Helpful Resources

Find local services in the Kootenays, books, podcasts, and more.

As a counsellor in Nelson BC, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite resources that are relevant to locals as well as to those outside the area.

Also check out the blog for a wealth of articles.

  • If you are in crisis, please call 911 or visit the nearest hospital emergency department.

    Kootenay Lake Hospital, Nelson, BC: (250) 352-3111

    Crisis Nurse at Nelson Mental Health: (250) 505-7268, available 7 days/week from 8:30am-4:30pm

    BC Suicide Line: 1 (800) SUICIDE, available 24/7

    BC Mental Health support line: 310-6789 (no area code needed), available 24/7

    Interior Crisis Line: 1 (888) 353-2273 (CARE), available 24/7

    Crisis Centre Chat: mental health and crisis online chat service for adults. https://crisiscentrechat.ca/, available noon-1am

    VictimLinkBC: crisis, support, information and referrals for domestic and sexual violence. Call or text 1 (800) 563-0808, available 24/7

    Trans Lifeline: peer support for trans community; no non-consensual active rescue (e.g. 911, police). (877) 330-6366, available 24/7

  • Click on name of service to redirect to their website.

    Mental Health Services

    Reach Out in the Kootenays: accessible low/no-cost counselling & mental health

    Nelson Mental Health: local publicly funded mental health services

    Abuse

    Community Based Victim Services: the Advocacy Centre provides assistance to victims of violence and abuse

    Aimee Beaulieu Transition House: provides emergency safe shelter and support for self identifying women and children leaving domestic violence and abuse

    Legal Aid

    Advocacy Centre: provides legal information, education and problem solving for low-income residents of the West Kootenays

    Emergency Housing

    Stepping Stones: emergency shelter in Nelson, BC providing up to 30 days' stay

    Youth/Family Services

    Freedom Quest: Youth mental health services in the Kootenay region, including counselling, substance use treatment, and recreational programming

    Kootenay Kids Society: Nelson-based organization providing a variety of programs to support families, including childcare, education, and social connection

    Substance Use Services

    ANKORS (AIDS Network Kootenay Outreach and Support Society: harm reduction and support for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne pathogens

  • The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships — Diane Poole Heller

    The Dance of Anger: A Woman’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships — Harriet Lerner

    Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving — Pete Walker

    Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind — Judson Brewer

    The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma — Bessel van der Kolk

    Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment — Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher

    Nurturing Resilience: Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma -- An Integrative Somatic Approach — Kathy Kain and Steven Terrell

    It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle — Mark Wolynn

    The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity — Julia Cameron

  • Groundless Ground Podcast: Where somatic psychotherapies meet Buddhist psychology. Clinician and author Lisa Dale Miller delivers thoughtful dialogues with innovative clinicians, researchers and contemplatives.

    Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel: Join Esther in her office every Monday to listen in as real couples in search of help bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their stories.

    Therapist Uncensored Podcast: attachment-focused podcast that demystifies therapy concepts through interviews with attachment research pioneers, relational neuroscientists, and cutting edge clinicians.

    On Being with Krista Tippett: Wisdom to replenish and orient in a tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and poetry. Conversations to live by.

    For the Wild: Key topics include the struggle to protect wild nature, to promote ecological renewal and resistance and to heal from the disconnection furthered by consumer culture and human supremacy.

    Sounds True: Insights at the Edge: Tami Simon, founder of the Sounds True publishing house, interviews leading spiritual teachers and luminaries.

    Unlocking Us with Brené Brown: Conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are, so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with a whole heart.

    Awake in the World Podcast: Talks by Canadian Buddhist teacher Michael Stone on topics including: bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change.

  • available on the Apple Store and Google Play

    How We Feel: a emotional wellbeing journal for identifying, naming, and tracking feelings. Lessons available for working with feelings. Cost: free (nonprofit).

    Insight Timer: a customizable meditation timer and large library of guided meditations, courses, music tracks and talks. Cost: free and paid tiers.

    Finch: Self-Care Pet: a self-care journey with a cute feathered friend. Mood journal, mindful goals and exercises, and self-care for every mood. Cost: free with in-app purchases.

    Unwinding Anxiety: an app-based program clinically proven to reduce anxiety through guided lessons, mindfulness exercises, and community support. Cost: free trial, payment required for full program. (The 30-day subscription gives you time to unlock all the material.)