David Yates

David Yates has a Bachelors of Arts (2001) from The Evergreen State College, with equal time spent studying writing, theatre, music, and dance. He performed as a dancer with the Vancouver Opera, danced and choreographed for film, and spent several years performing in local theatre shows with the Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret and other groups. He has worked in elementary and middle schools as a support educator for special needs programs, as an anti-violence facilitator for high school boys with Safeteen, and as a facilitator for accelerated learning programs with Jump! Foundation. Ever since learning to swing dance in 1998, he has also explored and taught a wide range of dance styles, always with a focus on connection, inner understanding, and consent. For many years, this included working with couples, helping them learn to dance for their weddings while also navigating communication on a physical level. He is halfway through training in ortho-bionomy, a gentle bodywork modality based on osteopathy, has a 200 hr yoga teacher training certification from Karma Teachers, a certificate in creative movement education from the Creative Movement Center in Seattle, a trauma-informed practice certificate from Trish Walsh and Alyson Quinn, and is a huge proponent of Attachment Theory, Polyvagal Theory, Narrative Therapy, and somatics-based approaches to counselling. He is also trained in the basics of NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) and will receive his NARM-informed certificate this year. David has a Professional Counsellor Diploma from Rhodes Wellness College. He is a member of the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA) and is designated as a Registered Professional Counsellor Candidate (RPC-C).