Everyone deserves to feel at home in their

body

We live in a world that forces us to disconnect from our bodies to stay safe.

Experiences of violence, identity-based oppression, and disability or illness can make connecting with our bodies feel dangerous. Together, we can identify the edges of possibility to support you in living a more embodied, accessible life.

I do my best to show up in a way that make clients feel welcomed, safe, cared for, believed, and respected. Counselling is about building a safe, supportive, and collaborative relationship, so I try to be as authentic as possible.

You can’t build a relationship with a “blank slate”, and I absolutely will talk about my love of Lord of the Rings! I bring my own experiences, sense of humour, values, and dedication to justice to my work.​

I am currently accepting a waitlist for virtual sessions across Canada, and in-person sessions in Victoria, BC on the lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

Working with me

Selkie Counselling may be the right fit if you want support with:

Disordered Eating

and/or wanting to improve your relationship to food and movement

Self-Esteem & Body Image

building self-compassion and embodiment practices

Emotional Regulation

identify, feel, & process your emotions

Identity-Based Violence & Trauma

support externalizing systemic oppression & building safety

Anxiety

stress processing & management

Boundaries

support identifying, implementing, & maintaining boundaries

A little bit about me:

I came to counselling because I desperately needed a counsellor like me - someone who understands the pain of experiencing anti-fatness from infancy, someone who lives in a fat body, and someone who isn’t going to tell me to just change my thoughts when dealing with identity-based violence.

While I’ve been a pseudo-counsellor since childhood (parentified children, iykyk), I officially became one in 2021 when I graduated from City University with my Master’s of Counselling degree.

I continue to take trainings and workshops in my areas of passion around fat liberation, trauma, and anti-oppressive approaches to counselling.

About Me

“I am so grateful for my sessions with Alexandra. I always feel seen, heard, and accepted. Alexandra has kindly offered me perspectives and asked questions supporting my growth while keeping me safe. We also have some good laughs, and I always look forward to our time together.”

-Client

Here’s how I approach therapy:

I see counselling as a collaborative process. We will each bring our unique perspectives, experiences, identities, and beliefs into sessions to help understand the difficulties you're facing.

I believe that all problems must be located within their context.

None of us exist in a vacuum.

Our identities, experiences, relationships, and life circumstances influence how we experience distress.

Together we can explore how you have adapted to your context and understand whether or not those patterns are still serving you.

You might be thinking, “Why do I always do this? Why can’t I stop doing xyz?” I think it’s helpful to explore, “How did you learn that response? How has it kept you safe? Where does it feel safe enough to try something different?”

I collaborate with my clients to understand their context in hopes that this will externalize oppression and build self-compassion, connection (to self and others), pleasure, and safety.

My approach is grounded in fat liberationist, anti-racist, gender/sexuality affirming, intersectionally feminist, decolonial, and anti-oppressive practices, all of which I continue to grow into.

Through counselling I can support you in feeling safer in your body, divesting from diet culture, improving your relationship with food and exercise, managing stress/anxiety, understanding and shifting patterns of behaviour, and destigmatizing how you’ve adapted to your experiences.

A few elements I am deeply committed to in the therapy room:

  • FAT LIBERATION

    Fat liberation means divesting from beliefs and systems that enact violence based on body hierarchies.

  • Anti-Oppressive Practice/Intersectional Feminism

    We all live at the intersections of identities that influence how we experience the world and how the world treats us. The counselling room is a place to challenge power and not reproduce systemic harm.

  • Trauma Informed Practice

    We all live at the intersections of identities that influence how we experience the world and how the world treats us. The counselling room is a place to challenge power and not reproduce systemic harm.

  • Collaboration

    I see myself as a "co-explorer" with you in this process.

  • Nervous System Regulation

    I believe in the importance of paying attention to our physiological state as much as we do any verbal/cognitive content in session.

The process begins with a free 20-minute consultation to ensure I am the right counsellor to support you.

​

Individual sessions are 50 or 80 minutes.

Fees are on sliding scale from
$100 - $250 per 50-minute session​.

More information about fees can be found here.

Counselling fees

I am currently accepting a waitlist.

My waitlist is ~6 months. 

Sign up for my newsletter, or follow me on Instagram to stay updated on my offerings!

 FAQs

  • Both!

    My office is located at 203 - 920 Hillside Ave in Victoria, BC. The space is flat to entry, has an elevator, single-stall bathrooms. There is a waiting room before the main office.

    I offer sessions virtually through my JaneApp booking system.

  • Complete the waitlist form and you’ll be contact when I have space in my schedule. I’m also happy to offer referrals to trusted practitioners who are currently accepting new clients.

  • I operate on a sliding scale for all clients. Clients select their session fee based on household income and other financial barriers/privileges.

    The lower end of the scale is limited and fees range from $100 - $250 per 50-minute session.
    Find more information here.

  • I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). Most insurance policies will cover my services, but it is up to you to check with your provider

  • I can accept e-transfer or credit card payments.

  • The pace of sessions is your choice. I understand that therapy is taxing on our money, time, energy, and emotions. I’m happy to work on whatever schedule you have access to, and find that having our first 3-4 sessions weekly/biweekly helps build momentum. After that we can space out as works best for you.

  • My office is located at 203 - 920 Hillside Avenue in Victoria, BC. The space is flat to entry, has an elevator, and single-stall bathrooms. There is a waiting room with snacks, tea, coffee, and water available. Note that there are other practitioners working in other attached offices to the waiting room.

  • I primarily work with folks in BC, but can also work with people virtually who are located in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Terriroties.

    • In a first session I start by reviewing ethical/legal information like confidentiality, complaints process, and fees. Then I’ll recap what sessions with me generally look like (structure, types of questions, etc.), and share a bit about myself as a person, not just counsellor. Then we’ll explore what’s bringing you in, what you hope to get from counselling, and why now is the right time to start this process.

    • First sessions are general. I like to think of them as laying a foundation or identifying the pieces of the puzzle (to mix metaphors, which I do often).