We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
Not because you’re lazy or unmotivated – your body just… won’t. The fatigue sits heavy in your bones, while pain or allergic reactions move through your body like weather patterns, unpredictable and beyond your control. Some days are better than others, but there’s always this underlying current of having to negotiate with your body about what’s possible.
Pain therapy and chronic fatigue counselling can help you navigate this reality without judgment or dismissal.
You’ve learned to plan your entire life around your energy levels and reactions. Every invitation comes with mental calculations – Will you have enough energy? What if it’s a bad day? How long will you need to recover?
The medical appointments are their own kind of exhaustion.
The endless tests, the skeptical looks, the suggestion that maybe it’s “just stress” or “all in your head,” that somehow you’re just not trying hard enough. Each time you have to prove that your experience is real, while simultaneously being told there’s nothing wrong with you. You’ve spent countless hours researching, advocating, trying every suggested treatment, only to end up feeling more frustrated and less understood.
Your body speaks a language the world refuses to hear, so you’ve become fluent in the language of negotiation – with your body, with medical systems, with a world that wasn’t built for bodies like yours…
You might be experiencing:
Of course — we so hear you! We live in a world that has a documented history of not believing pain, especially from marginalized bodies, a world that expects you to go on business-as-usual while navigating a convoluted healthcare system, a world that forces us to prove we’re in enough pain to deserve support, a world that celebrates “overcoming” pain and fatigue rather than dismantling barriers, treating it as a personal failure rather than recognize the widespread ableism affecting us all.
Mitigating our experiences of pain, reactions, or fatigue is definitely part of chronic pain and chronic fatigue counselling in Vancouver and Port Moody, but the how might surprise you.
The latest pain research shows us something remarkable: chronic pain often involves neural pathways that can be reprocessed and rewired. What does this mean?
It means that your pain is real AND changeable.
Whether you’re experiencing a flare up of a chronic condition, have just experienced a car accident, or other concerns are contributing to heightened pain and fatigue, counsellors at Venturous Counselling can support you to redefine your relationship with your body; reprocess underlying neural pathways that contribute to your chronic pain, fatigue and reactions; and to cultivate the practices and systems to build a life that works with, not against, your current reality.
How we work
At Venturous Counselling, we understand that healing requires more than just individual coping strategies (though we’ll talk about that as well). Our approach to chronic pain and fatigue counselling integrates:
including somatic practices, nature-based sessions, and expressive arts therapy.
Our counsellors bring both professional and living experience to this work. We are Master’s level practitioners with specialized training in chronic pain and fatigue counselling in Vancouver and Port Moody, pain reprocessing therapy, anti-oppressive, intersectional feminist, and anti-colonial frameworks. Most importantly, we understand firsthand the importance of finding pain therapy that doesn’t require you to explain or justify your identity and experiences.
Sessions are offered virtually across BC, and in-person in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Port Moody.
Our chronic pain and fatigue counselling rates range from $160-$240 per session.
We offer direct billing to most extended health insurance plans and accept funding through CVAP, ICBC, WorkBC, FNHA, and Autism Funding. Book a free 15-minute consultation to chat about how we can support you with chronic pain and chronic fatigue.
We offer direct billing to select insurance providers and funded programs. Start with a free 15-minute video conversation to find out more.
Each of our counsellors brings a different lens to Chronic Pain Therapy and Fatigue Counselling.
Here’s how they approach it, so you can sense who might feel like the right fit.
If your pain has made you feel like a stranger in your own body, Sarada works with that specific disconnection. Her sessions draw on somatic work, expressive arts, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy to help your nervous system find a different relationship with pain over time. She works gently and without rushing, and is well suited to people who have been dismissed by medical systems and need a therapeutic space that actually believes what their body is carrying.
Work with Sarada if you’re worn down, emotionally overloaded, or disconnected from yourself, and you want support that feels gentle and spacious, without being passive.
If your experience of chronic pain is shaped by cultural expectations around illness, endurance, or asking for help, Julianna works with that specific pressure. Many communities carry norms around pushing through pain, not burdening others, or distrust of medical systems built on histories of harm. Julianna holds space for the complexity of living in a body that needs support in a context that has not always made that safe or straightforward. Her sessions draw on narrative practice, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and art therapy, and suit people who need to make sense of their experience before they can move through it.
Work with Julianna if you’ve spent a lot of your life translating yourself between cultures, roles, or worlds, and you want room to think out loud without flattening the complexity.
If your experience of chronic pain is entangled with how your body has been perceived, medicalized, or dismissed by others, Parveen works with the relational and emotional weight of that. The grief of a body that stopped doing what you expected. The frustration of not being believed. The way pain changes how you show up in relationships and how others respond to you. Her sessions combine art, body awareness, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and create space for everything that lives alongside the physical experience.
Work with Parveen if anxiety about how you’re seen in the world has started running the show, and you want a space to slow down, untangle those stories, and build something more compassionate in their place.
If you want to work directly with the pain signals themselves, Jess integrates EMDR with Pain Reprocessing Therapy in a way that addresses how the nervous system has learned to interpret and amplify pain over time. This approach is particularly well suited to people whose pain has a strong neurological component, or whose pain experience intensified after a period of stress, trauma, or significant life change. Her sessions also draw on art therapy and an experimental approach to healing for people who want to explore rather than follow a set protocol.
Work with Jess if you’ve spent a long time being told who you should be, and you’re more interested in figuring out what actually fits.
Q&A
Chronic pain and fatigue counselling in Vancouver and Port Moody helps you develop a different relationship with your body beyond traditional pain management approaches. Our approach recognizes that chronic pain and fatigue are real, complex experiences that often involve neural pathways that can be reprocessed and rewired. Through integrating talk therapy with evidence-based therapies like EMDR, somatic therapy, nature-based therapy, and expressive arts, we help you reprocess underlying neural pathways, address medical trauma, and build sustainable ways of living that honor your body’s reality. Sessions can be virtual across BC or in-person at our Vancouver and Port Moody locations.
Yes, absolutely. The latest pain research shows us that chronic pain often involves neural pathways that can be reprocessed and rewired, meaning your pain is real AND changeable. While counselling cannot address the physical causes of chronic conditions, it can help you build a different relationship with your body, reprocess emotional contributors to increased pain and fatigue, address medical trauma from navigating healthcare systems, and develop sustainable coping strategies. Our somatic therapy approach specifically addresses how chronic pain and fatigue are held in the body, helping you understand your body’s signals and develop nervous system regulation skills.
We can work flexibly with your energy levels. Sessions can be shorter, less frequent, have breaks, and/or virtual when needed. We’ll find a rhythm that works for you and your body.
Our space has wheelchair accessible gender neutral bathrooms and is equipped with masks and air purifiers. We offer both virtual and in-person sessions, with flexible scheduling and direct billing options.
We respectfully reject the colonial notion that healing must be measurable and visible to be valid. Many cultures and lineages have well-evidenced practices of healing that science is just now catching up to. While we work within our scope as counsellors, we welcome and encourage you to bring forth the practices that you know work for you as we navigate your experience together. We are happy to collaborate with other practitioners in your care team, including traditional healers, naturopaths, physiotherapists, and other complementary healthcare providers.
Absolutely. We work with your lived experience, whether or not you have or want a formal diagnosis. Many people in marginalized communities face barriers to getting diagnosed, and when they are diagnosed, it often leads to additional systemic harms. We focus on supporting you regardless of your diagnostic status. Whether you are experiencing fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions, post-viral fatigue, or unexplained chronic pain and fatigue, we provide support based on your actual experience rather than requiring medical validation.
We understand that navigating healthcare systems can be traumatic, especially for marginalized communities who face discrimination and disbelief about their pain. Our anti-oppressive approach recognizes that medical systems have a documented history of not believing pain, particularly from women, BIPOC individuals, and other marginalized groups. We provide support for processing medical trauma, developing advocacy skills for healthcare appointments, and healing from experiences of being dismissed or invalidated by medical professionals. We also help you prepare for medical appointments and navigate complex healthcare systems while protecting your emotional wellbeing.
Absolutely! We can work with family members and caregivers who are supporting someone with chronic pain or fatigue. We understand that chronic conditions affect entire family systems, and we can help family members understand invisible disabilities, develop healthy boundaries around caregiving, process their own grief and stress, and improve communication within the family about chronic illness needs.
Chronic conditions often impact relationships with family, friends, partners, and colleagues who may not understand invisible disabilities. We can help you develop strategies for communicating your needs, setting boundaries, and maintaining relationships while honoring your body’s limits. This includes navigating difficult conversations about cancelled plans, explaining your limitations without over-justifying, dealing with skepticism or lack of support, and finding ways to stay connected that work within your energy constraints. We also address the grief that often comes with changing roles and expectations in relationships.
We can support you in processing workplace trauma, navigating compensation systems, and working with you in session to advocate for accommodations.
Your first session begins with a free 15-minute consultation where we will discuss your specific experience with chronic pain or fatigue and match you with the right counsellor. In your first full session, we will explore what brings you to therapy, your current pain or fatigue patterns, how symptoms impact your daily life, and your experiences with healthcare systems. We will also discuss your goals, support systems, and what kind of therapeutic support feels most helpful. There is no pressure to share more than feels comfortable, and we will work at your pace. Sessions are 50 minutes and can be virtual or in-person at our Vancouver or Port Moody offices
Yes, we understand that chronic pain and fatigue can be unpredictable, and we work flexibly with your energy levels and symptom patterns. Sessions can be shorter, less frequent, include breaks as needed, or switch between virtual and in-person based on how you are feeling. We ask for 24 hours notice for cancellations when possible, but we understand that flare-ups and bad days happen. We will work together to find a rhythm that works for you and your body while maintaining the therapeutic relationship and progress.
Yes, we can work with you in session to support you in advocating for workplace accommodations, processing workplace trauma related to chronic conditions, and navigating disability compensation systems. We understand the importance of access to resources and can work with you to create supporting documentation when needed. We can also help you develop communication strategies for discussing your needs with employers, setting boundaries around work demands, and managing the emotional impact of workplace discrimination or lack of understanding about invisible disabilities. Please note that most documentation requires a medical doctor to fill out.
We work with people experiencing chronic pain and fatigue from a wide range of conditions, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions, post-viral syndromes, endometriosis, migraines, arthritis, and other chronic illnesses. We also support people dealing with pain and fatigue following car accidents, workplace injuries, or other trauma. Our approach focuses on your lived experience rather than specific diagnostic categories, and we tailor our work to your unique combination of symptoms and circumstances.
Both options can be equally effective. Virtual sessions offer convenience, accessibility, and comforts of being in your own space, while in-person sessions might feel more grounding for some. We can explore what feels right for you, and you’re welcome to switch between the two.
Get Matched
We offer direct billing to select insurance providers & funded programs. Start with a free 15-minute video conversation or get your personalized recommendations straight to your inbox, with this 3-minute form.
Living with chronic pain or fatigue changes everything. It reshapes your relationship with work, identity, grief, and your own body. These are some of the places that impact might be landing.
Chronic pain and fatigue change everything. These articles explore the intersection of pain, identity, and the systems that shape how your body is seen and believed.
occupying the stolen, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. Our relationship with these lands dictates our commitment to understanding and responding to the ongoing impacts of colonization in our practices in and out of the counselling room.
Learn more about the land you’re occupying at native-land.ca
