Family Counselling Services in Bowen Island, BC.

When there is conflict within our family system it can feel heartbreaking and have major effects on each individual’s health and wellness. Finding harmony as a family ultimately comes down to finding effective ways to communicate and working to understand each other’s unique perspective. During family therapy sessions I seek to make sure each individual feels heard and understood by their family members by giving them the opportunity to express themselves in a safe space. From here we can build the skills necessary to express our needs and desires while maintaining everyone’s stated boundaries.

Troubled relationships with family members can be a source of immense stress. You may be struggling with parenting concerns such as adjusting to the arrival of a baby, coping with the needs of young children, dealing with a rebellious teenager, or launching a young adult. Perhaps you are feeling exhausted from caregiver stress as you look after aging parents. You might be confused and hurt by strained relationships with extended family, including in-laws and adult children. Family counselling can help you gain confidence as a parent as you learn to deal effectively with children, teens, and young adults. I can help you gain insight and learn strategies to enable you to attain mutually satisf....

Parenting is hard—especially when your child is struggling. If anxiety, behavioral challenges, or emotional disconnect are creating tension at home, I can help. I specialize in strengthening the parent-child bond by helping you understand your child’s emotional world and develop strategies that build trust and security. When parents feel supported, children thrive. Let’s work together to create a calmer, more connected family life.

Today family can mean different things to different people. Each family structure is challenged with their own set of difficulties and problems. Whether you are a blended family, single parent family due to divorce or loss, adoptive family, same sex parents, or traditional, we recognize family dynamics can be complicated. Together we will work to develop strong communication skills between each family member, while nurturing and solidifying the family unit. We will work to overcome conflict, heal the wounds of the past, build parenting skills and create a safe environment where all family members can be heard.

Despite the best intentions of ourselves and our family members, we are often tangled in patterns of invalidation, rejection, frustration and blame. It can feel so messy that we operate in a constant state of fear and a crippling sense of unworthiness. In 2008 I started my counselling career as a family therapist. A combination of individual and joint sessions will take place to allow the space for all voices to be respectfully heard, while helping to identify bigger ‘systems’ patterns that keep you stuck in pain and finger-pointing. I will help to smooth out communication, make room for wants and needs and to heal the old wounds holding you back from having a healthier relationship.

I specialize in family therapy and have a unique approach that will benefit you and the people you love. Working with me, your family will be able to improve communication, work together and repair damaged relationships with each other. I focus on helping each individual get their needs met, while balancging the health and happiness of the family. Whether you are a single parent, married or co-parenting after divorce, I can help you improve your relationships with each other and your chiIdren. I also have expertise in assisting parents who are dealing with difficult beahviors or mental health diagnoses in their children and am available for consultation as well.

Relationships are hard work and sometimes families go through ups and downs and lets face it - it gets overwhelming. I will work with family members to address your struggles, stressors, breakdown in communication and unhelpful patterns. I take a very direct yet solution-focused approach to family therapy to help you find a more positive way forward together.

Olivia finds great fulfillment in helping families thrive in a variety of contexts, including parents and children of all ages, single-parent households, and step-families. She has worked with parents and young children, offering tailored insights and practical strategies to strengthen their connection and address challenges. Olivia also supports teens and adult children in navigating family dynamics, fostering understanding and communication across generations. Olivia’s holistic approach ensures every family member feels heard and supported, promoting growth, harmony, and resilience.

My approach is centered on fostering open communication, understanding, and cohesion among family members. Recognizing the unique dynamics within familial relationships, I tailor interventions to address the complexities of diverse family structures. By emphasizing effective communication strategies, conflict resolution, and the cultivation of a supportive family environment, my goal is to strengthen the bonds that connect each family member. Through a collaborative process, clients benefit from developing practical tools to navigate challenges, build resilience, and foster a harmonious family life.

Family counselling involves creating a safe environment where each family member is given opportunities to share their thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Once each member is heard, issues are addressed, processed and examined. Barriers and pitfalls such as communication are explored together. Along with the guidance, support and empathy of the Counsellor, family members work on creating solutions to problems. I have over twenty years of experience with working with children and families, I look forward to using my "client-centered" approach to help families move toward increasing their communication skills, valuing the input of each other and living happier and healthier lives.

Working with families is complex, yet an essential part of building a healthy foundation for all family members. Using a Family Systems's approach to therapy helps members of a family understand that all people in the family affect the quality of the relationships within the family unit. Families are like a mobile, as one part moves, all the other parts are affected to some degree. Using the concepts of the Drama Triangle is valuable in helping family members understand the role he/she/they typically plays when interacting with others. Emeshment and triangulation are explored. One person is not viewed as the scapegoat but rather seen as one spoke in the "family wheel" of a larger system.

Family therapy provides the opportunity to explore how unfinished business or unhealed loss in your family of origin affects how you cope with life challenges in the present. We will explore family history and major events in your family, sometimes going back generations, to find out how family members were affected by those events, and how you may be affected by them in your life now. We also have the opportunity to find the health, strength and wisdom in the family through the generations.

Using a family systems model approach, I conduct family therapy in a way that works best for each family. This could look like meeting with each member individually, to hear their story solely from their perspective, identify the main issues, then bring the family together to resolve. It could also look like starting and remaining as a family unit throughout the counselling process. Family therapy involves validating each others perspectives, communicating respectfully, and compromising on house rules. I also do parent-teen mediation whereby I meet with the teen and parents separately to draw up a mediated house rules agreement and have one session coming together to confirm this agreement.