About Me

Hi, I'm Justin

As a counsellor, I strive to show up as my authentic, genuine self and recognize that it can sometimes be intimidating for clients to share so much about themselves. For these reasons, I often find it helpful to share with them a little about myself and my own experience in the world.

I’m a White, heterosexual, cisgender man, as well as a son, brother, husband, and father. I was raised by working-class parents of mainly British descent in the fishing village of Steveston, BC. It was in this culturally diverse community that I was fortunate to be exposed to people from many different backgrounds, leading to my lifelong fascination with human stories and relationships.

Struggling with anxiety throughout much of my childhood, I also found myself incredibly privileged to have the support of family, friends, teachers, coaches, and even counsellors of my own. Recognizing just how much I benefitted from the opportunity to reflect on and share my experience with these caring members of my community, it quickly became my goal to provide similar support to others by pursuing a career in counselling.

This led me, first, to The University of British Columbia, where I completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in Psychology, receiving the Jean Bolocan Memorial Prize as the outstanding student within the department upon graduation. I then volunteered for several years with a local crisis line as a phone operator, trainer, and coach before returning to school and earning a Master of Counselling degree from City University in Canada.

These days, when I’m not in session with clients, I can most likely be found spending quality time with family and friends, travelling and trying new foods, birdwatching, playing guitar, attending concerts, or glued to my TV watching Formula 1.

My Core Values

Having been a client myself, I know firsthand that counselling can be enormously transformative and rewarding. At the same time, I understand that it can sometimes be challenging to come to therapy, requiring significant time, energy, and courage from clients. For this reason, I consider it an honour and a privilege to hold space for the people I work with, and I have grounded my practice in the following principles to ensure they get the most of the process:

Trust & Safety

Fundamental to our work together is that clients experience a sense of trust and safety. In practice, this involves transparency about what each step of the therapeutic process might involve, sensitivity to their level of comfort and/or readiness to explore a certain topic, as well as emphasis on their ongoing right to withhold their consent to participate.

Empathy, Nonjudgment, Respect, & Cultural Responsiveness

My counselling approach relies upon a foundation of empathy, nonjudgment, respect, and cultural responsiveness. In the therapy room, this shows up as an ongoing commitment to approach each of my clients with compassion and curiosity and to remain attuned to how their unique identities and life experiences shape their understandings of themselves and the world around them.

Agency, Autonomy, & Empowerment

I believe that therapy is most beneficial when it fosters the client’s sense of agency and autonomy, empowering them to pursue positive change for themselves. In line with this, I view clients as the experts in their own lives and see myself as a supportive guide who walks alongside them. Rather than being overly directive, I strive to honour my clients’ insights and preferences as we collaboratively pursue mutually agreed-upon goals.

Authenticity & Genuineness

Research has consistently suggested that a strong, positive relationship between client and therapist may be essential for meaningful change to occur. With this in mind, I’ve made it a priority to develop such connections with each of my clients by showing up as authentically, genuinely, and humanly as possible in the counselling room. Accordingly, I’m happy to answer clients’ questions about my own experience in the world whenever appropriate, as many clients have shared that it has helped them to know that I have also faced challenging thoughts, feelings, and life circumstances.