My Practice

Somatic therapy and counselling rooted in a remembrance of our innate wholeness

I'm Vanessa Deverell, a Registered Clinical Counsellor and somatic therapist in Nelson BC. I work with individual adults (19+) who are ready to create lasting positive change through body-oriented therapy and mindful counselling.

The root of the word 'healing' means 'to make whole.' This guides everything I do – helping you reconnect the parts of yourself that have become fragmented through life's challenges.

Vanessa Deverell - Registered Clinical Counsellor, Registered Craniosacral Therapist, and lifelong learner

My Approach to Healing

You are complex and multifaceted. Your treatment should reflect this.

I believe that lasting change happens when we address the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. While our thoughts seem to direct our experience, it's actually our sensations and feelings that have the power to motivate us into action and bestow that sense of wellbeing we seek.

My approach integrates:

  • Somatic awareness – reconnecting with your body's wisdom and releasing held trauma

  • Mindfulness practices – cultivating present-moment awareness and choice

  • Attachment healing – transforming relational patterns at their roots

  • Nervous system regulation – building resilience and capacity for joy

Read more about what I help with.

What Makes My Practice Unique

Body-Mind Integration

Whether you come for counselling or craniosacral therapy, my commitment is always the same: to embrace the wholeness of who you are. I offer space for you to both make sense of your story and be deeply intimate with your felt experience.

somatic attachment therapy by Vanessa Deverell

Connection to Nature and Place

Living in Nelson BC, I'm deeply influenced by our connection to the natural world. My practice is grounded in the rhythms of the forests and waters that surround us.

Acknowledging that the land on which I live is the traditional and unceded territory of the sn̓ʕay̓čkstx (Sinixt) people, I seek to continually move into deeper reciprocity with the land and its peoples.

Nature connection – through gardening, homesteading, and time spent outdoors – informs my understanding of growth, cycles, and resilience. This Earth-based perspective brings a grounding quality to our work together.

Holistic Understanding of Healing

The healers who have helped me most haven't always been psychotherapists. Some were acupuncturists, osteopaths, or yoga teachers. Others were work colleagues, coaches, or dear friends.

This understanding shapes my practice: healing is an organic process that unfolds in everyday moments. My role is to create conditions for transformative experiences while remaining curious about what emerges.

Read on about my personal journey.

How I Work with Clients

Clients often describe me as calm, grounded, safe, and compassionate. Throughout my life, I've been drawn to supporting others in turning toward their experience with courage and curiosity.

Two women sitting across from each other on green chairs, engaged in conversation in a simple room.

In our sessions, we'll:

  • Honour and unpack your unique experience

  • Explore how past experiences live in your body now

  • Develop practical tools for emotional regulation

  • Practice new ways of being in relationship

  • Connect with your innate capacity for healing

spiritual healing counseling by Vanessa Deverell

Common concerns I help with include:

  • Unresolved trauma and family patterns

  • Anxiety, panic, and chronic stress

  • Difficulty accessing or regulating emotions

  • Relationship challenges and attachment wounds

  • Feeling disconnected from purpose and intuition

  • Life transitions and identity questions

Explore counselling and craniosacral therapy services.

Professional background

Current Credentials

  • Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) – Insurance coverage available

  • Registered Craniosacral Therapist (RCST®)

  • Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training (in progress)

Education

  • M.A. in Counselling Psychology (Honours) – Yorkville University

  • Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy – Body Intelligence Training

  • B.A. in Philosophy (Honours) – McGill University

  • 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training – Ashtanga tradition

Specialized training

  • Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) workshop with Frank Anderson

  • Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy workshop with Deah Baird

  • Intensive Mindfulness Training with Richard Sears

  • Traditional Chinese Medicine foundations

  • Reiki energy healing

What to Expect

People who work with me often notice:

  • Feeling lighter and more spacious after sessions

  • Increased awareness of their body's signals

  • Greater understanding of their patterns

  • More choice in how they respond to challenges

  • Renewed inspiration for their path forward

We'll work together to help you fully inhabit your life – to say ‘yes’ to both pleasurable and painful experiences, discovering freedom and choice that didn't seem possible before.

Working Together

I offer:

  • Counselling with somatic integration (covered by most extended health plans)

  • Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (gentle nervous system support)

  • Integrated treatment plans combining both modalities when appropriate

Sessions available in-person in Nelson, BC and online throughout BC.

If this approach resonates with you, I invite you to take the next step.

“I have received profound sessions of both cranio & council with Vanessa that have led me to great depths of realization on my personal healing journey. I am grateful and would highly recommend others to Vanessa.”
— BCST & Counselling Client