MY STORY
About me
A place to breathe.
About me and my practice
In addition to being a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BCACC, I am also registered as a Certified Clinical Counselor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. I have specialized experience in addictions counselling in individual and group therapy. I have over 12 years of experience working in education and therapeutic centres for vulnerable youth. I offer both short term and long term counselling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples and youth who are seeking support and someone to walk beside them through life’s challenges and transitions. My practice relies on the tenets of client-centred therapy, mindfulness practices, eastern and western philosophies, existentialism, Integral therapy and somatic approaches. In addition, my own reflective and therapeutic work is central to holding space for those individuals and couples with whom I have the privilege to work.
I use a variety of effective and evidence-based techniques, designed and combined with my client’s particular strengths, goals and challenges in mind. I am passionate and curious in my field of practice and continue to educate myself in a wide variety of modalities.
Examples of my interests and techniques are:
Relational Life Therapy for Individuals and Couples (Terrence Real)
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy(AEDP)
Integral psychotherapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (Sue Johnson)
Attachment theory
Acceptance and commitment therapy(ACT)
Mind-body practices such as meditation, guided visualization, breath work and somatic work
Buddhist Psychology
Motivational Interviewing
Core values
-Self compassion
-Mindfulness
-Living more comfortably in our bodies
-Deeper connections with others
-Finding your path
Personal Background
For years I was on a journey to find wholeness and well-being. It literally took me to far off lands and figuratively to deep bottoms, but finally I found what I was looking for: a felt sense of belonging to this world, an acceptance of all of me and not just the parts that I liked.
My Background is one of passionate curiosity. I graduated with a degree in literature and became a high school teacher. As a high school teacher for several years, I encouraged my students and myself to read to gain perspective of the hard questions of life: Who am I, being the deepest. Early on in my teaching career I had the great privilege of working with vulnerable youth in a wilderness therapy program for two years, and my students inspired me to think more deeply about my role in therapeutic settings and where I wanted my path to lead. I continued my teaching career in a South Korean University, which was a wonderful opportunity. For seven years in Korea, I studied Buddhist, Daoist and other wisdom philosophies in order to understand myself more fully. I cultivated a daily meditation practice that both informs my life and my work. Finally, my counselling degree has married my deep love of inner work with researched methods of bringing about change. My journey has given me deep respect and compassion for those who are dealing with difficult issues.
Finally, I have the opportunity daily to practice my therapeutic strategies and education in my marriage and fatherhood. I am thankful for my loving wife, Liz, and my young son, Leo, who connect me to the joyous complexities of being in relationship.
I believe that exploring our inner worlds is one of the most sacred things we can do in our lives and I am honored and excited to share your journey for a little while.
Pino Leporace
Looking back on all my struggles, I see that, there, in those moments I was forged. The dark moments in our life give us pause to question the best path forward.