Choose Again Costa Rica staff bios
Diederik Wolsak RPC, MPCP
Diederik's journey started in 1942 on the island of Java, Indonesia. He spent the first three years of his life in Japanese concentration camps. Many of his core beliefs were developed during that early, potentially traumatic phase. At age 8 he was sent to a foster home in Holland and by the time he rejoined his parents and brothers two years later he was filled with self-hatred and fear of the world around him. This self-hatred, fear and guilt translated into prolonged alcohol and drug abuse till finally at age 50 he reached that point where he realized that there had to be a better way or there would be no point in continuing. While his self-hatred drove him to be a successful businessman and international athlete, it allowed him little joy.
Following the fork in the road where something had to change, Diederik entered upon a spiritual path of deep healing. This path eventually led to a fulfilling career as counselor in private practice.
He is a masterful therapist. Every client recognizes immediately that she is being trained to become independent of her counselor, that she is worthy of respect and that she has her own answers. Diederik is there to assist in finding and removing all blocks to happiness and peace in a most gentle and loving way. Clients also sense that Diederik has been in many of the dark places they see in themselves; he has personal knowledge of deep depression and substance abuse. He has personal experience of what they are going through and has largely transformed his life. However, he will be the first to tell you: “I am a work in progress.”
Diederik is the founder and program director of the Choose Again Attitudinal Healing Centre. He is the lead facilitator of both the Vancouver and Costa Rica arms of the organization. He is an international workshop leader, public speaker and relationship counselor with years of experience in group facilitation.
Elaine Clark
Elaine
has a BA in Counseling Psychotherapy, a Citation in Counseling and a Certificate in Transpersonal Counseling. Elaine Clark is a therapist with 20 years experience. This began with a very successful program called Youth on Purpose and
it evolved into Choose Again. Elaine has worked with many families in crisis and has been a foster parent of teenage boys. Her clients call her a genius at process-oriented, solution-driven ideas that inspire and motivate.
She is a gifted teacher with a remarkable talent for aligning passion and practicality. A commitment to bringing peace and harmony to relationships is the focus of most of the rewarding work that she is involved in. Elaine uses meditation, holotropic breathing, and reenactment as well as talk therapy. Her professional qualifications and ongoing passion for learning are the basis of a natural calm and balance that allows clients to feel accepted while being challenged to question their beliefs.
Christie Dakin
Christie is a Registered Professional Counselor, has a BA in Communications and has extensive mediation and negotiation training. She is a director and co-facilitator with Choose Again and has a private counseling practice. She is a facilitator for an evening circle which she leads in Vancouver in conjunction with Choose Again.
Christie has developed a passionate interest in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. She is dedicated to working with clients to transform life's challenging circumstances into opportunities of growth and development. It is very exciting for her to watch clients recognize their potential and true capacity for love and connection. She teaches that to live in joy and happiness is every person's natural birthright and she is committed to helping others recognize this truth.
Sarah Kopinya
Sarah came to the Centre in 2006 in a state of profound distress. She had been diagnosed with anorexia and clinical depression. At an early age Sarah decided that the path to happiness was fame, fortune, and having a perfect physical appearance. She was always at the top of her class in school, was surrounded by wonderful friends and a loving family, and she excelled at athletics. From the outside it looked as if she had the perfect life. In 2003, after winning the Canadian Junior Halfpipe
in snowboarding, and placing 3rd at the FIS Junior Worlds, she
realized there was a void inside that external success would not
fill. Realizing the futility of her pursuit, she decided that
if only she were skinnier, her problems would be solved. That did
not work for her either. After several stints in hospitals her
parents sent her to an eating disorder clinic in the U.S. She
learned the 'proper' way to eat and be medically stable, although,
since the underlying force driving her behavior was never looked at,
her anorexia continued. When she came to Choose Again it was a time
of desperation. Here she learned that anorexia, while physically
extremely dangerous, was not the issue but her self-hatred was.
She stayed at Choose Again for two months and made remarkable progress. Since that first visit she has returned to Choose Again on several occasions as a peer mentor and volunteer and is now a full-fledged staff member working towards accreditation as a registered counselor. She truly is an inspiration to many who see themselves reflected in Sarah’s story.
Claudia Thomas
Claudia’s journey is one of triumph over deep personal trauma. From age 4 to 8 Claudia lived with a number of foster parents. While many would have succumbed to a life-long victim story, Claudette was determined to release the past and transform the early years and live a rich life of healing and service to others. In 1988 she began to study Zen and Dzogen Buddhism. This opened a door to a path that would continue to this day. The process of going within to find answers lead to her study of movement as a means of healing trauma. An accomplished, compassionate counsellor, she has been on staff since 2006 and brings a variety of gifts, some of which are:
Myofascial Release and Insight Bodywork. With the use of movement analysis, touch, client feedback, intuitive guidance and the body’s own innate ability to heal, this work assists in the:
- Elimination of chronic pain and tension from a number of ailments
- Changing of habitual movement patterns that leave the body susceptible to injury
- Restoration of a deep sense of awareness
- Releasing of emotional trauma held with in the body
- Elimination of stresses that accumulate in the body
- Acquiring a intuitive internal guidance
- A restored sense of life and well being
All with the intention of gaining a greater awareness of our Truth. Claudia is also a remarkably gifted Yoga and Pilates teacher.