Trauma-Informed Counselling
Counselling in Vancouver & Richmond ·
In-person in Vancouver · Online across BC
Languages: English · Cantonese · Mandarin
Trauma can affect how you experience yourself, your relationships, and the world around you. You may find yourself feeling on edge, disconnected, overwhelmed, or carrying experiences that are difficult to put into words.
Trauma-informed counselling offers a compassionate, collaborative space where we can gently explore what you’ve been through at a pace that feels safe for you. Together, we can work toward greater understanding, self-compassion, and a stronger sense of safety and connection.
Understanding Trauma
Trauma is not only defined by major, high-impact events. It also includes the persistent impact of childhood emotional neglect, constant criticism, or unstable caregiving environments. Experiences like difficult relationships, medical trauma, chronic caregiver stress, and cultural or intergenerational challenges
can deeply affect our well-being.
Trauma often lives in the nervous system, showing up long after the events
have passed as a sense of being stuck in survival mode.
Healing involves recognizing these patterns and creating a safer relationship
with your current self.
Signs Trauma May Still Be Affecting You
Constant anxiety
or worry
Difficulty trusting others
People-pleasing tendencies
Emotional numbness
Perfectionism
Fear of making mistakes
Hypervigilance
(always on edge)
Difficulty setting boundaries
Low self-worth
Relationship struggles
How Trauma-Informed Counselling Can Help
Creating Emotional Safety
Establishing a reliable sense of security within the therapeutic relationship as a foundation for exploration.
Understanding Protective Patterns
Identifying the adaptive responses your system created to survive difficult experiences in the past.
Nervous System Regulation
Learning practical tools to calm a hyper-aroused system or re-engage from a numbed state.
Developing Self-Compassion
Shift from self-criticism to a gentler understanding of your internal world and experiences.
Processing Experiences
Integrating past events at a comfortable pace that respects your capacity and boundaries.
Building Healthier Relationships
Strengthening your ability to set boundaries and build authentic connections with others.
Reconnecting with Strengths
Moving beyond survival mode to rediscover your innate resilience and inner power.
My Approach
I am Jessy Lok, a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) providing a warm and collaborative space for healing. My style is deeply rooted in a trauma-informed lens, ensuring that you feel safe and empowered throughout our work together. I specialize in supporting individuals through anxiety, caregiving stress, life transitions, and emotional wellbeing.
- Mindfulness-Informed: Integrating present-moment awareness to help regulate the nervous system.
- Culturally Sensitive: Honouring your unique background and cross-cultural experiences.
- Strengths-Based: Reconnecting with your inner resilience and inherent strengths.
- Client-Led: You are never pressured to discuss experiences before you feel ready
Who This Service Is For
Trauma-informed counselling may be helpful if you are carrying experiences that continue to affect how you feel, think, relate to others, or experience yourself.
Past Experiences That Still Affect You
Difficult or traumatic experiences that continue to influence how you feel, think, or relate to others.
Feeling On Edge or Overwhelmed
Feeling anxious, constantly alert, easily triggered, or overwhelmed even when you know you are safe.
Disconnecting or Shutting Down
Finding yourself emotionally numb, disconnected, or shutting down when feelings become too intense.
Trust, Boundaries & Relationships
Struggling with trust, boundaries, closeness, or relationships after experiences that affected your sense of safety.
Shame & Self-Blame
Carrying shame, guilt, or self-blame about things that happened to you or how you responded.
Understanding Yourself & Your Patterns
Wanting to understand your emotional reactions, patterns, and responses, and develop greater self-compassion and a sense of safety.
You do not need to have a specific diagnosis or be able to explain exactly what happened to begin counselling. We can start with where you are now and gently explore what you need to feel more grounded and supported.
Fight
The urge to confront or control a situation. It can show up as irritability, anger, or a need to have the last word as a way to feel safe.
Freeze
Feeling stuck or numb. You might find yourself "spacing out," having trouble making choices, or feeling disconnected from your body.
Trauma and the Nervous System
When we face overwhelming stress, our bodies enter automatic survival modes. Trauma happens when we get stuck in these responses long after the threat is gone. Counselling helps us move from survival to conscious awareness.
Counselling helps increase awareness and flexibility, allowing you to recognize these patterns and choose new responses rather than remaining stuck in automatic survival modes.
Flight
The urge to escape or avoid. This often looks like physical restlessness, perfectionism, or overworking to outrun anxious thoughts.
Fawn
Prioritizing others' needs to stay safe. It shows up as chronic people-pleasing, difficulty saying no, and losing track of your own feelings.
What is trauma-informed counselling?
It is an approach that prioritizes your emotional and psychological safety. It acknowledges how past experiences shape your current reactions and focuses on stabilization, nervous system regulation, and moving at a pace that feels safe for you, without re-traumatization.
Do I need a PTSD diagnosis to benefit from trauma-informed counselling?
No, you do not need a formal PTSD diagnosis. Trauma-informed care is deeply beneficial for anyone experiencing the lasting effects of difficult life events, chronic stress, emotional neglect, or relational challenges that impact their daily well-being.
Can childhood experiences affect adult anxiety?
Yes, significantly. Childhood experiences, including emotional neglect or unstable caregiving, shape the developing nervous system. These early patterns often manifest in adulthood as chronic anxiety, perfectionism, or difficulty trusting others, as the body remains in a protective survival mode.
Is online trauma counselling effective?
Yes, online counselling is highly effective for trauma work. Many clients find that being in their own comfortable, familiar home environment helps them feel safer and more regulated during sessions, which is essential for processing difficult emotions.
Do you provide counselling in Cantonese and Mandarin?
Yes, I provide culturally sensitive trauma-informed counselling in English, Cantonese (廣東話), and Mandarin (中文/普通話). Offering therapy in your native language can often provide an additional layer of comfort and precision when exploring complex emotions and experiences.