My Story

Welcome! My name is Surya Govender (she/her). I come from American/German and Indian/South African heritage and was born a settler on the unceded land of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Coast Salish Peoples. I am queer, able bodied and cisgendered.

I have worked for over 30 years in community and social justice environments, as a writer, researcher, storyteller, academic, facilitator, and art therapist. I have many years of experience supporting sex workers, folks living in poverty, and those managing addictions. As a parent, I have experience with alternative learning systems and I love working with others who choose untrodden paths for their families. I have a deep understanding of inherited trauma and the many ways our chosen and birth families shape us.

Combining this lifelong learning with my training as an art therapist continues to be the most fulfilling career I could wish for.

My Approach

I am a somatically oriented art therapist. That means I pay attention to how our bodies are holding and releasing stress and healing while we engage with the creative arts in a therapeutic way.

I work from a harm reduction, feminist, social justice perspective. This means that I am always interested in the role that our social system has had in shaping your history and your choices, and we will work with your skills and strengths to discover who you are becoming.

I welcome with adults of all ages, including those living with addictions or in recovery, BIPOC, sex workers, folks exploring their sexual or gender identity, those exploring the impacts of complex trauma in their lives, and people living with loss, grief, and anxiety.

I will work with you to create a nurturing space to learn and heal. In my practice, I centre the making of art as a place to begin — but our sessions might include verbal, creative and body-centred processing.

I am fully vaccinated and will mask on request.

If you think we might be a good fit, please feel free to book a short phone consultation (free of charge) to ask me any questions you might have!

Book a free 15 minute introduction now

My training

Before turning to art therapy, I studied gender, sexuality, religion and culture (B.A. McGill); urban communities (MSc Geography, LSE), and creative writing (Certificate in Creative Writing, SFU).

I earned my DVATI from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute and currently hold membership with the Canadian Art Therapists Association and am an Registered Therapeutic Counsellor with the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists.

have also completed the following supplemental training:

Putting Polyvagal Theory Into Practice With Deb Dana: Essential Strategies for Creating Safety and Connection With Trauma Clients (PESI) (2024)
Trans Care BC: Gender-Affirming Relational Practice (2024)

I am also in the process of completing:

San'yas: Indigenous Cultural Safety Core Training (BC: Mental Health)
Complex Trauma Certification Training Level 1 & 2 (CCTP/CCTP-II) Course with Janina Fisher (PESI)

In private practice, I am an associate of Expressive Wellness and Collective Healing, a fantastic group of anti-oppressive, trauma-Informed, sex-positive therapists working in a variety of modalities. If we are not a good fit, I am happy to refer you to any one of the excellent therapists I work with.