Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Shawnigan Lake, BC.

Stress and anxiety are often caused by uncertainty; feelings of loss of control, unresolved conflict or emotional isolation. These thoughts and experiences tend to create a sense of overwhelm, that life is out of our control. Laurie can help you develop coping behaviors so that you can live a more balanced life, where your energy can be spent on living, rather than on stress and worry. Through working with Laurie and implementing various exercises and techniques, she can help you become more aware of patterns that our thoughts and emotions get caught up in. Once you become aware of these patterns, we are in a better position to alter them; this includes changing our patterns of responses that we experience as stress or anxiety.

I use therapeutic insights and my own experience to guide you. If stress and anxiety paralyses you and is hurting those you love, and you don't know what to do, professional assistance is called for. Feelings of anxiety result from our reality and how we look at this reality. Our perspective is shaped by our experience and thinking. By understanding emotionally why you are where you are and why you feel about this the way you will be helpful. By keeping judgment at bay, the emotional space for other insights and options that can help you manage your anxiety better and to discover what you need to do to move beyond your anxiety, will develop.

Anxiety and stress can affect more than how you feel inside. They can shape how you communicate, respond to conflict, connect with the people you love and experience yourself in relationships. You may find yourself overthinking, worrying about your relationship, feeling overwhelmed, becoming reactive, or shutting down when things feel like too much. I offer anxiety and stress counselling that looks beyond simply managing symptoms to understand what may be happening underneath them. Using an emotion-focused approach, we can explore the patterns, fears and experiences that keep you stuck and help you respond to yourself and your relationships in healthier, more connected ways.

Stress can prompt the cracks in our normal ways of coping to come into sharp focus. Similarly, anxiety can be all consuming, causing us to replay the tapes of our past over and over again. We may even be spending hours reviewing the tapes of events that only ever took place in our heads! The result is exhaustion and avoidance of anything that feels overwhelming. As a result, life can become small as we limit ourselves to our comfort zone. Unfortunately, this is when depression can creep in for a double-whammy. Yuck! Luckily, stress/anxiety is highly treatable. I work with clients to develop the insights and acquire the tools to overcome stress and anxiety. There is hope. Promise!

Anxiety often manifests physically, storing tension in various areas of the body such as the chest, shoulders, or stomach. In our sessions, we gently explore, observe, and examine these somatic sensations to build somatic awareness and safety within your nervous system. Because anxiety is frequently rooted in the anticipation of future experiences, we bring compassionate curiosity to these fears, helping you process the underlying emotional triggers. To support grounding and emotional regulation, we incorporate somatic practices like Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) and body scanning.

Anxiety, stress, and depression are common symptoms of relationship distress. Research shows that having close connections calms our nervous systems and promotes emotional balance and well-being. What we do with emotion impacts the quality of our relationships, and our relationships impact our emotions. I help clients access, understand, and order their emotional worlds so that they can be used as a compass and vehicle for connection with important others. What we do with emotion makes sense based on our biology and our life experiences, but at times our strategies become outdated. Contact today to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. 

Anxiety and Stress have become a ubiquitous part of our modern world. For many of us, they are an all too pervasive daily experience and sap the life out of our vital energies. Our work on anxiety and stress will include practical skills and tools to work with and deal with the anxiety and stress. It may involve changing ways of thinking that create more anxiety than necessary in certain situations. We will work toward finding ways of being that allow for more freedom, more ease and more enjoyment in being alive.

At Seasons Family Centre, we provide compassionate support for anxiety and stress across the lifespan, from young children to adults, including transitional moments such as pregnancy and parenthood. Understanding that these experiences are unique to each individual, we offer a variety of approaches to treatment and collaborate with our clients to determine the best path forward, ensuring they feel empowered as active agents in their own growth and well-being. Our culturally mindful approach prioritizes safety and trust, creating a supportive environment where individuals can explore, process, and develop strategies to navigate life’s challenges with greater ease and resilience.

Anxiety, stress, and burnout can affect both emotional wellbeing and the body’s nervous system. In my work with clients, I use evidence-based CBT strategies to help identify patterns of thinking that may increase anxiety, stress, or overwhelm. Together, we explore practical tools for calming nervous system activation, managing worry, and responding to stress in more grounded and effective ways. Stress management may also include developing communication skills, setting healthy boundaries, and learning to identify and express needs more clearly. My approach is collaborative, supportive, and focused on helping clients build practical strategies they can use in daily life.

Anxiety comes in many forms. From generalized anxiety to phobias to panic, I use a blended CBT and Jungian approach to understand your symptoms, why they are happening in your current life, and help you manage symptoms. Anxiety counselling is my specialization and I have worked in the area for over 10 years. You can find a video about Understanding Anxiety on my website scottkouri.com

Anxiety can severely impact the quality of a person's life. It can impact their sleep, work, relationships, school, and their physical health. Sometimes, anxiety can become so intense that people experience physical symptoms like sweating, heart racing, dizziness, nausea, etc. The good news is that there are effective psychological treatments for anxiety. CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy), which is the type of therapy I practice, is an evidence-based approach that provides individuals with skills to help manage their anxiety and get control over their lives back.

Feelings of anxiety can become so intense that it becomes overwhelming. Often individuals struggling with anxiety express constant intruding thoughts that focus on fears of events of the future. Anxiety can create physical feelings of distress like a tight chest that makes it difficult to breath, an upset or tight feeling in the stomach, and general fatigue from constantly trying to control their thoughts and actions. Some people have battled anxiety for so long that they begin to believe it is just who they are and accept the restrictions it causes in their life. Through counselling we will work to break the cycle of anxiety controlling your inner world. Bringing a sense of relief, control and freedom that has been absent for so long.

Shelley teaches her clients how to cope with stress and anxiety through Mindfulness, Compassion, and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Understanding the underlying fears that trigger their anxiety, can help clients become more aware of their negative thought patterns. Reframing those negative thoughts and unhealthy core beliefs can help clients to feel more in charge of their life as they experience their world more realistically. Shelley teaches valuable skills to help clients regulate and calm their anxiety by relaxation and visualisation techniques. Shelley's keen ability to attune to her clients with compassion and empathy as well as teaching skills is her gift that leads to her success.