Background

Hi, I'm Renae (she/her), an Intern Counsellor at Avery Therapy Centre. I grew up in a small town on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border and have lived in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver along the way, which might explain my comfort with living between things. Growing up in a close-knit community taught me what it feels like to live inside expectations that don't quite fit, and how long it takes to sort out which values are actually yours. After completing my psychology degree at UBC, I worked in community mental health, then studied occupational therapy (OT) at McGill. For the past several years, I've practiced as an OT in community and private settings, supporting people through health challenges, transitions, and the mental health dimensions of work, relationships, and daily life.

 

Over time, the counselling aspects of my OT work became the part I was most drawn to. The conversations about coping with uncertainty and figuring out who you are when life no longer looks the way you planned were always there, along with the moments when something clicked and someone left a session seeing themselves a bit differently. Pursuing that more intentionally felt like a natural next step. Counselling has been part of my own life too, through crossroads and hard seasons, and it's one of the reasons I truly trust this work. Outside of sessions, I'm happiest near water. You'll find me on a hike, at a yoga class, wandering my neighbourhood with a coffee, or at home with my two slightly misbehaved cats, Soups and Honk.

 

Therapeutic Approach

My approach is grounded in the idea that you already know yourself better than anyone else in the room. People tend to have more clarity and resilience than the hardest periods let them access, and a big part of my job is helping you find your way back to that. I draw on solution-focused, person-centred, and strengths-based frameworks, with influences from acceptance and commitment therapy and emotion-focused work. In practice, this means we make space for what's difficult without losing sight of what you actually want. Therapy with me is both reflective and practical, with some sessions going deep, others focused on figuring out next steps, and most a bit of both.

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My OT background also shapes how I think about change. I pay close attention to how things play out in your routines, relationships, work, and sense of self, because what's happening on an ordinary Tuesday matters as much as what we talk about in session. I'm especially drawn to working with people in the middle of a shift, whether that's burnout, a major transition, or a stretch where life no longer looks the way they planned. I work primarily with individuals, including around relational patterns, communication, and the stuck places that tend to show up across different areas of life, though I'm also open to working with couples. My practice is LGBTQ2S+-affirming and welcoming of all relationship structures.

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My online booking link can be found here.