Trauma Counselling Vancouver
How can Trauma Counselling Help?
When working with trauma survivors, I prioritize creating a safe and supportive therapeutic relationship where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences while feeling heard, validated, and respected. This foundation helps rebuild interpersonal trust by fostering empathy, self-compassion, self-acceptance, and authenticity.
Together, we will process trauma in a structured and supportive way, aiming to reduce symptoms such as intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, hyperarousal, and avoidance. By developing practical coping skills—including relaxation techniques, stress management strategies, grounding exercises, and emotional regulation tools—you will be better equipped to navigate relationship challenges, set boundaries, and improve communication.
I believe that trauma therapy can help you find meaning, resilience, and rediscover your strength and hope.
Common Symptoms of Trauma
Hyperarousal Hypervigilance, an exaggerated startle response, and difficulty concentrating.
Negative Cognition and Mood Persistent negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world. Guilt and shame.
Social Withdrawal Isolation, loneliness and disconnection from community.
Physical Symptoms Headaches, gastrointestinal issues, chronic pain, or fatigue.
Intrusive Memories Flashbacks and nightmares.
Avoidant Behaviors Avoiding people, places, activities, or situations that remind the individual of the traumatic event. Numbing emotions through substance use.
Emotional Dysregulation Intense or unpredictable emotional reactions, including mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, or numbness.
Sleep Disturbances Insomnia, nightmares, or disrupted sleep patterns.
Difficulty with Relationships Struggles in forming or maintaining healthy relationships, fear of intimacy, difficulties with communication and emotional expression.
Dissociation Disconnected from oneself, one's surroundings, or one's emotions, feeling numb, spaced out, or disconnected from reality.
Who is Trauma Counselling for?
First Responders, Public Safety and Military Personnel, Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and those who bear witness to traumatic events and emergencies in the line of duty. Those exposed to life-threatening situations, witness violence, or lose comrades.
Survivors of Abuse who have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, whether in childhood or adulthood. Survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
Refugees and Displaced Persons including asylum seekers, and others who have lived experience of loss of homeland, and exposure to violence, war or persecution.
Medical Trauma Survivors who have experienced traumatic medical procedures, surgeries, life-threatening illnesses, medical emergencies and chronic illnesses.
Groups Most Impacted by Systemic Oppression including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQSIA+ folks, immigrants and Indigenous peoples who face marginalization and live with the impacts of historical, intergenerational and on-going trauma.
Survivors of Natural or Human-Made Disasters such as earthquakes, floods, wildfires, or human-made disasters such as terrorist attacks, mass shootings, or industrial accidents.
Get Started with Trauma Counselling in Vancouver
My rates
$160 (60 min) virtual & in-person
$210 (90 min) virtual & in-person
* 1% of revenue is donated to the Environmental Youth Alliance
Counselling FAQ’s
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I work with adults, adolescents, and teenagers across the gender spectrum.
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A therapeutic connection is an intimate and meaningful partnership. I offer a complimentary phone consultation to determine if Fine Balance Counselling & Yoga Therapy is the right choice for you.
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I do not work with:
• Court-Mandated Therapy
• Crisis Response/24-Hour Services (If you need immediate mental health support, please contact the local distress line, available 24 hours, at 310-6789 (no area code).
• People who actively have suicidal and homicidal intents and plans.
• Clients in need of partial hospitalization or an intensive outpatient program.
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I recommend 90-minutes sessions for my clients. To find out why, click here. I recommend that client's pre-book regular sessions to ensure that they get the times and dates they prefer and for the continuity and effectiveness in our work. I try to have my schedule up 3-4 months in advance to facilitate this.
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I do not provide direct billing to extended health, insurance companies, etc. I will provide you with a receipt with my RCC registration number once you’ve paid for your session and you can submit that receipt to your provider for reimbursement.
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Many people find it helpful to talk to someone who’s not a family member or friend. A counsellor can provide non-judgmental support to develop self-awareness, get clarity on challenges, illuminate blind spots and provide different perspectives.
Counselling provides a space to be heard where you can explore who you are and create conscious and long-lasting change.
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As a counsellor, I’m focused on:
• Ensuring you feel seen, heard and validated.
• Creating safety, so you can be your authentic self.
• Holding a non-judgmental space.
• Centering your process and needs.
• Focus on the therapeutic relationship - Research shows that when there is a good match between therapist and client, sustainable and meaningful change can occur.
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The first session is an opportunity to get to know one another. You’ll be able to share your story and experiences with me, as well as ask questions.
My role is to hold the space for you and really get an understanding of your thoughts, feelings and perspectives.
In this session, you can also get a feel for my therapy space and what therapy will be like. Together, we’ll decide if we would be a good fit to work together.
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The amount of therapy sessions you may need will vary depending on your goals. Healing is often not a linear process. I believe that long-term sustainable change and transformation is a process that does not involve a ‘quick fix’.
Some people come to therapy for a few sessions to address their current goals or life challenges. Others come looking to do deeper work around trauma, which may span over a few months to a year. Many people return to therapy from time to time as needed.
Counselling is most effective when it is regular and consistent. Generally, sessions occur weekly or bi-weekly to begin, but this also depends on what works for you.
Together, we’ll assess your needs and what is going to work best for you. We’ll continue to check in and discuss our work together as we go.
Choice is an important part of therapy. This means you can end the therapeutic relationship with me at any time, take a break, or alter the frequency of our sessions.
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I provide in-person counselling at my private practice, located in Vancouver in the Strathcona area and downtown.
I also provide secure online counselling through Jane.
I also offer Walk & Talk Therapy, which combines the benefits of counselling, nature, and movement.
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I am unavailable after opening hours and Fine Balance Counselling & Yoga Therapy is not an emergency service. If you require immediate support, If you are in crisis/distress, please contact the mental health support line, available 24 hours a day, at 310-6789 (no area code) or call 911.
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Therapy should be accessible to everyone. Contact me to join my waitlist for clients who need a reduced rate.
Here is a list of reduced cost & free counselling services in Vancouver 2025.
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I require that you keep a credit card on file for payment of sessions .
I have a 48-hour cancellation policy. I charge the full fee for a missed appointment, or for an appointment cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice.
For late arrivals, sessions will end at the scheduled time, and the full fee will be charged.
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I am a registered therapist with the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) and offer CVAP funded counselling.
This is a government-funded program that provides financial assistance to individuals seeking counselling following traumatic events. If you have been a victim, immediate family member, or witness of abuse or crime offences in British Columbia, you might be eligible to receive counselling support covered by this program. Check out VictimLink BC for more information.
Please note that I bill the government directly for our sessions and CVAP covers a portion of my fees ($135.00 per session). Clients pay the remainder of the standard session fee: $25 (60 min) & $75 (90 min).
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Walk & Talk Therapy is a form of outdoor counselling in which physical activity and exposure to nature are a part of the therapeutic approach.
Movement can help decrease anxiety and depression. Evidence suggests that engaging in movement can also reduce intrusive thoughts (unwanted thoughts that cause significant distress) and rumination (the tendency to repeatedly think about the same thing, often in the form of negative thoughts).
Walking is known to be a method of stress management and exposure to nature can help the nervous system relax. Walking has been shown to help with “releasing” and coping with aggression or irritation.
Walk & Talk Therapy can improve emotion regulation and awareness and improve one's ability to cope with life transitions. Walking is a literal, physical way to keep moving forward.
Get Started Today
A therapeutic connection is an intimate and meaningful partnership. I offer a 15-minute complimentary phone consultation to determine if Fine Balance Counselling & Yoga Therapy is the right choice for you.
