Talia is a Certified Comprehensive Family Mediator, Certified Family Relations Mediator, Child-Inclusive Mediator, Certified Clinical Trauma Practitioner, Co-parent Coach/Counsellor, Certified Coercive Control Trauma-Informed Clinician and Certified New Ways for Families Coach who specializes in aligning cost-effective, and realistic paths forward for families that proactively reduce conflict and re-establish consistency as well as calm.
Her role is to guide folks and facilitate conversations that help to figure out the unfigureoutable.
She began her career at assault services almost two decades ago, she’s been fortunate to have led a wide variety of local, regional, domestic, and international teams toward the elevation of support and equity for vulnerable people in challenging circumstances inclusive but not limited to family violence, intimate partner violence, mental illness, substance misuse, homelessness, poverty, crisis, and trauma.
She practices from a culturally supportive, child-focused, trauma-informed, and neurodiversity-affirming perspective where she aims to hold equitable space for folks to feel heard, and find solutions for their families.
She has extensive lived experience, education, and professional experience working with families navigating heightened conflict. She has received training from a broad range of well-respected institutions, organizations, universities, and professionals including but not limited to Family Mediation Canada, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Canadian Police Knowledge Network, the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children, Children Beyond Dispute, Harvard Law School, Somatic Experiencing International, Stanford University, the Institute of Child Psychology, the Crisis and Trauma Research Institute of Canada, the High Conflict Institute, University of Toronto, the Justice Institute of British Columbia, University of Salford’s Master of Psychology programme with a specialization in coercive control, Provincial Association of Transition Houses & Services in Saskatchewan (a province with the highest rates of reported family violence in Canada), and Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse (RESOLVE).
She sits on the board for the BC Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She has published in the Law Review regarding the experiences of neurodivergent persons in family law and family services settings.
Those who work with Talia often note she’s soft-spoken, insightful, and gets things done.
Talia works in private practice with Kinder Family Services, as well as with Co-lab Consulting Corporation which offers online/virtual support for co-parents and conflict or court-involved families at cost-efficient rates, and on the Crossroads Family Support Team that provides holistic support (family mediation, co-parent counselling , child/play therapy, etc.) from a family systems lens for separated/divorced families who are navigating high levels of conflict and/or may be court-involved.
Memberships:
Associate Roster, Mediate BC
American Bar Association (non-attorney)
American Psychology Association
Hear the Child Society
BC Society for Children and Youth
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
The High Conflict Institute
Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada
Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario
Ontario Association of Family Mediation
Certification: Certified Comprehensive Family Mediator (C.CFM)
Certified Family Relations Mediator (C.FRM)
Certified New Ways for Families Coach (C.NWFF)
Certified Child Inclusive Mediation and Counselling Consultant (CIMC)
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP-II)
Certified Coercive Control Trauma Informed Clinician
ADHD Certified Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP)
Dual Certified Child and Family Trauma Professional (CFTP)
Certified Advanced Grief Counselling Specialist (CAGCS)
Certificate in Gender Based Violence - Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women & Children
Certificate in Family Mediation - Herzing College
Certificate in Child Protection Mediation - Family Mediation Canada
Certificate in Parenting Coordination - Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Certificate in Parenting Plan Evaluations - Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Somatic Experiencing Professional Certification - Beg I, Beg II
Talia is a Certified Comprehensive Family Mediator, Certified Family Relations Mediator, Child-In...
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Colleen Vantol is a distinguished Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC, MACP) with over 20 years of experience across a wide range of therapeutic settings. Her clinical foundation—shaped by a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and advanced training in high-conflict family dynamics and DBT-informed care—reflects a deep alignment with Co-lab’s core values of consent, collaboration, and emotional safety. Colleen brings a steady, warm, and culturally attuned presence to her work, supporting clients across diverse backgrounds with professionalism and unwavering respect.
Colleen is particularly skilled in working with families navigating complex legal or court-mandated processes, including emotionally volatile separations, access disputes, parent-child contact issues, and cases involving addiction, trauma, or entrenched conflict. She holds specialty certifications in high-conflict dynamics and couples therapy and is known for her ability to meet resistance, rupture, and relational ambivalence with empathy, structure, and clarity—without ever forcing reconciliation or prescribed outcomes. Her work honours the pace and readiness of each individual while keeping children’s well-being at the center.
Within Co-lab, Colleen’s practice is firmly grounded in trauma-aware and anti-oppressive principles. She integrates evidence-based modalities including CBT, DBT, narrative therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and systemic family approaches such as the Gottman Method and PCIT. Whether working with co-parents, youth, or caregivers, she tailors her approach to the unique relational and developmental needs of each family system. Colleen is known for her ability to hold steady in the midst of high emotional intensity while maintaining neutrality, relational accountability, and therapeutic clarity.
She collaborates with allied professionals to ensure alignment with legal mandates while protecting the integrity of the therapeutic process. With a balanced presence that is both approachable and clinically rigorous, Colleen offers families and professionals a reliable anchor in the midst of conflict—and a path toward safer, more sustainable outcomes.
Colleen Vantol is a distinguished Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC, MACP) with over 20 years o...
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Warren is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor with a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. He supports individuals, co-parents, couples, and families navigating stress, trauma, relational strain, and life transitions across the co-lab’s services.
Warren is known for his down-to-earth presence. He creates a space that feels approachable and steady — where clients can speak honestly without feeling analyzed, judged, or pressured. His style is grounded and practical, helping people make sense of what they are experiencing while building tools they can actually use in their day-to-day lives.
He works with anxiety, depression, anger, communication breakdown, high-conflict separation, and trauma-related stress. Warren integrates trauma-aware practice with cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused approaches, tailoring his work to each person’s needs and pace. He balances compassion with accountability, supporting clients in taking ownership of their growth without shame or defensiveness.
Warren also has experience working with court-involved and court-ordered clients. He understands that not everyone begins counselling by choice, and he approaches mandated participation with clarity, respect, and strong clinical boundaries. His focus is not on forcing outcomes, but on strengthening emotional regulation, insight, and functional change.
Within the co-lab’s interdisciplinary model, Warren collaborates closely with colleagues to ensure care is coordinated and grounded in integrity. Whether supporting an individual working through stress, a parent navigating reactivity, or a family seeking greater stability, Warren brings calm, practicality, and quiet consistency to the process.
Warren is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor with a Master of Art...
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Amanda (MACP, RCC, CCC) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor with a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology. She practices through a trauma-aware, consent-based, and anti-oppressive lens that reflects the co-lab’s core commitments.
Amanda works with children, youth, individuals, parents, caregivers, and families across the co-lab’s services. Whether supporting individual therapy, relational repair, or family-based interventions, she approaches her work with steadiness, care, and clinical depth.
As part of the Crossroads Family Support team, Amanda supports families navigating high-conflict dynamics, relational disconnection, and patterns shaped by intergenerational wounding. She holds space for conflict, rupture, and the often-tender process of repair with warmth and clarity, helping families move toward safer and more sustainable ways of relating.
She is known for her calm presence, thoughtful insight, and deep respect for each person’s voice and readiness for change. Her work prioritizes emotional safety, relational accountability, and meaningful connection — not forced proximity or compliance.
Amanda is a member of the BC Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and is an approved provider with the Crime Victim Assistance Program. She also holds certification in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT), supporting individuals impacted by PTSD, anxiety, depression, and trauma-related stress.
Within the co-lab’s interdisciplinary model, Amanda collaborates closely with colleagues to ensure care is coordinated, culturally responsive, and grounded in integrity. She brings both clinical rigour and genuine human warmth to her role, helping individuals and families move forward in ways that feel steady, supported, and real.
Amanda (MACP, RCC, CCC) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor wit...
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Marianne is a Canadian Certified Counsellor with extensive experience supporting families navigating separation, conflict, and emotionally complex transitions. Her practice is rooted in trauma-informed, attachment-based, and systems-aware approaches.
With advanced training in parenting coordination, resistance and refusal dynamics, and high-conflict co-parenting, Marianne brings clarity and compassion to her work with children, parents, and caregivers. She supports families involved with court processes, Section 211 assessments, and therapeutic interventions—always centering emotional safety, readiness, and practical support.
Marianne is a Canadian Certified Counsellor with extensive experience supporting families navigat...
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Melissa Federau, MA, MFT, RCC is a highly attuned and compassionate clinician with extensive experience supporting individuals, couples, and families through trauma, disconnection, and relational pain. Her approach is grounded in somatic, emotion-focused, trauma-informed, and attachment-based frameworks, with a deep commitment to ensuring emotional safety and readiness are always at the center of the work. Melissa’s practice is rooted in the understanding that sustainable healing requires space, consent, and connection—principles that directly reflect Co-lab’s values.
Melissa brings a strong academic foundation to her practice, having earned her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from ACTS Seminaries at Trinity Western University. Over the years, she has cultivated a reputation for clinical excellence among both clients and referring professionals, including legal professionals working with high-conflict or court-involved families. She integrates neuroscience-informed practices with relational warmth, offering clients a deeply respectful and effective space to unpack complex histories and move toward meaningful change.
Her work spans across age groups and family systems, and she is particularly skilled in helping clients navigate the ongoing impact of trauma, grief, anxiety, and disconnection in their relationships. Whether working with individuals or families, Melissa approaches each case with attunement, humility, and a commitment to ethical, consent-based care. Her practice honours the intricate layers of a person’s story and the importance of creating space for healing that isn’t forced or rushed.
Melissa is known for her steadiness, warmth, and clinical insight. Her ability to support clients through complex family dynamics—especially those involving legal mandates, generational trauma, or ruptured attachment—makes her a powerful resource for families navigating high conflict and systems involvement. She aligns seamlessly with Co-lab’s trauma-aware, anti-oppressive, and relationally accountable framework, and we are honoured to have her as part of our team.
Melissa Federau, MA, MFT, RCC is a highly attuned and compassionate clinician with extensive expe...
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Darlene Mathews, MA, RCC, RSW (ACS), is a highly experienced clinician with over two decades of practice supporting individuals, couples, and families through times of transition, conflict, and emotional complexity. With dual registration as both a Clinical Counsellor and Social Worker, as well as certification in clinical supervision, Darlene brings a multifaceted perspective to her work. Her approach is grounded in trauma-informed, client-centered care and is deeply aligned with Co-lab’s values of consent, collaboration, and emotional safety.
Throughout her career, Darlene has supported clients navigating a range of challenges including separation and divorce, co-parenting conflict, family restructuring, grief, trauma, and emotional dysregulation. She has extensive experience working alongside legal and child-serving professionals in cases involving family law, parenting time disputes, and high-conflict dynamics. Darlene approaches these situations with steadiness and compassion, offering structured support without ever relying on pressure, force, or prescribed outcomes.
Darlene’s work is shaped by anti-oppressive, strengths-based frameworks, and she draws on a range of evidence-informed practices including cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion regulation, psychoeducation, and attachment-focused approaches. Her ability to build trust with clients—even those who are resistant, court-mandated, or navigating systems involvement—makes her a reliable and effective partner in therapeutic work that intersects with the legal system.
As a senior member of the Co-lab team, Darlene is often called upon for her leadership, supervision, and mentorship. She collaborates thoughtfully with legal professionals, mediators, and other service providers to ensure that therapeutic processes remain ethical, child-centered, and trauma-aware. For families in crisis and the professionals supporting them, Darlene offers both clinical integrity and an unwavering commitment to emotional and relational safety.
Darlene Mathews, MA, RCC, RSW (ACS), is a highly experienced clinician with over two decades of p...
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Lurline Raposo is a seasoned clinical leader working from Nanaimo, BC, with two decades of dedicated experience supporting children, adolescents, adults, and families through trauma, separation, and conflict. As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Play Therapist Supervisor, and Parenting Coordinator, she brings a depth of expertise that aligns closely with Co‑lab’s core values of consent, collaboration, and emotional safety. Her practice is trauma-aware, attachment-focused, and deeply relational, offering both stability and adaptive sensitivity in high-conflict family situations.
Lurline specializes in divorce, separation, coparenting, and parent-child resistance dynamics, drawing on advanced training in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), sand tray and play therapy, neuroscience-informed attachment approaches, family systems therapy, and structured mediation modalities. She works effectively with legal mandates and therapeutic engagement—supporting court-mandated clients, parenting coordinators, and families referred through Hear the Child or Parenting Coordination rosters—without ever compromising consent or imposing outcomes.
Within Co‑lab, Lurline’s practice emphasizes emotional safety and anti-oppressive frameworks—honoring each individual’s pace, perspective, and readiness while collaborating closely with referral networks. Her capacity to hold space for complex emotional expression through creative and somatic modalities helps children and adults process trauma, repair relational rupture, and build relational insight within structured therapeutic boundaries.
Lurline is routinely partnered with lawyers, mediators, and judges who require clinically sound, ethically robust intervention for high‑conflict family law cases. Her clinical credibility, calm presence, and multi-modal flexibility make her a reliable referral partner for navigating the intersection of legal systems and therapeutic support. By consistently centering children’s well-being, transparency, and collaboration, Lurline strengthens Co‑lab’s commitment to supporting families in crisis with dignity, clarity, and clinical integrity.
Lurline Raposo is a seasoned clinical leader working from Nanaimo, BC, with two decades of dedica...
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Amanjot is a seasoned Registered Social Worker with over a decade of experience supporting children, youth, adults, couples, and families navigating trauma, conflict, identity shifts, and systemic stressors. Her work is grounded in the co-lab’s core commitments to consent, collaboration, cultural humility, and emotional safety. She creates spaces where clients can show up authentically — without judgment, pressure, or coercion — and where readiness and relationship are prioritized over imposed outcomes.
Across the co-lab’s services, Amanjot provides individual counselling, co-parent support, child and youth therapy, and family-based interventions. She supports clients working through anxiety, depression, trauma, relational ruptures, high-conflict separation, and complex family transitions. Her practice is informed by anti-oppressive, strengths-based, trauma-aware, and neuroaffirming frameworks, and she integrates modalities such as DBT, narrative therapy, ACT, and emotion-focused therapy, tailoring her approach to the unique needs of each person and family.
Amanjot is fluent in both English and Punjabi and brings deep cultural insight to her work, making her a trusted support for diverse individuals and communities.
She also has extensive experience within high-conflict family systems, including court-involved and court-mandated contexts, co-parents navigating separation, families experiencing parent-child contact resistance, and cases involving allegations of violence or abuse. Known for her calm, clear, and grounded presence, Amanjot is able to remain steady in complex relational landscapes while holding boundaries with care.
Within the co-lab’s interdisciplinary model, Amanjot collaborates closely with colleagues to ensure care is coordinated, clinically sound, and ethically anchored. She understands that mandated participation does not equal consent, and she remains committed to honouring the dignity, pace, and autonomy of every child and adult she supports.
Whether working one-on-one with an individual, supporting a parent through reactivity and repair, or guiding a family toward safer and more sustainable connection, Amanjot brings clinical depth, cultural responsiveness, and an unwavering commitment to meaningful, lasting change.
Amanjot is a seasoned Registered Social Worker with over a decade of experience supporting childr...
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