My mission is grounded in
compassion.

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Shelley Stevenson, BA, RTC

Founder & Owner
Registered Therapeutic Counselor
(she/her)



Having experienced first hand the transformational impact counseling can have, I founded my private practice as a way of supporting others in living more connective, deeply meaningful and compassionate lives. It is truly a gift and my honour to create safe spaces for others to explore who they are and who they wish to become.

I am a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor with the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada (ACCT - RTC #2819). I have training in a variety of treatment approaches and bring a theoretical framework which is transpersonal, emotionally-focused and experiential. This allows me to tailor my approach to each client’s individuality. 


My mission is rooted in awareness.  Awareness brings Choice. 
 Choice = Freedom

I believe a key factor in a successful therapeutic experience is the relationship between therapist and client. Feeling heard, understood and safe are paramount in beginning the process of personal transformation and well being.  It is the therapist's role to create the conditions for healing to happen.  Counseling can help you see how interconnected and impactful your thoughts, behaviours, values, stories and expectations are on how you engage with the world.  I help shine a light on those aspects of yourself which you may be unaware of.  By exploring where you come from and who you are now, you gain insight and choice in how you wish to move into the future.  

I came to counselling first as a client. I knew I was not parenting my two sons the way I wanted, but was somehow unable to change how I was reacting. My oldest child was born with complex medical challenges, and that led to the next 12 years being by far the most challenging of my life. I had been in crisis mode for so long I didn’t know how to stop being in crisis. I was struggling as an individual, and in relationship. Working with a counsellor was a life changing experience for me, and by extension my kids and partner too.  

Approaches Used 

  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) 
  • Transpersonal Counseling Psychology
  • Gestalt
  • Internal Family Systems
  • Bowen Family Systems Theory
  • Person-Centered; Strengths-based
  • Attachment-Based
  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
  • Trauma-Informed

Areas of Selected Focus

  • Parenting and others providing care; including those caring for children with complex needs
  • Life transitions; including pre- and post-partum support, navigating perimenopause, menopause and andropause. Work and family transitions.
  • Anxiety and/or panic; including social, generalized, and situational
  • Depression and chronic unhappiness; grief and loss
  • Relationship dynamics; including struggles with anger and setting boundaries
  • Trauma and abuse - historical, emotional, physical, sexual.
  • Enhancing self esteem and confidence through personal exploration; goal setting and future planning
  • Addictive tendencies & disordered eating

I practice according to the Ethical Code of Conduct and Standards of Practice of my association – The Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada (ACCT).

Education and Professional Training

- The Resilience Riddle: Making Sense of Stress, Trauma & Recovery, with Gordon Neufeld  2024
- Substance Use Prevention, with Dr Hayley Watson, Ministry of Education and Childcare  2024
- Pain Foundations: Exploring Pain Beyond Mind and Body, Living with Pain  2024
- Trauma and Violence Informed Care Foundations, University of British Columbia Equip Health Care, 2024
- Take Home Naloxone Training 2024
- Undoing Disempowerment: Cultivating Agency in AEDP 2024
- Motivational Interviewing 2024
- Beyond Nutrition: Talking about Food and Eating for Health Care Professionals 2024  
- Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture, with Gabor Mate 2024
- Addictions Care and Treatment Online Certificate, University of British Columbia 2024
- Managing Alcohol Use Disorder in BC: New Guidelines, Challenges and Clinical Pearls  2024
- Security in Low Doses: Safeguarding Patient Information in Private Practice  2024
- Beyond Stigma: Understanding and Supporting Men's Mental Health  2024
- Child and Youth Eating Disorders: Early Identification and Practical Strategies for Assessment & Management  2024
- Protecting Patients Through Wildfire Season: What You Need to Know  2024
- From No Self to Core Self, AEDP 2023
- Trained Facilitator, Emotions Education 101: Working the Change Triangle, with Hilary Jacobs Hendel 2023
- The Science of Wellbeing for Teens, Yale University 2023
- Using the Somatic Portal in AEDP 2023
- Indigenous Cultural Program, Cheakamus Centre 2023
- Balanced View: Addressing Weight Bias & Stigma in Health Care 2023
- Feeling Felt: Increasing Affective Receptive Capacity, with Kate Halliday, AEDP 2023
- Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Global Summit 2023
- Introduction to Eating Disorders for Service Providers 2023
- The Neurobiology of Attachment, National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine 2023
- Essential Skills I, with Kate Halliday & guest presenters, AEDP 2022
- Working with Core Beliefs of Not Good Enough, NICABM 2022
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Level 1: Bridging the Couple Chasm 2022
- 4 Seasons of Reconciliation, Reconciliation Education Canada / First Nations University of Canada 2022
- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) Immersion, with Jerry Lamagna 2021
- Roots Deeper than Whiteness, White Awake 2021
- Certificate in Children’s Mental Health Fundamentals, Institute of Child Psychology 2021
- 3-Year Counsellor Training Program in Therapeutic Counselling, Clearmind International Institute Inc. 2021
- Indigenous Canada, University of Alberta 2021
- Brainspotting Phase I 2020
- Diploma in Adult Education, Vancouver Community College, 2013
- Master of Arts, International Hotel Management, Royal Roads University 2008
- Provincial Instructors Diploma Program, Vancouver Community College, 2007
- Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, University of British Columbia, 1997

Shelley Stevenson Counseling
Email:    Shelleystevensoncounseling@shaw.ca

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