The People of HIC
Healing in Colour is a collective of therapists, facilitators & community members who are deeply committed to the healing and liberation of BIPOC- in all our intersections. Each member of our team enriches this collective by bringing a unique set of lived experiences, cultural wisdom, and professional skills. Together, we aim to disrupt dominant culture in mental health and professional fields by centering communities that have been marginalized.
Premala Matthen
Co-Founder and Council Member
Premala (Lala) is queer and cis, a brown woman and a settler, chronically ill/disabled and middle class. Some of her people are Indian and others are white. Her understanding of power, privilege, and oppression is shaped by the range of her positions in the world. Lala’s experiences of violence and oppression led her to seek change, for herself and others. In addition to her work with Healing in Colour, she is a therapist in independent practice, and the co-creator of SEEN, a podcast that explores personal healing and collective liberation work through the eyes of Black and brown queer women. Her work sits at the intersection of counselling and activism, firmly rooted in the radical possibilities of QTBIPOC spiritual and emotional healing.
Yasmin Hajian
Co-Founder and Council Member
Yasmin (Yas) is a queer cis woman, a settler having arrived on these lands as a refugee from Iran, and middle class (but still a recovering poor person). Yas is a dually-trained therapist and mental health nurse deeply committed to politicized healing and social justice ethics in both her professional and personal life. In addition to her work with Healing in Colour, she has an independent therapy practice and works in mental health and substance use services at Vancouver Coastal Health. Yas feels passionately about anti-oppression practices that support the healing of communities impacted by structural power and oppression.
Bhupie Dulay
Council Member & Facilitator
Bhupie is a settler who was born and raised on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Semiahmoo, sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), Kwantlen, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, and sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen) Nations; and her ancestors are from India. Bhupie is a cis, non-disabled, middle class, brown woman. Currently Bhupie works as a therapist and supervisor. Her work is informed by social justice and collaborative principles. Most of the folks she works alongside are navigating and resisting multiple systems of oppression such as racism, cis-heteronormativity, monogamism, ableism, classism, sizeism, ageism, etc. Bhupie is committed and passionate in creating spaces where these types of experiences can be witnessed and honoured; and where the person’s lived experience, wisdom, and strength can guide the work. Alongside her counselling practice, Bhupie provides workshops, trainings, and consultations to organisations, teams, and boards. Most of this work is related to building more inclusive spaces and practices. Bhupie is also an instructor and adjunct faculty at Vancouver Community College, Adler University, and City University. As someone who believes in community healing and growth, Bhupie is excited and honoured in being a board member with Healing In Colour.
Abby Chow
Council & Operations Team Member
Abby is a cis-queer, working-turned-middle class, half-gen settler from Hong Kong who is currently occupying the unceded, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. Her people are from Chaozhou and Nanjing.
Her therapeutic work involves supporting folx navigating multiple systemic barriers, commonly showing up as being impacted by the criminal punishment system, addictions, and relational harm. In addition to her frontline roles, Abby provides clinical supervision and strategy consulting to justice-oriented practitioners and agencies. Her justice work within a professional setting includes founding Reflecting on Justice, a mutual-aid/wealth redistribution-based community for therapists to unlearn systemic oppression together; as well as group counselling practices dedicated to bringing community back into mental health through beyond-the-talk initiatives. She is also an adjunct faculty member various local post graduate institutions. Outside of work she has a passion for creating + learning, video games, comedy + live music.
Nadine Tilma
Council & Operations Team Member
Nadine (she/her) is a proud Black, queer, middle-class, cis woman, and was born and raised on the uncededed Kanien’kehá:ka territories. In her work and life, she particularly values radical love, honesty & compassion as revolutionary tools, as well as creativity, joy, rest, and the embracing of our whole humanity. Nadine is a registered clinical counsellor in independent practice and is honoured to support Black, Indigenous, and other racialized folks in their healing and spiritual journey. She provides one-on-one therapy, runs healing circles, and facilitates public discussions about the impact of oppression and the path towards collective healing and liberation. Outside of this work you can find her woodworking, learning to care for her plants (however successfully), listening to a podcast, meditating or playing an instrument.
Daniela Guerrero-Rodriguez
Council & Operations Team Member
Daniela Guerrero-Rodriguez (she/they) is an aunty, community artist, and liberatory futurist of Central American Indigenous, West African, Sephardi Jewish, and European ancestry. Born on the lands of the Huetar-speaking peoples (in what is colonially known as Costa Rica), she is a settler on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (so-called Vancouver, BC).
With over 17 years of frontline mental health experience and a Master’s in Arts for Social Change, Daniela brings a collective, and creative approach to healing. As a trauma-informed facilitator, intersectional educator, and founder of Daniela GR Consulting, she supports communities and leaders in moving from survival to reimagining what’s possible – especially in times of crisis – through coaching, workshops, and speaking engagements. In their personal time Daniela enjoys audiobooks, podcasts, walking along the seawall, galleries, museums, and learning different plant processing methods.
nikta boroumand
Council & Operations Team Member
bio coming