Find a Therapist in Highlands, British Columbia.

Dr Sharolyn Sloat, Psychotherapist, Victoria BC, provides psychotherapy, counselling, and psychological services in a variety of areas to individuals, couples, and groups. Her expertise includes, but is not limited to, Relationship Issues, Addictions Analysis, Managing Emotions & Energy, Personal Growth, Human Performance, Career Concerns, Perfectionism, LGBT Issues, and Balance & Wellness. She takes an action-oriented and solution-based approach while helping clients to clarify, articulate and negotiate their needs and boundaries. Exploration, Enlightenment & Empowerment are the goals.

Psychotherapy with me will offer you a secure non-judgmental relationship to grow in your goals. Together we will explore what is bringing you into therapy and with compassion and curiousity notice what comes up for you when you seek to make change. As we explore what comes up, we will use tools to get to the roots of those blocks and discover deeper part of you that can provide you with that felt sense of relief and new found energy.

All of us get to a point in our lives where we feel like we’re stumbling through the darkness, unsure of who we are, what we’re doing with our lives and where we’re going. In these moments, we may desperately wish we had someone to help guide us through to a place where we feel more empowered and more control of our lives. In our individual sessions, I provide a safe, compassionate, non-judgemental space for you to begin your journey of self-exploration. We revisit old stories and beliefs so that we may engage in new perspective taking. With courage, compassion and curiosity, we can begin transforming disempowerment to empowerment. Ready to feel lighter and more empowered? Let’s get started.

Who are you? Why did you do that? What affect did that have on you? How would you like to do that differently? Together we'll explore your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and gain some insight in order to increase your sense of well-being, improve your relationships, and achieve higher levels of functioning. We will pay close attention to the information your body gives us, and work at regulating the intense emotion through somatic awareness, inquiry, interventions, and reflections.

My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in trauma-informed care. I offer a supportive space where you can explore your story at your own pace, without judgment or pressure. Together, we’ll untangle what’s been holding you back, build insight, and develop tools that align with your values and goals. Clients often tell me they feel genuinely seen, supported, and empowered in our work together—and that therapy helps them reconnect with their inner strength, gain clarity, and move forward with greater ease and confidence.

I offer a multidisciplinary and relational approach to psychotherapy that includes early attachment work and a sensitivity to intergenerational dynamics and trauma, with a holistic orientation and evidence-based techniques. The role of the body in healing is central to my work, as I draw on many somatic practices. I also work with the arts as a healing modality. On the part of my clients, no experience in the arts is necessary. Whichever therapeutic modality we choose as best suited to your current journey, we work with the fundamental creative drive that is present in all of us to encounter the many facets of your healing pilgrimage necessary for growth and lasting change.

Psychotherapy is similar to counselling. Individuals attend regular sessions for a variety of issues, such as anxiety, depression, stress, body image, eating disorders, self esteem, and personal growth. Psychotherapy includes therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Dialectival-Behavioural Therapy, and Mindfulness Training. Individuals explore thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and patterns. Through self awareness and learning new skills and strategies, individuals can feel better, more connected to themselves and others, more clarity around personal needs, and experience greater joy and increased functioning.

As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, most of the work we will be doing is psychotherapeutic by definition. In my practice I offer a safe, compassionate space where you can open up and explore early trauma, old wounds and self-limiting beliefs. Our focus will probably involve Family of Origin work and to how to become more clear on what themes and issues were at play as you grew up. More importantly, our work in that area will involve what the consequences of living with that family were and how you can make more authentic and life-affirming choices now.

Clients who receive psychotherapy from me will learn about the root of their issues and how to heal these wounds. Many issues we face in life are deep rooted in our childhood or resulting from traumas we have survived and need to be addressed to be truly free and achieve peace and serenity. I will help you learn to live a vital, rich meaningful life and overcome any mental health issues.

I approach therapy as a deeply collaborative process that recognizes the multiple roots of both our struggles and our brilliance. I'm committed to collaborating to build a supportive therapeutic space, honoring the strategies people have developed to navigate their struggles, while helping them find new approaches that better serve them here and now. I draw on a variety of perspectives and techniques to facilitate transformation: queer, feminist, and disability theories; somatic, relational, and neurobiological understandings of mental and emotional health; Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR); Somatic Experiencing (SE), parts work, and Intuitive Eating.

Psychotherapy can be an enriching and fascinating experience. I work hard to create a safe environment where people can explore their lives from new perspectives. This can be an opportunity to transform your life into what you always hoped it could be, as well as an effective way to clean out the elements that are causing hurt, stress, or discomfort. Psychotherapy in my mind can be likened to yoga: it requires, patience, gentleness, effort and with those optimal results can be found.

Psychotherapy is a counseling process which helps you understand why the things that are troubling you have happened. I will ask you to tell me your story in detail and ask lots of questions to help you gain clarity and insight. This is not a quick counseling method but aims to be a thorough one. The goal is to support you in making the changes you need to make to improve your situation. We will identify your competencies and build on them with new skills. Psychotherapy can be an exciting experience for you as you learn to live your life more as you would like to see it. You may experience some discomfort as you confront issues you have avoided but you will see positive growth in yourself.

My goal is for you to feel better, clearer, and confident that you can make a change; and that you have a meaningful goal to work towards. My first interest is to alleviate the pain and confusion if present through listening and clarifying. My approach is guided by the challenge presented and the change desired. Identifying the key influences is often helpful towards developing motivation and how to move forward.