Kristina Belyea
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Master of Counselling in Counselling Psychology
Pronouns: she/her
“If you evade suffering, you also evade the chance of joy. Pleasure you may get, or pleasures, but you will not be fulfilled. You will not know what it is to come home.”
Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed
Please note that Kristina has a waitlist at this time
To find alternative options, please see our counsellor list HERE, or use our Connect with a Counsellor form below to be matched with a counsellor who is the best fit for you.
If you’re here, you might be used to feeling alone with your problems, managing with old strategies that don’t really address the underlying issues. Maybe you’re experiencing a period of loss or change, where old ways of doing things just don’t serve you anymore, keeping you stuck in old patterns. Sometimes it takes getting to the point where just getting by is no longer good enough; and this is where counselling can help..
Together we can find some new ways of being in the world, and expand your capacity for making changes.
Many of my clients are thoughtful, caring people, who know how to be compassionate to those around them, but struggle to apply that same care towards themselves. Perhaps they learned at a young age how to be strong for others, but not how to be vulnerable -- to feel their feelings, slow down, and think about their own needs. It might be a very new experience to let someone in to see their struggles. I love to work with people who have big inner lives -- creative folks, either those who have an artistic practice themselves, or who see the world through music, movies and books and love to get lost in other worlds.
Common concerns and populations I work with:
· anxiety & generalized anxiety
· Depression & chronic/long term depression
· Self esteem & self worth
· Grief & loss
· Chronic pain
· Suicidal ideation, Chronic suicidality & Self Harm
· Complex Ptsd & childhood trauma
· borderline personality disorder
· gender & sexual identity exploration
· young adults & related challenges
· body image issues, fat acceptance & liberation
· compassion fatigue & burnout
· self compassion challenges
· reproductive grief Including miscarriage & abortion related challenges
· Supporting those working within oppressive systems (ie. frontline workers, compassion fatigue, burnout)
My Approach
Within the space of the therapeutic relationship we build together, I see my role as offering a safe harbour, where you can know your body, thoughts and feelings, not as burdens to be managed or avoided, but as precious parts of yourself to care for with tenderness. I believe in the innate human impulse towards healing, growth and connection; in listening with acceptance; and in creativity, humour and joy as radical acts. I hope to help you find compassion (for yourself, and others) as you build the life that is right for you to come home to.
I work using evidence-based counselling theories, while attending to the systemic forces which influence our experiences, bringing values of collaboration, solidarity, perspective, value for the strategies that got you here, and the firm belief that you are the expert in your own life.
A Bit More About Me…
My worldview is influenced by the work of Feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive thinkers, and as a white, settler, cisgender woman, (and many more things, too!) I strive to be accountable for how my identities show up in the counselling room with each and every client. Together, we will ask the question, “How do you thrive when the systems in which you find yourself are not invested in supporting you, (or may even undermine your best interests)?” I work using evidence-based counselling theories, while attending to the systemic forces which influence our experiences, bringing values of collaboration, solidarity, perspective, value for the strategies that got you here, and the firm belief that you are the expert in your own life.
Aside from my work, I love playing music, listening to comedy podcasts, reading novels, riding my bike, and going for walks with my friends. My more recent hobbies have included learning how to cross-stitch and gently tending to my plants.
My integrative and client-specific approach to counselling includes:
Person-Centred and Trauma-Informed Therapy
Feminist & Narrative Therapy
Attachment Oriented Approaches
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Compassion Focused Therapy