ABout Hilary

Hi! I’m Hilary. It takes a lot of courage to ask for what we need and it can be hard to know where to start.

I’m glad you’re here.

What I do

I am a counsellor who works with children, adults, couples, and families in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

My counselling approach is centred around respect, safety, and authenticity. Together, we will walk through your concerns and work towards healing, gaining insight, and making changes that align with your values and goals. I tailor my approach to fit the goals and strengths of each of my clients. My goal is always to provide a safe, non-judgmental, and warm space for you during our sessions while giving you a therapeutic experience that is tangible and directly applicable to what you’re going through.

While I am trained as a generalist and see a diverse range of clientele, I am often best known for my work in the following areas:

• Couples Counselling

• Child & Adolescent Emotional Health (& Parenting)

• The Mind-Body Connection (Somatization)

In my work with couples I work with relationship dissatisfaction, communication, trust, and conflict. In my work with children I commonly work with both the children and parents with the goal of supporting parents to better support and understand their children.

My work with the mind-body connection includes working with individuals (especially children) who are suffering from health conditions that are aggravated or connected to emotional health. This also includes working with individuals who are experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety or depression. Sometimes when I work in this area I will require that you fill out a Release of Information form so that I can work alongside your doctor to support you.

I find that staying involved in research helps me stay updated and engaged in best practices and new findings. My research areas include eating disorders, adolescents, shame, the mind-body connection (somatization), and emotion-focused family therapy for children and youth.

I now regularly speak at events, universities, or conferences on various subjects. I love making difficult subjects engaging, relatable, and applicable. To read about my previous engagements click here.

TRAINING

I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor (#10005210) with the Canadian Counselling & Psychology Association and have a Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology. I primarily practice from an Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) approach, and commonly draw on Relational Cultural Theory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and trauma-informed approaches when appropriate.

I believe in life-long learning, which means I continually seek out new training to help me serve my clients best. I also regularly invest in supervision with skilled clinicians or physicians with decades of experience.

Here’s a list of the formal trainings I’ve done:

• Emotion Focused Therapy Externship (2018) & Core Skills (2020)

• Emotion Focused Family Therapy (2019)

• Observed and Experiential Therapy Level One (2018) and Level Two (2019)

• Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (2018)

• Sand-tray Therapy (2017)

I have spent time training or working in a variety of settings including BC Children’s Hospital, Fraser Health’s Eating Disorder Clinic, local non-profits, and churches.

the personal stuff

I grew up in the Lower Mainland and currently live locally with my husband and daughter. In our time off, we enjoy the outdoors, sports, spending time with our family and friends, and coaching a local Special Olympics team.

I have spent time living in British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, India, and Tennessee. I personally identify as a Christian, and while I find that some clients highly value incorporating their faith into therapy, I believe that this is each client’s choice and a personal preference. I consistently have clients from all faith backgrounds and walks of life.

I am welcoming and inclusive of all identities and bodies including trans, non-binary, BIPOC, and people with disabilities.