Sometimes our perplexing and fast-paced world leaves little time to sort through personal concerns. When our personal problem-solving efforts are no longer working, a professional counsellor can help to resolve and/or cope and thrive.

There is a big difference between a professional counsellor and a person who exercises some counselling skills as part of their role, for example their role as a colleague or friend. A professional counsellor is a highly trained individual who is able to utilize a diverse range of counselling approaches with their clients. They are able to choose a modality that suits an individual rather than a cookie-cutter approach to all problems or problem types. They also bring to the relationship impartiality and confidentiality, something family, friends and colleagues cannot do.

What is counselling?

  • The process that occurs when a client and counsellor set aside time in order to examine difficulties which may contain the stressful or emotional feelings of the client.
  • A relationship of trust. Confidentiality is imperative to effective counselling. Professional counsellors will usually elucidate their policy on confidentiality. They may, nonetheless, be required by law to release information if they believe that there is a risk to life.
  • The act of assisting the client to see things more clearly, possibly from a diverse perspective. This can allow the client to focus on feelings, behaviour or experiences, with a goal to facilitating positive change.

Counselling is NOT about giving advice, being judgemental, attempting to sort out the problems of the client, expecting or encouraging a client to behave in a way in which the counsellor may have behaved when confronted with a similar problem in their own life, and getting emotionally involved with the client.

Professional counsellors focus on the emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns as they promote personal and interpersonal functioning throughout life. Always sensitive to multicultural issues, professional counsellors amalgamate theory, research and practice, to assist individuals with advancing their well-being, mitigate distress and maladjustment, resolve crisis, and amplify their ability to live more highly functioning and happy lives. A professional counsellor’s job is to deal with both reasonably well-adjusted individuals and those with mental dysfunctions.

Professional counsellors can also be very effective in helping you to deal with the aftermath of motor vehicle accidents and the stress and anxiety they may produce. At Honey + Garlic we are able to directly bill ICBC for approved claims.

A professional counsellor can help to get a better understanding of one’s issues and concerns in order to enhance our personal effectiveness, self-growth, relationships, and general mental health and well-being. They can assist one in overcoming personal difficulties and working towards positive changes.

Our counsellors: Michelle Pan, Caitlin Celinski and Malvika Varma.