Reena Samra

She has had a lifelong relationship with yoga, originating with practicing with her grandmother as a child. Growing up, Reena struggled to understand her experiences with childhood trauma, including addictions and mental health concerns in her family. As a child of immigrants, she felt caught between two cultures and two worldviews, often feeling disconnected from her cultural roots. It wasn’t until she got older that she recognized how intergenerational and historical experiences with colonization, racism, grief and trauma, left a legacy in her family and amongst her people. She became a healer in the process of her own healing, learning, and unlearning journey. Reena is a Trauma Therapist and a Registered Social Worker with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work with a Trauma-Informed Practice Specialization from the University of Calgary. She has almost a decade of experience working with a diverse range of trauma survivors. She works from a trauma-informed, intersectional feminist, anti-oppressive, social justice-oriented and anti-racist framework, striving to decolonize mental health. She specializes in supporting BIPOC mental health, helping people to process experiences of racism, discrimination, racial trauma and racial grief. She is also passionate about working with sexual violence, grief and loss, childhood abuse, complex trauma and PTSD. Reena deeply values community care and building authentic and trusting relationships, and she is passionate about creating group spaces for BIPOC to heal and support each other. She often works in newcomer, immigrant and refugee communities through incorporating culture and spirituality into her services. She is a holistic, collaborative, and culturally informed therapist who is passionate about deepening people’s connections to their mind, body, soul, spirit, emotions and community. She has training in somatic, narrative, attachment, and emotion-focused therapy approaches. Reena is the Founder and Director of the BIPOC Healing and Wellness Centre, where she offers therapy, consulting, workshops, training and healing spaces for BIPOC mental health. Reena was recognized with Edify Edmonton's Top 40 Under 40 2021 Award for her work with immigrant and racialized survivors of trauma and sexual violence. She is grateful to have completed her 200-hour YTT and 300-hour YTT through Canmore Counselling's Trauma-Informed Yoga Psychology School.