Services
Online counselling in BC
Counselling and somatic therapy by video, for anyone living in British Columbia
Who comes to online sessions
Many of my online clients live in small communities around BC, where the nearest counsellor is a long drive on winter roads, or someone they’d run into at the grocery store. Others find it hard to leave home for now, because of health, mobility, anxiety or young children, and online sessions are what make regular counselling possible.
The right counsellor may not be the nearest one
A good fit is hard to define in advance, but you usually notice it in the first few conversations: you find yourself saying more than you planned to, and feeling more than you expected to. If you’ve looked for a counsellor nearby and not felt a clear “yes”, it may be worth looking further for someone you click with.
Can somatic therapy work online?
Somatic therapy is centred on your experience in your body: getting to know the texture of your sensations, connecting with imagery, or following movement as it emerges. All of this can be done from home, and I use Somatic Experiencing® online as well as in person. A comfortable chair helps, and so does a camera that shows your head and upper body, so I can see how you move.
In person, somatic therapy with me can include touch work. Online, your own touch can be part of a session. You might rest a hand on your solar plexus, or gently squeeze your arms or legs if you’re feeling far away from your body. If trying that feels right to you, you decide where, how firmly and for how long. Imagined touch can help too, such as picturing someone who supports you sitting beside you with an arm around you.
If there’s energy that wants to move, it helps to have something to push, pull or squeeze. Useful things to have on hand include a resistance band with a door anchor, a stress ball or a grip trainer. A half-deflated ball works well too: pressed against a wall, it gives you something with some give to push into.
Other things are there for comfort: a blanket, a heating pad, textures you like, or a stuffed animal. Some clients keep something given to them by a loved one within reach, and holding it helps them feel that person’s support.
What an online session can look like
At home, your familiar surroundings can become part of the session. The things you’ve collected around you carry your history.
In this composite of several sessions, a client arrived wanting to explore her relationship with a parent. Before we went there, we spent some time getting in touch with what helped her feel steady and grounded, sinking into the good feelings that came with that. Then I invited her to orient to the room, looking slowly around and letting her eyes wander wherever they wanted. They landed on a painting of deep blue flowers, and she seemed drawn into it. We did some somatic tracking, following the thread of what she was noticing, one sensation or image evolving into the next. This thread led us back to her parent, and an insight into their relationship. Because it came out of her own experience rather than from anything I suggested, she trusted it.
When in person is the better choice
Sometimes I’ll suggest working with someone in person instead. If there are concerns about your safety, someone local is better placed to help. If you’d like touch to be part of somatic therapy, you’ll want in-person sessions. And for some people, home has become a place to retreat from the world, and part of what they’re working toward is getting out the door. For them, an in-person session can be the next step.
Practical details
Sessions take place on Jane, the same system I use for booking, which provides encrypted video. When you book, choose the online version of the appointment.
You’ll need a private room where you won’t be overheard, and headphones help. If the video connection falters, we can switch the audio to a phone call and keep the video running on mute.
I see online clients who live in British Columbia. If your extended health plan covers counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor, online sessions are covered in the same way. Session lengths and rates are on Getting started and Rates and insurance.
Starting online
Online clients start with a free 20-minute consultation by phone or video. You can ask how online sessions would work for you, and see whether we’d work well together.