MELISSA WATTS

REGISTERED MASTER SOCIAL WORKER

?a?aa (hello), ?uktaas (my name is) Melissa.  My cultural name is ‘tuupaati’ (from Hesquiaht) which translates to ‘challenge’ or ‘teacher’.  My ancestral roots are from Nuu-chah-nulth (Hesquiaht, Tseshaht) on Vancouver Island and from Coast Salish (Squamish, Musqueam) territories here on the Lower Mainland.  I was born on Vancouver Island and raised in East Vancouver by my mother and grandmother.  My cultural teachings come primarily from Nuu-chah-nulth culture and I also like to incorporate some Eastern Indigenous healing practices that further support my health and wellness.  I enjoy working with cedar, dancing to cultural songs and connecting to nature.  I see value in both Western and Indigenous modalities of healing.

I am a Registered Master Social Worker with a Bachelor of Social Work Degree (Indigenous Focus) from Nicola Valley Institute of Technology – Burnaby campus and a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of British Columbia – Vancouver campus.

I have more than 25 years of experience working in non-profit Indigenous organizations in community settings.  My story of helping others began in education, health care, home health, and full-care facilities eventually landing in the field of mental health and wellness.  I have had the opportunity to work with many mental health and wellness teams including Lu’ma Medical Centre, Warriors Against Violence Society, the Quu’asa Program and the Downtown East Side Women’s Centre.  In these settings, I have practiced crisis counselling, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

As a result of my humble upbringing, I am an empathetic individual who is honoured to listen, to hold space for your story, and to support your personal, complex, and ever-evolving journey. I have heard many stories that are similar to that of my family’s story.  My core belief is in peoples’ ability to improve and reinvent their lives.  Some theories that guide my practice are person centered, strengths based, trauma informed, Indigenous focused, empowerment, and cognitive behavioral therapy.  Much of my teachings are geared toward grief and loss, medicine wheel teachings, and ceremonial based teachings learned through the potlatch system.