Our Team

COUNSELLOR / REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER

She/Her

JENNIFER ALLEN

Jennifer believes that creating trust, connection and compassion within the therapeutic relationship is at the heart of the counselling process. This allows a person’s inherent strengths, abilities, and capacities to evolve, for growth and healing to occur, and for an enhanced self-awareness, understanding, and level of coping to be realized. She respects that people enter counselling for a variety of reasons. Jennifer welcomes the opportunity to work with you or your loved ones in a caring and supportive way to help you reach your goals and achieve an enriched quality of life.

Whether on a beach, in the forest or amongst the beautiful flowers and herbs at the community garden, Jennifer enjoys time spent outside work with friends, family, and her adorable canine companion.

Education:
Jennifer is a BC Registered Social Worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work (MSW) from University of British Columbia. She has over 20 years of experience in both public health care and in private practice settings, working with a broad array of individuals and families from diverse backgrounds.

Experience:
Jennifer has specialized skills and knowledge about brain related health conditions such as traumatic brain injury, concussion, stroke, and dementia. This includes helping people work through anxiety, depression, trauma, grief & loss, stress, adjustment to health changes, and relationship challenges. She also has advanced expertise helping people navigate complex health care systems and accessing community resources.

Approach:
Jennifer incorporates a range of different approaches to facilitate client wellness including EMDR, mindfulness, cognitive behaviour therapy, and solution focused therapy, all of which are embedded in a trauma informed, systems perspective.

PSYCHOMETRIST

She/Her

YANA SAFFER

Yana Saffer is a psychometrist with over 11 years of experience working in several clinical settings including Vancouver General Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital, a private healthcare centre, private vocational and neuropsychological practices. In these settings, Yana worked extensively with individuals with neurodegenerative diseases, acquired brain injuries, epilepsy, as well as psychiatric and learning disorders. In addition to her psychometric work, Yana has also conducted cognitive remediation with older adults with acquired brain injuries.

Yana obtained a BA from the University of British Columbia and completed several post-baccalaureate courses in gerontology from Simon Fraser University. Outside of work, Yana enjoys jogging, spending time with her family, travelling, and trying new foods. She has worked with Sonia Packwood for many years in both public and private healthcare.

DIRECTOR

She/Her

SONIA PACKWOOD

Offering Services in both English and French.

While working in private healthcare, Dr. Packwood noticed a lack of available counselling services offered in a collaborative setting and felt a strong interest in working with a skilled team. She believes that healthcare providers must work collaboratively to efficiently provide service to clients. Dr. Packwood recognizes that individuals have complex and multifaceted challenges, and that multidisciplinary teamwork is the best avenue to enact a positive change in quality of life.

Dr. Packwood grew up in a small community in Quebec and values feeling supported by her community. This is reflected in what she is building at IN-Sight Mind Body Wellness with a close-knit team who value each other’s support and insight. Sonia is strongly family oriented and a mother at heart, for both her daughter and those she works with.

Education:
Dr. Packwood is a registered psychologist in the Province of British Columbia, where she specializes in Clinical Neuropsychology. Upon completing her doctorate degree, Dr. Packwood undertook a two year fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the most recognized neurology and neurosurgery hospitals in North America.

Experience:
Dr. Packwood has practiced in a variety of setting within both the public and private health sectors. As part of her post-doctoral clinical training, Dr. Packwood worked in multiple departments, including Rehabilitation, Movement Disorder, Epilepsy, and the Outpatient unit. Dr. Packwood has experience working with professional athletes, providing past neuropsychology services for organizations such as the Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Canada snowboard team.

Approach:
Given her expertise as a neuropsychologist, Dr. Packwood’s relationship with her patients is focused on providing education and resources to help clients improve their quality of life and reach their goals. She uses a blend of modalities but focuses on a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy centered approach.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

She/Her

MARIKA ALLEN-MANGOLD

Marika Allen-Mangold is a graduate with a Combined Major in Biology and Psychology from the University and Victoria and greatly values working in the mental health and helping fields. She works behind the scenes assisting Dr. Packwood with all administrative tasks to allow our team to offer the best possible service to our clients.

She is often the first point of contact for new clients reaching out by phone or email. Marika values being an open and welcoming individual and is always happy to assist clients by answering any questions they may have. Her work ethic, attention to detail, and organization skills make her a valued member of the IN-Sight Mind Body Wellness and Integrated Neuro team.

Our Focus

IN-Sight Mind Body Wellness is home to a dedicated team of counsellors, social workers, and psychologists committed to supporting individuals through everyday challenges or mental health struggles, like anxiety, depression, grief, loss, and trauma.

Our Mission

IN-Sight Mind Body Wellness is dedicated to providing the highest quality of care, support and education to our community.

Our expertise offers you evidence-based assessments, interventions and treatments, while our support services are delivered in a seamless and holistic manner centered around empathy, trust, and helping our clients and their families understand their situation.