Stephany Berinstein

Stephany has been working as an Occupational Therapist and program lead within Vancouver Coastal Health Community Mental Health Services for over 10 years. She is a Trained Facilitator of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) through the Centre for Mindfulness Studies. Stephany believes deeply in the role that mindfulness plays in supporting one’s mental health. She loves building capacity in others, both individually and at a program level, to support wellbeing and living meaningfully.

Elisabeth (Liz) Drance

Liz has a health care background in geriatric psychiatry and has a specific clinical interest in supporting family members of people living with cognitive change.  She is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher (MMTCP – Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach) and is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers’ Association.  She is trained to teach Mindfulness Based Dementia Care, and is currently training to deliver Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.  She is also a UCLA MARC Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) for Daily Life facilitator.  Liz enjoys sharing mindfulness with people as a key strategy for self-care and resilience in challenging times.

Tom Heah

Tom is an Occupational Therapist, and has worked with the Vancouver Coastal Mental Health and Substance Use program since 2002, where he has designed and facilitated mindfulness based courses since 2006. He teaches mindfulness based courses in the community, and is a teacher trainer and mentor for MBCT and MBSR facilitator trainees at the Centre for Mindfulness Studies. Tom is interested in sharing his interest in the intersection of eastern and western approaches to health and wellness.

Andrea Grabovac

Andrea has a background in inpatient psychiatry and specializes in bringing mindfulness based treatments to both individuals and groups in multiple clinical settings. She co-facilitates fostering resilience retreats and 5-day MBCT professional trainings for health care professionals. She is a mentor for MBCT trainees at the Center for Mindfulness Studies and the UCSD Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute. She is a founding Co-Director of the North American Chapter of the Mindfulness integrated Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MiCBT) Institute, and trains clinicians in the delivery of MiCBT nationally and internationally. She has been an Associate Editor for the Mindfulness journal since 2013. She completed her yoga teacher training in 2020 and has practiced in the Burmese Theravada Vipassana tradition since 2002.

Linda Turner

Linda, RN, PhD, is a nurse by background. She has worked both in hospitals and education positions. She has a strong interest in complementary therapies as healing modalities. She worked extensively with patients in pain and became very interested in studying Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts. She attended classes over several years and became certified to teach MBSR in 2013. She has been teaching MBSR for 20 years with patients, hospital staff members and members of the public. 

Kathy Wong

Kathy is an Occupational Therapist. She has worked at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre since 1983, and on a Vancouver Community Mental Health and Substance Use team since 2008.  She is a Certified MBSR teacher through the Centre for Mindfulness Studies, and has received mentoring for co-facilitating the Mindful Awareness and Resilence Skills for Adolescents with BC Children’s Hospital.  Kathy deeply believes that all individuals have inner resiliency and strengths for mental and physical health, and that mindfulness can contribute to fostering and sustaining these resources. She is interested in working with youth and adults through the offering of individual and  mindfulness-based courses for diverse populations in public health care.