Weekly Drop-in Meditations

Karen Anzai

Karen is a Physiotherapist who has worked at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre for over 30 years. She has a deep interest in supporting people to strengthen their resilience and well-being through self-care and exploration of various mindfulness practices. Karen is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through The Calm Monkey and recently completed the Mindful Self-Compassion Teaching Training program through the Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion. 

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. He also teaches mindfulness based courses in his private practice, and is a mentor for MBCT and MBSR facilitator trainees at the Centre for Mindfulness Studies, and for mindfulness facilitator trainees at the UCLA Training in Mindfulness Facilitation Program. Tom is interested in the intersection of eastern and western approaches to health and wellness, and sharing this interest.

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.

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.