Individual counselling in Burnaby & online across BC

The bargain that keeps the goal out of reach

So much of individual therapy starts from a hidden bargain: I’ll accept myself once the anxiety is gone, once I’ve healed from what happened, once I finally get it right. That bargain keeps the goal just out of reach, because self-acceptance was never supposed to be the prize at the end.

That’s why our individual work starts somewhere else. Accepting yourself isn’t approving of everything you do, and it isn’t giving up on change. It’s dropping the verdict about your worth, so change can happen from somewhere steadier than “not good enough yet.”

Whatever you’re carrying (anxiety, low self-esteem, the aftermath of trauma, a stuck sense of direction), the starting point is the same: you don’t have to earn the right to feel okay about yourself before we begin.

What working on this looks like

1. A free consultation

   We talk about what’s going on and whether we’re the right fit. No cost, no obligation, and no pressure to book a session at the end of it. Your consent form and intake questionnaire arrive when you book, so the conversation isn’t spent on paperwork.

2. The first few sessions

   We work out what’s actually loudest, and what you want to be different. Not a treatment plan recited at you. A shared sense of what we’re doing and why, which gets revisited rather than set once.

3. The ongoing work

   Sessions are 60 minutes, usually weekly to start, moving to every other week as things steady. The pace is yours. Most people notice the shift first in how they talk to themselves, before anything about their circumstances changes.

Common questions