Welcome!
My name is Imogen (they/them).
I’m a registered social worker in both BC (#15264) and Ontario (#852061) who has been in practice in one form or another since 2018. Over the years, I’ve worked as a health promotion and anti-violence educator, harm reduction support worker, drug checker, women’s shelter support worker, and as an acute care social worker in a seniors mental health unit.
Perhaps because of my personal experiences as well as my professional background, my approach encourages animated exploration of feelings. I don’t believe in toxic positivity and welcome you to talk about the stuff that feels messy and for you to laugh, cry, and get angry as you need to. I use an eclectic mix of therapies including CBT and ACT, but above all else my process is client-lead and guided by your goals and needs. Not every strategy works for every person, so we’ll work together to find what resonates most with you. If you feel simultaneously supported and gently challenged, we’re on the right track.
My career path has lead me to work alongside folks who are multiply marginalized due to the many systemic barriers and injustices they face. This has shaped my practice to not only look at individual issues people face, but how their experiences are contextualized by intersecting issues rooted in colonialism (white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, homo/transphobia, etc.). Our personal struggles don’t happen in a vacuum, so I look at people in their context: both interpersonal, such as your family of origin and relationship to community, and structural.
Finally, in addition to my professional background, I bring lived experience. I’m a genderqueer femme who has been in monogamous and non-monogamous relationships with both cis women and other trans people, some of whom began transition while we were still together, since I first came out at 19. I live and thrive as a late diagnosed neurodiverse (AuDHD) person. I’ve experienced and recovered from the emotional, mental, and physical burnout that many frontline workers in non-profits and/or helping professions experience. I’ve also experienced partner abuse and community cut off as a result of it.
There’s more to me than just what you’ll find on this page, and there’s only so much I can say in text to communicate my ✨vibe✨. If you want to know more about anything written here, my capability to navigate topics not written here, or simply to feel out if we’d be a good therapeutic fit, you can schedule a 30-minute consult so we can chat more.
Formal Education
- Master’s of Social Work, University of Victoria, November 2024
- Bachelor’s of Social Work, University of Victoria, May 2021
- Certificate in Mental Health and Addictions, Camosun College, June 2018
Additional Certifications
- Chronic Shame Workshop Series, Bringing the Body, Stacy Jensen, 2025
- Intensive Course in EFT: Attachment-Based Interventions for Couples in Crisis, PESI, Dr. Sue Johnson, 2023
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Level 1, The Gottman Institute, 2023
- ACT Essentials – Level 2, Association of Psychological Therapies, 2023
- San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training – Core Mental Health, PHSA, 2021
- Mental Health First Aid, 2018
Publications
- Chudyk-Barr, I. (2021) Queer Abolitionist ‘Social Work’ Practise & Drug Checking [zine], Victoria, BC
towards hope counselling 