Biography

Darien Thira is a registered psychologist (CPBC #2040) who serves as a psychotherapist, workshop facilitator, clinical supervisor, graduate school instructor, and community development/wellness consultant.  For over 25 years, he has worked with Indigenous communities across Canada, offering training workshops and consultation related to personal and community wellness, grief and trauma healing, suicide and substance-use related issues.  He has worked many years as a therapist in private practice and in association with substance-related healing centres.  His doctoral dissertation related to Indigenous resilience and social activism and he is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Adler Graduate University where he teaches Theories of Psychotherapy and Social Justice Psychology.   Darien has previously served as a clinician at Child and Youth Mental Health and as the Director of Community Education and Professional Development at the Vancouver Crisis Centre. His “Through the Pain to Wellness”, a culturally driven community-based suicide prevention program has been used in over 40 Indigenous communities across the country and as a national program in Australia.  “Choices” and “Reaching Out”, his youth suicide awareness education video & seminars have been used by more than 350 suicide prevention programs world-wide. Darien has presented workshops at many local, provincial, national conferences, and international conferences in: Canada, the United States, and Australia.