Anxiety and stress
When your mind won't switch off, you're constantly anticipating what's next, or your body seems to stay in a state of tension even when everything should be okay.
You don't have to wait until things are falling apart to ask for support.
I offer individual and couples counselling in Maple Ridge, as well as online counselling for clients across British Columbia.
People come to counselling for all kinds of reasons.
Sometimes something specific has happened. A relationship is struggling, work has become overwhelming, you've experienced something difficult, or life has changed in a way you weren't expecting.
Other times, it's harder to put your finger on. You may be functioning well on the outside but feeling anxious, disconnected, exhausted, stuck in the same patterns, or simply not quite like yourself.
Counselling gives us a place to slow things down, understand what's happening, and work toward meaningful change.
Or what you want to change. We can figure that out together.
When your mind won't switch off, you're constantly anticipating what's next, or your body seems to stay in a state of tension even when everything should be okay.
Communication, conflict, disconnection, trust, intimacy, recurring relationship patterns, boundaries, and navigating change together.
Support following experiences that continue to affect how you feel, respond, connect with others, or move through the world.
Separation, career changes, parenting, changing relationships, loss, identity shifts, and those seasons when life looks different from what you expected.
Second guessing yourself, overthinking decisions, people pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, or feeling as though you're never quite doing enough.
Understanding why certain dynamics keep showing up in your relationships and learning healthier ways of connecting without losing yourself in the process.
When you've been carrying too much for too long and your usual ways of coping aren't working anymore.
Specialized support for people working in professions where exposure to crisis, responsibility, trauma, shift work, and cumulative stress can become part of everyday life.
I don't believe you should feel as though you're being analyzed from across the room.
Good counselling should feel like a real conversation with someone who knows how to listen, knows what to pay attention to, and isn't afraid to help you look at the things that may be difficult to see on your own.
My approach is warm, practical, collaborative, and honest.
We'll make space for your experiences and understand where certain patterns or responses may have come from, but we won't stay stuck there. We'll also look at what you need now and what can actually help you move forward.
Depending on what brings you in, our work may include understanding relationship and attachment patterns, developing healthier boundaries, processing difficult experiences, learning practical regulation strategies, understanding your nervous system, strengthening communication, or changing patterns that no longer serve you.
There isn't one formula that works for everyone. Our work is shaped around you.
Sometimes you need somewhere that belongs entirely to you.
Individual counselling provides a confidential space to talk openly about what's happening without having to protect someone else's feelings, have all the answers, or pretend you're managing better than you are.
We may work through something specific, or we may begin by simply understanding what has been feeling difficult.
My role isn't to tell you how to live your life. It's to help you understand yourself more clearly, recognize patterns, consider different perspectives, and develop practical ways of creating the changes you want.
Relationships don't usually struggle because two people simply stopped caring about each other.
More often, couples become caught in patterns. One person pursues while the other withdraws. Conversations turn into the same argument. Small issues begin carrying the weight of much larger ones. Intimacy changes. Trust gets damaged. Or two people who still love one another simply stop feeling understood.
Couples counselling creates space to slow those patterns down and understand what's happening underneath them. Our work may include communication, conflict, emotional connection, trust, intimacy, boundaries, major transitions, recurring relationship patterns, and finding healthier ways to hear and respond to one another.
The goal isn't to decide who is right. It's to better understand what is happening between you and what each of you needs in order to move forward.
Sometimes knowing why you're reacting the way you are can change how you respond to yourself.
Stress and difficult experiences don't only live in our thoughts. They can affect sleep, concentration, muscle tension, emotional reactions, energy, and our ability to feel settled or connected.
Part of our work may involve helping you understand your nervous system and recognize what happens in your body when you feel stressed, threatened, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
Rather than simply telling yourself to calm down, we can develop practical ways to work with your body's stress response and help create a greater sense of regulation and safety.
One of the most common things people tell me is:
"I don't even know where to begin."
That's okay.
You don't need to prepare for counselling. You don't need to have the perfect explanation. And you don't need to know exactly what you want from it before you arrive.
We can start with what's happening right now and go from there.
Finding the right counsellor matters. I offer a complimentary consultation so you can ask questions, tell me a little about what you're looking for, and get a sense of whether working together feels like the right fit.
SK Counselling and Coaching does not provide emergency or 24 hour crisis services. If you are in immediate danger or require urgent medical assistance, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department. For crisis or suicide support in Canada, call or text 988.