Addiction Therapists in Nanaimo, BC

Come as you are. Whatever challenges you are currently facing, unless you talk about it, you'll never know what's possible. You don't have to know where to start. Your story needs to be told, by you. I welcome and value diversity from all walks of life.

We are an online counselling agency so do not provide services in person. Strength Counselling Services has licensed, experienced therapists who use evidence-based practices, prioritize client needs, and maintain ethical standards. We offer culturally sensitive, affordable services in a supportive environment. We offer a comprehensive goals assessment, regularly assess progress, and collaborate with other professionals. We provide transparency in our fees and for thirteen years now have held a positive reputation of trust, and client success. Lastly, ensuring our clients' privacy and confidentiality are of utmost importance to us.

Updated July '24: I am accepting new clients with daytime availability and work with couples and individuals in my practice. Using a collaborative, supportive, and non-judgemental approach, I empower clients to work towards their goals, overcome obstacles, and create new, healthier patterns in their lives. I help a wide variety of clients with anxiety, depression, body image issues, life transitions, trauma, relationship issues, grief and loss, and other challenges. Please feel free to book yourself into my schedule via emmadonaldcounselling.janeapp.com or reach out to me to ask any questions and learn more about my approach!

My aim is to provide a trusting, nonjudgmental space in which you feel comfortable sharing your story. While there is innate wisdom within all of us, our ability to see the way forward can become clouded when we become overwhelmed. A deep exploration of one’s internal experience can be freeing, and provide valuable insight into (often unconscious) patterns of relating to the self and others. We will work collaboratively from an attachment-based, client-centred orientation. Drawing connections between your past experiences and your present situation will help us identify how best to meet your future goals.

ADHD-Certified Clinical Services Provider & ADHD-Certified Educator. Let's face it, parenting can leave you feeling frustrated, powerless and downright distressed. You're trying to help your child grow up to be a confident and happy individual. You wish you knew how to support your struggling youth and are doing your best but you just feel stuck and don't know what the next steps are. I specialize in working with parents and teens ages 14 + with challenging behaviours, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and addictions issues.

Healthy change is possible and you do not have to face challenges alone. It can be very difficult to seek help and reach out during hard times. If you are reading this then you have already taken the first step towards well being. Finding a counsellor who you feel comfortable with is an essential part of the healing process. I would be happy to talk with you. Supporting individuals, families, youth and children for over 24 years. This is the time to take the best care of ourselves and our loved ones. Triggers arise now more than ever and support is available.

I am passionate about helping my clients understand and regulate their emotions, set and maintain boundaries in all types of relationships, and deepen self-awareness to identify personal values and create balance in their lives. I work with people experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and life transitions including navigating new parenthood and post-partum mental health.

Catherine Allen is an experienced practitioner drawing on 20 years of experience working in remote Arctic communities as a nurse, 16 years as a Structural Integration/Rolfer (form of body work to realign) and Somatic Experiencing and Counselling for the last 8 years. She has studied multiple courses in early childhood trauma, amongst other trainings, and has a keen interest in attachment therapy. Catherine uses her creativity, humour, movement, sensitivity and body awareness to explore trauma, behaviour patterns and how to move through them.

Many of the problems we experience in life can be traced back to parts of ourself that are wounded or not properly integrated. I help you to reflect and make sense of your experience, and to work through areas of your life that bring discomfort. In moving through these discomforts/stuck areas in a new way, you release these wounds, become free from their grasp & move into more aligned, embodied & authentic living. We cannot fully integrate (become whole in our life) unless we heal and integrate all parts (this includes shadow work, healing parental and childhood wounds, ego work, sacred sexuality, reprogramming belief systems).

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with a masters degree in counselling from City University. I have been a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) since 2018. I have spent the last 21 years working in inpatient, outpatient and in private practice settings treating individuals with problematic sexual behaviors, substance misuse/dependance and other addictive behaviors. I have extensive experience working with multiple addictions, trauma, family of origin and related mental health issues in both individual and group psychotherapy. I am especially passionate about helping clients discover and reclaim true intimacy.

Currently not accepting new clients. I am a trauma-specific therapist and offer support to children, adolescents and adults who are experiencing mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance use or relationship difficulties. These symptoms may be rooted in trauma, abuse or wounds from the past or you may be experiencing them for the first time; no matter your circumstance, I am here to listen. I also work with new and expectant mothers who may be struggling with postpartum anxiety or depression, intrusive thoughts, rage, loss of identity, or transitioning into their new role as a caregiver.

In my practice I value the opportunity to work with individuals who are experiencing grief and loss, depression and anxiety, parenting and family challenges, and the impacts of trauma. As a clinical counsellor and a mother I offer support to women throughout motherhood, addressing concerns for postpartum depression and anxiety, transitioning to motherhood, intimate partner challenges, burnout, pregnancy and postpartum loss, and processing birth trauma. I work in collaboration with the client to explore the issues and to support their emotional wellbeing and personal growth.

I enjoy helping individuals create positive change in their lives and dissolve barriers that interfere with personal success. Therapy provides opportunities to learn how to dissolve troublesome emotions that inter with quality of life and the ability to enjoy the present moment. As a therapist, I enjoy helping people overcome a variety of emotional difficulties, including depression, anxiety, adjustment to life changes, addictions, trauma, grief, pain management, low self-esteem and interpersonal problems. I help people access their inner strength to help cope with life's challenges and I provide coaching for goal achievement.

Taking the first step towards counselling can seem overwhelming when faced with issues that prevent you from living the life you had imagined. I believe that one has the courage and compassion to break that cycle and move towards healing. I am Registered Clinical Counsellor with experience working with children, youth, families, and individuals. I have worked as a therapist and a group facilitator with vulnerable populations. If you are dealing with depression, anxiety, parent-teen conflict, trauma, separation, grief and loss, life transitions, relationship conflict, know that change, growth and healing are possible.