Nurse Practitioner (#0914063) and Registered Clinical Counsellor (#20029) with two decades of experience in mental health, substance use, and harm reduction. I have worked with youth and adults with a focus on recovery from addiction, trauma, mood disorders, psychosis, ADHD, and concurrent disorders, primarily via inner city outreach and in community settings.  

I hold a Master of Nursing from the University of British Columbia (2011), which I supplemented with coursework from the Master of Counselling Psychology program through Yorkville University (2023). I have also completed additional psychedelic and somatic focused training including MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy through MAPS, Psilocybin and MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy through TheraPsil, Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Prescribers Training and Intermediate Level Counselling through Polaris, Level One Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and the Internal Family Systems Online Circle. I am qualified as a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse with Advanced Practice, and I am skilled in Motivational Interviewing.  I am a Medical and Psychotherapy Associate with TheraPsil, which is a non-profit advocacy and education network that is committed to making legal Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy accessible to Canadians in need. 

My core values include harm reduction, trauma-informed practice, and a non-pathologizing approach to understanding mental health and distress. I blend solid education in mainstream psychopharmacology and psychiatry with training and extensive personal experience navigating non-ordinary states of consciousness. I aim to support clients to move towards greater psychospiritual integration through counselling, medication consultation, supervised medication tapers, and psychedelic preparation and integration.

I am also a researcher and educator, having co-authored three academic articles related to harm reduction and opioid use disorder, and I have presented at numerous local and international conferences. I am an Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Nursing and at Brandon University Faculty of Health Studies, where I develop mental health nursing curriculum and teach at the graduate level.

My practice is characterized by innovation and life-long learning. I approach every client with an attitude of curiosity and compassion, viewing each as a unique individual with the capacity to heal. I combine a Biopsychosocial-Spiritual, Humanistic, and Somatic approach to help clients access their inner strengths and wisdom, and to support their resilience as they work towards their definition of recovery.

You and I are the force for transformation in the world.  We are the consciousness that will define the nature of the reality we are moving into.   - Ram Dass