Behind the Name
Zora is a Croatian word meaning dawn, chosen deliberately for this practice. Dawn represents new beginnings, the quiet shift from darkness to light and the possibility that comes with a fresh start. It felt like the right word for what therapy can offer. Not a single moment of change, but a gradual unfolding. Small shifts that build over time, until one day things feel a little lighter than they did before.
About Nina
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), holding a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. Before becoming an RCC, I completed a Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of British Columbia and a Paralegal Diploma from Capilano University, working across frontline healthcare crisis response and legal advocacy before finding my way to this work.
Those experiences changed how I see people. Working in hospital settings meant being with individuals at some of the hardest points of their lives, people who were scared, overwhelmed and sometimes felt unseen in a system that was moving quickly around them. Being someone they trusted in those moments meant everything to me and sparked a deeper pull toward mental health work. Legal advocacy reinforced it. Whether navigating a crisis or complex legal circumstances, people needed someone who would actually show up for them. Those experiences made it clear that connection, care and curiosity are at the core of meaningful support. Counselling became the obvious path forward.
I work with adults and teens navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, self-worth, identity, grief, life transitions and performance stress. As a lifelong athlete, I also work with athletes and individuals navigating performance-related stress. I know firsthand what it means to push yourself, and I bring that same commitment to the work I do with clients.
Outside of the therapy room, you can find me bouldering, playing soccer, kayaking, cooking new recipes, reading, collecting vinyl and travelling. I also have a deep love for film and find a lot of creativity within it.
How We Work Together
You are the expert of your own life and your life experiences. My role is to sit alongside you in the passenger seat, supporting you as you navigate your own path forward. I am not here to hand you a map, but to offer tools, perspective and a steady presence as you find your way.
A metaphor I often come back to is a backpack full of rocks. We can walk and hold on to so much stress, grief and pain for so long. But at some point we just can't keep walking any longer because the weight of those rocks starts to weigh us down. Through therapy we work together to slowly take one rock out of that backpack at a time, in a way that makes change feel more tangible and manageable rather than overwhelming. Change takes time and being kind to yourself is part of the process. You get there.