Trauma Counselling
Counselling in Victoria, BC
Narrative Therapy and Trauma Counselling
Narrative therapy helps people to feel safe enough to tell their stories. People can share as much or as little as they feel comfortable. It is important that they tell their story in their own way, on their own terms, using words that are relevant to their experience.
Narrative practice pays attention to language and never asks “What is wrong with you?” Instead, the question “What has happened to you?” is posed.
In trauma, narrative practitioners use a response-based practice rather than an effects-based approach. Narrative therapists are interested in how a person responds to a traumatic event and the ways they made efforts to resist the violence, even if they were not able to control it. Questions are asked surrounding the context of the traumatic experience and the ways a person opposed or resisted it.
Narrative Therapy in Victoria
Narrative therapy brings culture, context, language, societal structures, inequity and family systems into the discussion. Resistance to trauma often involves a resistance to structures of power. A person’s story of trauma is never neutral; it is intertwined with stories of culture, language, race, patriarchy, power, family, appearance and gender.
A narrative therapist is focused on a person’s response to trauma, while remaining curious about how they interpret these responses. These conversations can help move a person towards rediscovering what has been hidden from view, and create more meaning in their lives.
Your Stories Matter
As a narrative therapist, Karen honours each and every person who comes to her for counselling. It takes courage to seek help and Karen does not take this step lightly. No problem is too great or too small to share in narrative therapy counselling.
Karen is dedicated to listening with empathy and compassion. She is committed to helping people reimagine their lives in a way that aligns with their preferred ways of being. Karen’s approach is warm and inviting and she creates an environment of calm and safety.
Book An Appointment Today For Trauma Counselling
Victoria BC Counselling Services
Narrative therapy is a therapy of appreciation for the times people have stood up to the problems in their lives. Narrative therapy is a recognition of a person resisting the problem’s voice and refusing to go along with it.
These letters highlight a person’s stories, skills, understandings, hopes, and preferred outcomes.They also ask questions that Karen may not have thought about during the conversation, creating space for what might be possible.
Modern, western culture, closely influenced by capitalist thought and productivity, has centered the conversation around death, grief and loss as an individual endeavour that requires a desired outcome - closure.
The narrative practice of externalization assists people to explore the history and context of the arrival of the problem, investigating when and where it started to gain control.
Communication
Sessions can be over Zoom, the telephone or in person in my home office.
Insurance
Insurance coverage is not available.
Fees
Sliding Scale $50 - $100 per hour.
Ask about student rates or hardship circumstances.
It is important to me that everyone has access to the help that they need for as long as they need it, so please contact me to discuss a sliding scale. Counselling should be available to all individuals seeking it and not only to those who can afford it.