Welcome!

Imperfection. Vulnerability. Equanimity. These resonate with us at Patchwork Conversations.

We are a collective of Asian therapists in what we come to call Toronto, Canada. We are here to mold spaces that honour what comes up from uncommon conversations. Conversations that shifts us towards liberation. A shift to free us from the constraints that hold us back from being the compassionate, authentic and loving selves we are already - and needed in a just future that has space for all peoples.

We are on our way, as a society, but we are not there yet.

Where we are now, we know this: therapy is hard work - for the client and for the therapist. One of the hardest steps is to be confronted with, and having to admit to, our imperfections. Before considering the choice of change - yes, there really is a choice - feeling vulnerable, raw and undone can be so lonesome. Yet, more than ever in history are we seeing people willing to go through this self-actualizing journey. In the Asian Canadian community, we are seeing this - a “reckoning,” as Cathy Park Hong calls it. Or a “permission to come home,” as Jenny T. Wang names it.

At Patchwork Conversations, we see imperfections and vulnerability to be an opening - an entry point. While each of us have to individually put in the hard work of re-narrating our harsh personal histories, sometimes as therapists, we just wonder… we dream of… parts of this journey where folks can meet others going through something similar. A space tender enough for others to show us, in reflection of ourselves, the compassionate, authentic and loving selves we are.

Land Acknowledgement

Patchwork Conversations is based on the Dish with One Spoon Territory, land of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, colonially known as Toronto, Canada. Subsequent Indigenous Nations, Europeans and newcomers like ourselves have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. This is important to us at Patchwork Conversations in learning and unlearning ways of thinking and doing as a collective of settler immigrants.

Our Team

Kennes Lin, MSW, RSW

Kennes (she/her) is a Chinese Canadian settler immigrant cis-woman living in Toronto, the Dish with One Spoon Territory. She oversees as Director of all clinical services at Hong Fook Mental Health Association, a leading ethno-cultural community mental health agency in Ontario. Kennes was the recipient of the 2021 Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) Beverly Antle Leadership Award, leading a grassroots group in the fight against anti-Asian racism during the pandemic. Communicating her extensive experience working with Asian youth and families therapeutically and in community, she has taught at OASW on topics of anti-Asian racism, at York University’s School of Social Work, and as a field educator at University of Toronto’s FIFSW. Kennes is passionate and engulfed with the vision and practice of using individual and family psychotherapy as a path towards collective liberation from on-going violently oppressive structures, recently co-founding Patchwork Conversations.

Reach out to me at kennes@patchworkconversations.com

Bradyn Ko, MSW, RSW

Bradyn (he/him/they/them) is a queer cis-gender Asian Canadian settler immigrant therapist and clinical consultant, living in Toronto. Bradyn has been working as a therapist for the past 9 years, formally trained in and utilizing CBT, EMDR, IPT, and DBT, and brings extensive clinical knowledge and experience in working with a range of different mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD/trauma, and OCD and with different special populations, such as sexual and gender minorities, newcomers/refugees, ethnoracial minorities, and international students. Bradyn currently works as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor in a private practice, and at Hong Fook Mental Health Association, and a therapist at Strides Toronto, and has previously worked at a mental health hospital, the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy program, and an EAP company. Bray has completed more than 30 hours of Clinical Supervisor training, and meets the CRPO definition of a clinical supervisor for the registered members of the college. Visit saero.ca

Reach out to me at bradyn@patchworkconversations.com

Jennifer Truong, RP (Qualifying)

Jenn (she/her) is a daughter of Vietnamese Refugee and Immigrant parents, living in Tkaronto. She spent her early years in Regent Park and government housing, where she learned the significance of collective care and community. It was this early experience that she discovered her deep desire to advocate, empower and uplift communities faced with systemic barriers, access to care, and traumatic experiences.

She is passionate about working with people experiencing the challenges of anxiety, depression, ADHD, grief, intergenerational trauma, and cultural identities. Jenn’s approach is curious, compassionate, collaborative, and rooted in the practice of cultural humility. She uses an integration of modalities, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Internal-Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness and somatic-based practices.

In addition to her psychology background and psychotherapy clinical experience, she has worked in other community roles for 5+ years, supporting populations including children, youth and adult newcomer/refugees, LGBTQ2S+, and families navigating mental illness.

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