June Wong

I was born in Hong Kong, where I spent the first half of my childhood until my family immigrated to beautiful British Columbia, where I have spent the rest of my time to-date.  After coming to Canada, my mother was worried that my siblings and I would lose our Chinese, so she sent us to Chinese school to maintain our Cantonese and ensured that each of us completed the senior Chinese language program.  That was quite a feat, and I am pleased to share that all three of us have lived up to our mother's expectations.  I am thankful to my mother, who valued and incorporated our culture and heritage into my and my sibling's upbringing.  Today, my husband and I do our best to pass this precious gift to the next generation by sending our children to Chinese school and making a priority to communicate with each other in our native language at home.

As a first generation Chinese-Canadian, I have firsthand experience navigating between two cultures.  The pressure to assimilate as a 9-year-old child was great, and the pull to maintain my Chinese heritage was just as strong.  During my formative years, I witnessed the succession of immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and, recently, Hong Kong again come to Canada.  My interest in learning Mandarin was inspired by my early encounters with my Taiwanese classmates who had limited English and no Cantonese.  Wanting to bridge the gap with them, I decided to take Mandarin as an elective and immerse myself in a Mandarin-speaking environment as much as possible outside of class.  

Growing up with two cultures in a multicultural society and having worked as a Family Counsellor with a diverse population for the past 18 years had me convinced that we are more similar than we are different as a human race.  To-date, I have been able to relate to and work effectively with people outside my culture, such as the Philippines, Indian, Indigenous, Vietnamese, Caucasians and Bangladeshi.  Having the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life sometimes makes me feel like I have traveled and seen the world without doing the traveling.  

I provide counselling support to individuals, children, teenagers, parents, couples, and families.
A rewarding part of my job is that I get to combine who I am as a person (in and out of work) with what I have learned in school to customize my interventions as per the needs and situation of the people I work with.  I have been told that my interventions work because they are creative and insight-provoking.

My rate is $200 per 50-minute session and $300 per 80-minute session.

I recommend an 80-minute session for couples counselling and family sessions.
I would be happy to converse with you in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.

Please contact me to schedule an appointment.