You are complex and multi-dimensional, and so are the challenges you face—whether it’s anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic pain, grief, burnout, self-worth, body image, resisting systemic oppression, navigating identity struggles and self-understanding, or difficulties in relationships, the team at Venturous is well-equipped and experienced to help navigate you through tough times. These issues don’t exist in isolation; they are deeply connected to your body, emotions, unconscious patterns, societal indoctrination and the way you relate to others.
You deserve an approach that goes beyond just traditional talk therapy. Research shows that your body and relationships have a far greater impact on your thoughts and emotions than you may realize. Can you simply talk yourself out of your heart racing? Can you reason your way out of emotional pain after a breakup? Real, lasting change comes from working with your whole self—mind, body, and relationships—rather than just trying to “think” your way through. Our therapists take this multi-dimensional approach to support you in creating deep and lasting transformation.
That’s why simply focusing on talk therapy is like painting with only one colour.
You can create something, but richness and depth comes from using a full palette. Not to mention, only having one colour sure makes the process a whole lot harder than it has to be! When you go beyond the talk with us, you are supported in accessing your full capacity for growth. Keep reading to learn about how each beyond the talk discipline can support you in your wellness.
You know the saying “mind over matter”? Turns out that’s not usually the best way forward. By befriending your nervous system, your emotions become less taxing, scary, and debilitating. You start to understand yourself on a deeper level, and you have more information to move your life forward with intentionality, discovering new ways of responding to stress and emotional triggers.
Ever felt like traditional therapy was too suffocating? Nature-Based Therapy can be an enriching alternative to online sessions and office based sessions. This is especially true if your home is not necessarily secure enough for fully immersive online sessions, or if office-based sessions feel too restrictive or intimidating.
The most important thing to remember about art-based therapy is that it’s not about the artwork itself. There’s no skill level required to engage in art-based practices, in fact, the more organic the piece is the better! By combining the creative process and psychotherapy, art helps you self-explore through a level of unconscious meaning-making that inaccessible through talk therapy alone.
EMDR gets to the root of an issue, offering insights on deeper subconscious dynamics at play. It also doesn’t require the traumatic retelling of events. Contrary to popular belief, EMDR can be used for a wide range of concerns and is not limited to what is traditionally quantified as “PTSD” or “Trauma”.
Did you know that isolation is the biggest common denominator amplifying difficult impacts of mental health concerns? Regardless of whether you have a tight-knit community like comedic sitcoms or big love stories like cult-classic movies, you are a relational being and there aren’t many areas of our lives more impactful to our wellness than our relationships.
Relationship counselling supports all relationships, including romantic partners with all relational structures, including heteronormative, queer, monogamous, and polyamorous relationships; friendships and family relationships.
Counsellors, social support agencies, and practices are being called to critique and transform the colonial and oppressive practices that underpin the development of our professions. Generative exploration in ethical critique can support you in maintaining alignment and developing a practice that is grounded in justice-doing.
Q&A
Absolutely! A crucial part of our approach is exploring with you how these different modalities can fit with what you’re hoping to address and the contexts that impact how we approach this work. Sometimes, this looks like redefining what healing looks like for us and how we’re impacted to view ourselves in certain ways because of how we’ve been trained up in this world. These modalities are meant to “add colours to your painting” rather than replace it completely. In most circumstances, you’ll find yourself weaving in and out of these practices and your therapist will support you in navigating that!
While there are general guidelines for how each therapy might support particular concerns, everybody experiences these therapies differently. Exploration and play are core values of Venturous, and we encourage you to experiment with us to see what works and what doesn’t. You can consult with your therapist about what might be a good start for your particular context and we’ll explore these options with you. That being said, go with your gut! If you’re feeling drawn to a particular type of therapy, let’s start there!
Anti-oppressive therapy at Venturous acknowledges and addresses how systemic context, your intersecting identities of privilege and/or oppression, and our relationships impact mental health. Our approach considers your whole identity and lived experience, recognizing that healing happens within the context of social justice and collective care.
Venturous integrates multiple therapeutic approaches (EMDR, somatic, nature-based, art & play therapy) while maintaining a strong commitment to anti-carceral, intersectional, feminist therapy. Our counsellors receive ongoing training in intersectional feminism and anti-colonial frameworks, unlearning alongside you to provide culturally responsive care.
Consults are a great way to do a vibe check with us before diving head first into our counselling work. Your comfortability with your counsellor and the ways in which we can build a trusting, collaborative relationship are the key indicators of therapeutic effectiveness.
We highly recommend doing a consult with us first for virtual sessions, and all in-person sessions must be preceded with a consult. This way we can give you important info about our office and other necessary information about in-person sessions beforehand.
If you have any questions about consults, please email the practitioner you are hoping to consult with or connect@venturouscounselling.com. We’ve also created a free PDF guide with everything you need to know to get the most of your consult here (scroll to the bottom!).
That’s totally fine! Your counsellor will collaborate with you to determine what practices might support where you’re at, your personal preferences, and your goals. There’s no right or wrong way to engage or experiment with these practices and you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
We have a standard 24-hour cancellation policy. That means if you need to cancel or reschedule your session, you need to give us at least 24-hours notice or the full fee of the session will be charged.
If you are late but are able to attend within the first 15 minutes of your session, you can still use the rest of your time of the session for the full fee. If you are late beyond the first 15 minutes of session, your session will be considered a no show as we’ll have to reschedule to another time. This is to ensure that we have adequate time and space to wrap up our work without you feeling rushed, heightened, or unprepared as you transition out of session.
Full list of FAQs here
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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
Our approach at Venturous Counselling focuses on creating safer, and more radically inclusive spaces for healing through nature-based therapy, somatic healing, and anti-oppressive counselling. Our team of experienced therapists is committed to co-creating and unlearning alongside you, witnessing your resistance in all your contexts, and creating opportunities for community healing in our commitment to collective liberation.
