Jason Yu, MACP
Jason Yu, MACP
Pre-Registration Clinical Counsellor | Virtual Counselling Across BC
I know how isolating a Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour can feel. My goal is to offer practical, evidence-based support within a space where you can speak openly—without shame or judgment.
About Jason
Hello! I’m Jason Yu, a counsellor at Island Clinical Counselling offering virtual counselling to adolescents and adults throughout British Columbia.
I specialize in treating Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours (BFRBs), including compulsive skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting, as well as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). My approach is collaborative, structured, and grounded in evidence-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
At the beginning of counselling, we will work together to clarify what you would like to change and identify practical, measurable goals. Treatment may include learning to recognize patterns and triggers, developing alternative responses, gradually approaching situations that cause anxiety, reducing compulsive or avoidant behaviours, and practising new skills between sessions. We will regularly review what is working and adjust our plan when needed.
BFRB Treatment
My work with BFRBs draws primarily from Habit Reversal Training and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model (ComB). These approaches help us understand the sensory, emotional, cognitive, environmental, and behavioural factors contributing to skin picking, hair pulling, nail biting, or another repetitive behaviour.
Rather than treating the behaviour as a simple “bad habit,” we will explore the function it serves and develop strategies that fit your particular patterns and needs. Self-compassion is an important part of this work. Shame and self-criticism often make BFRBs more difficult to manage, so treatment focuses on increasing awareness and choice without blaming you for the behaviour.
I have completed BFRB-specific training through the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, BFRB Changemakers, and NOCD.
OCD Treatment
For OCD, I provide Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a leading evidence-based psychological treatment for OCD. ERP helps you gradually face situations, thoughts, sensations, or uncertainties that trigger anxiety while learning to respond differently to the urge to perform compulsions.
Exposure work is collaborative and planned carefully. You will understand the purpose of each intervention and have an active role in developing your treatment plan. The goal is not to eliminate every intrusive thought or uncomfortable feeling, but to help you become less controlled by OCD and more able to live according to what matters to you.
I completed specialized ERP training through the International OCD Foundation’s Behaviour Therapy Training Institute.
ADHD Treatment
I use a neurodiversity-affirming CBT approach to help adolescents and adults with ADHD better understand their individual patterns and develop practical strategies for daily life. Together, we may work on executive functioning, emotional regulation, procrastination, overwhelm, motivation, organization, and self-critical thinking. Rather than trying to make you function like someone without ADHD, our work focuses on finding tools that fit your brain, strengths, needs, and goals.
Lived Experience and the Path to Counselling
My interest in this work is also personal. I have lived experience with compulsive skin picking. My career began in civil engineering, but over time I became stuck and disillusioned, and skin picking became one of my primary ways of coping.
Finding the BFRB community helped me feel less alone and introduced me to practical tools for understanding and managing my picking. That experience ultimately inspired me to change careers and complete my Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University.
My path into counselling has been unconventional, but it helps me connect with people who may not have grown up speaking openly about mental health or seeking mental-health support. I strive to offer care that is culturally responsive, neurodiversity affirming, and attentive to each client’s identity, values, experiences, and strengths.
I am a cisgender man of colour and use he/him pronouns. I am conversational in Mandarin Chinese and French and live in Vancouver, BC. You can read more about my journey from engineering to mental health on the ICC blog.
Advocacy, Education, and Community
In addition to counselling, I am passionate about improving awareness of and access to knowledgeable BFRB support, particularly within BIPOC communities. My work has been featured in The New York Times and The Globe and Mail.
I produced the animated short film Low Fuel Light and host the podcasts Fidget and Transference Central Station.
I also facilitate a free BFRB support group, host a BFRB clinician consultation group, and maintain the BFRB Clinician Directory.
Primary Areas of Focus
- Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours, including skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting
- Habit Reversal Training and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Exposure and Response Prevention
Additional Areas of Focus
- Anxiety, including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, and health anxiety
- Depression and behavioural activation
- ADHD and executive-functioning concerns
- Autism and neurodivergent-affirming support
- Burnout and stress
- Cultural identity and culturally responsive care
- Adolescents and adults
CBT-Related Training
- Behaviour Therapy Training Institute, International OCD Foundation
- Habit Reversal Training and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model through the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
- Additional BFRB training through BFRB Changemakers and NOCD
- Culturally Adapted CBT training through the Asian Mental Health Collective
- Graduate-level CBT education through Yorkville University
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy consultation with Pam Katz
Group Support
Age ranges: Adolescents and adults
Session type: Individual virtual counselling
Location: Virtual counselling throughout British Columbia