Counselling Services in Victoria, BC
Trauma-informed, somatic, and mindfulness-based therapy for individuals, families, and the people who care for them.
"I am committed to honouring the unique qualities of each individual and helping them discover their own innate resources for well-being."
Whether you are healing from trauma, navigating anxiety, processing grief, or simply ready to live a more meaningful life, counselling can offer a space to slow down, listen inward, and discover what has been quietly waiting inside you.
Vanya Laporte is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) based in Victoria, BC. She offers in-office, telehealth, and outdoor counselling for individuals, families, parents, caregivers, and helping professionals — drawing on Internal Family Systems (IFS), the Hakomi Method, somatic mindfulness, and trauma-informed practice.
Flexible Counselling Options: In-Person, Online, and Outdoors
In-office in Victoria, BC
Vanya's cottage office is near Hillside (Cook/Quadra Village). Ground-level accessibility is available. In-office sessions are offered on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Online across BC
Telehealth counselling is offered via secure video or phone. Many clients find the same depth of connection in telehealth as they do in-person — and it makes accessing care easier across busy weeks, weather, and geography. Vanya complies with BCACC tele-health guidelines.
Outdoors on the Peninsula
Nature-based counselling sessions take place on the well-groomed trails of Elk/Beaver Lake, Summit Park, and Francis King Regional Park. With 15+ years of deep nature connection work behind it, this is Vanya's flagship specialty.
Learn moreMany clients move between formats season to season — outdoors in spring and summer, indoors in winter rain, online when life is full. This is welcome and supported.
Who Vanya works with
- Individual adults navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, and life transitions
- Families seeking warm, body-aware, alternative mental health care
- Parents and caregivers carrying invisible loads
- LGBTQ2S+ clients seeking inclusive, affirming, body-positive care
- Neurodivergent clients, including those with ADHD
- Helping professionals and other therapists seeking their own support, supervision, or consultation
Common areas of focus include: Stress, anxiety, and depression • Trauma • Grief and loss • Family conflict and parenting support • ADHD and emotional regulation • Life transitions and personal growth • Burnout in caregiving and helping roles • Creating and healing with Ceremony • Reconnecting with the natural world
The modalities Vanya draws on:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
With IFS as a framework, you can get to know your different internal parts — the protectors who have worked too hard, the exiles carrying old hurt, the calm and curious Self that has been there all along. Vanya guides you to release the burdens that have been limiting and to deepen your connection with the Self that is always available.
The Hakomi Method
The Hakomi Method is a mindfulness-based, somatic form of psychotherapy. Vanya is a Certified Hakomi Practitioner. In Hakomi work, the practitioner assists the client to discover and embrace their human vulnerability and their own inherent capacity to heal.
Somatic and trauma-informed practice
Your body is part of every conversation. Vanya brings a body-centered, trauma-informed approach — listening for gesture, posture, breath, and the felt sense of your experience alongside your words.
Mindfulness-based work
Vanya weaves short moments of mindfulness — sometimes only a minute long — throughout sessions to bring unconscious patterns gently into awareness. This is not lengthy "talk it out" therapy. It is small, kind experiments in noticing what is true right now.
Nature-based counselling
Where it feels right, sessions can happen outdoors on the trails of the Saanich Peninsula and Highlands. Vanya has spent 15+ years guiding deep nature connection work, and many clients find that being outside softens the work in a way an office cannot.
What to expect
Every client begins with a free 15–20 minute Meet and Greet. There is no counselling provided in this call — just a chance for you to ask questions, meet Vanya, and decide whether working together feels right.
In your first session, Vanya will check in about what brought you to counselling, what kind of support you are looking for, and any preferences around format (in-office, online, or outdoor). Sessions are typically 60 or 75 minutes.
There is no script and no expectation that you will arrive knowing what to talk about. Vanya works at the pace of your body and your nervous system, not the clock.
Fees
- 60-minute individual session$160 CAD
- 75-minute individual session$195 CAD
- 75-minute supervision or consult session$195 CAD
- 90-minute family or relationship session$260 CAD
* No GST applied. Counselling receipts are available for insurance reimbursement under most extended health plans that cover Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs). Please confirm coverage with your provider.
How to book
A free 15–20 minute Meet and Greet can be booked through the same channels.
Frequently asked questions
Beyond one-to-one counselling
Vanya also offers:
Nature-based counselling
Outdoor sessions on the trails of the Saanich Peninsula and Highlands.
Learn moreClinical supervision
Nature-informed, somatic, feminist supervision for new and seasoned therapists across BC.
Learn moreGroup programs
Including consult groups for therapists and nature-based programs for caregivers.
See current workshopsYou do not have to know what kind of therapy you need before you reach out. A free 15–20 minute Meet and Greet is a low-pressure way to begin.
With increased awareness and compassionate support, you get to choose how to live a meaningful life.