A Shift in Shape

Tributaries converging

The Story of Shapeshift’s Name

The Shapeshift name came to Sarina in a similar way that most hard decisions usually do for her. She had been brainstorming various names for quite a while, with nothing really sticking. Feeling tired and worried that a name would never come, she decided to soften the urgency for a name, turn down the volume of her “thinking” brain, and tune into the world around her.

Soon after, while reading some literature, she came across the word “Shapeshift” and everything came into focus. While she’d like to paint a picturesque vision of sitting beneath a tree with a book in hand, it was more the kind of distracted AHA moment with an embarrassing number of tabs open on the laptop and an inability to recall where she came across it!

Nevertheless, the name felt right and continues to teach us of the power of transformation as our practice grows.

A New Shift

It is no surprise that there will always be changes, transformation, and adapatation at Shapeshift. Right now the shift is expansive, as this group has expanded to two.

Alyx and Sarina met at the University of Victoria during their MSW degree. What started out as a friendship has shifted over the years. We became parents around the same time, studied and wrote our RSW exam together, and are now embarking on a collaborative counselling and consulting practice. At the foundation of it all, is a deep and mutual trust for one another and an aligned vision for how we show up in this work.

What Shapeshift Means to Us

Sarina: As a mixed-race person growing up in a world that seeks to rigidly categorize, I find comfort, perspective, and possibility in Shapeshift. For a long time, I felt that my inability to neatly “fit” within these boxes meant there was something wrong with me. Bringing awareness to the stories that shaped these harmful beliefs has helped me shift into a place where my whole self can exhale.

For me, Shapeshift means embodied and authentic living according to each person’s lived experience and values. It means embracing our multiple dimensions. And, it reminds me that this work is but a small offering to the long lineage of resistance that our communities and ancestors have been doing for millenia.

I am beyond thrilled to collaborate with Alyx at Shapeshift. They bring an important lens to this work and I am excited for the many shapes our work will take together!

Alyx: When I think of Shapeshift, I think firstly of my dear friend Sarina and the brilliance of her coming up with a name that is so full of transformative possibility! As a trans person, Shapeshift reminds me of my trans, non-binary, and genderqueer ancestors and community who have refused constricting ideas of not only of sex and gender, but of rigid colonial ideologies that restrict our collective capacity to be in relationship with ourselves, with each other, and to dream of freedom.

I hope to honour the name Shapeshift by bringing a trans lens to this work. Transformation, fluidity, movement, change, possibility - these are ways of being I connect to personally and in my practice. Trans people’s existence resists binaries in so many ways, from binary thinking (ex. “either/or” thinking), to expanding ideas of body autonomy and self-determination, to demonstrating what can flourish out of honouring children’s agency and self-determination.

For me, Shapeshift is not only a soft landing as a trans person, it grounds me and my work in a reminder that struggles for liberation, justice, community, connection, and rest are interlocking. I believe that being open to shifting the shape of ourselves, shifting how we show up in relationships, and shifting our understandings of conflict and collaboration are part of the work of co-creating the world we dream of. I look forward to having my own “shape” shift through collaboration with Sarina, with nature, and with our communities.

If you’re curious about working us, we offer free 20-minute consults to see if it’s a fit. You can reach Alyx at alyx@shapeshiftcounselling.ca or Sarina at sarina@shapeshiftcounselling.ca