Maybe you’re questioning everything about yourself. Your identity, your path, your place in the world. You find yourself straddling different cultures, different expectations, different versions of yourself – never quite finding belonging anywhere.
The questions keep coming. Who am I really? Which parts of me are authentic, and which parts did I create to survive? What is my purpose beyond productivity? What do I want my life to mean? How do I keep myself safe, while simultaneously resisting the depoliticization of my identities?
Like rivers that refuse to be contained by arbitrary borders, our identities flow between worlds. For many of us, this means navigating spaces where parts of our identity are celebrated while others are erased, targetted.
Maybe you feel disconnected from your roots due to colonization or diaspora. Maybe you carry the weight of being “the first” or “the only” in many spaces,
or wonder about the stories, traditions, and wisdom that were taken from your ancestors, feeling both the pride and pressure of representing your community.
Reading about identity development, joining online communities, seeking representation in media. Sometimes you find pieces that resonate, but something still feels missing. You watch others seem so certain about who they are, while you’re still trying to make sense of all your parts.
Some days you wonder if you’re the only one who feels this fractured. If anyone else understands what it’s like to exist between worlds, to carry multiple truths at once, to want both roots and wings. There’s this yearning to truly belong somewhere, to find your people, while still being able to be fully yourself.
There’s this sense that you’re capable of more, but something keeps holding you back. Every time you try to grow or change, you wonder what that change might mean. When you try to fit in one world, you feel like you’re abandoning another. When you try to stand out, you worry about the consequences.
Some days you feel like you’re performing rather than living, adapting rather than becoming.
Nature teaches us something profound about identity, resistance, and belonging. Like mycorrhizal networks in forests that share resources and information underground, our communities have always found ways to support each other, to pass on wisdom, to nurture collective survival. Trees don’t recognize the arbitrary lines drawn on maps – their roots intertwine beneath borders, their seeds travel on wind that refuses to be contained, their ecosystems thrive through diversity and interconnection rather than separation and sameness.
Like the living world around us, our identities don’t fit neatly into the boxes that colonization created. We are as complex as forest ecosystems, as fluid as rivers that have carved their own paths for millennia, as resilient as plants that break through concrete to reach the sun.
Like a forest ecosystem, it’s about becoming more integrated, more connected, more true to your nature as you emerge and change. Through identity and personal growth counselling in Vancouver we recognize that sometimes what we call “identity crisis” is actually:
How we work
At Venturous Counselling, we understand that exploring identity isn’t just about individual discovery – it’s about connection, resistance, and collective liberation. Our approach to identity and personal growth counselling in Vancouver is a therapy that helps you:
Root in Your Wisdom and Intuition
Like trees that know exactly how to grow toward light, learning to trust your own knowing. Understanding your patterns and desires beneath the “shoulds” of society, while integrating and getting to know all the different parts of you.
Navigate Change with Grace
Finding stability in your own wisdom when everything else feels uncertain, like plants that bend with strong winds without breaking.
Create Meaningful Connection
Building relationships where all parts of you are welcome. Finding or creating communities that celebrate your complexity and support your growth, like ecosystems that thrive through diversity.
Reclaim Your Heritage
Connecting with your cultural practices and lineages of resistance. Understanding how your personal journey is part of larger movements for justice, like streams flowing into rivers flowing into oceans.
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 identity and personal growth counselling, anti-oppressive, intersectional feminist, and anti-colonial frameworks. Most importantly, we understand firsthand the importance of finding 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 and Burnaby. We are covered by most insurance providers (check for RCC or Registered Clinical Counsellor in your plan). We can provide direct billing for certain insurance providers, including ICBC, CVAP, WorkBC, and FNHA
Start with a free 15-minute video conversation to find out more
Q&A
If you’re questioning your path, feeling disconnected from yourself or your communities, or sensing there’s more possible for your life, you deserve support. There’s no minimum threshold of confusion required to seek help.
We understand this concern. Our approach isn’t about fixing or normalizing – it’s about understanding yourself more deeply and finding authentic ways to exist in the world.
We approach cultural identity through a justice lens, understanding both the gifts and complexities of our heritages. Our work focuses on helping you find ways to honor your roots while creating your own path.
Many people come to us feeling uncertain about their direction. Part of our work together can be gently exploring what matters to you and the impact you want to have on the world, without being eclipsed by external expectations.
Everyone’s journey is different. Rather than focusing on a timeline, we’ll work together to identify what growth looks like for you and celebrate the small victories along the way.
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.
Life happens! We ask for 24 hours notice for cancellations or changes. This helps us maintain accessibility for our community and sustainability for our practice.
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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
Building reflexive and fulling relationships can be difficult without guidance, support, and effective communication strategies. Our Services Overview provides insights into various therapeutic approaches designed to help individuals and relationships navigate their journey toward deeper connections.
