What Does Psychotherapy & Counselling Look Like?

Psychotherapy & counselling move like a river - Here's what that looks like.

The Banks — The Relationship
The banks give the water shape so that it doesn’t flood or stagnate. This is the therapeutic relationship: trust, safety, collaboration, being met without judgment.

The Shallows (near shore) — Counselling
Close to the bank, the water is shallow and visible. This is where we work with what's immediate — practical strategies, coping tools, a specific stressor or transition.

The Current (deeper water) — Psychotherapy
The water deepens here. This is where we explore what's underneath — long-standing patterns, relational wounds, the deeper shape of a life.

Leaving the River — Dysregulation
Sometimes life pulls a person out of the river entirely: overwhelm, shutdown, disconnection from self and others.

Returning to the River — Nervous System Connection
The way back in is through the body, not just the mind — co-regulation, grounding, felt safety. This is how a person finds their way back to flow.

So what actually happens in a session?

What to expect

Your first session is about getting to know each other and the challenges you are facing — no agenda beyond that. I will probably ask you about what brought you into the session.

Everything is by invitation; you lead, I follow (don’t worry - if you get stuck we will figure it out together)!

In the sessions that follow, we slow down and track what's happening moment to moment — a breath, a pause, something in the body when a certain meeting or person comes up — building a felt sense of both the workplace systems you're in and your own internal system's response to them.

That's counselling.

If we continue, the work deepens into psychotherapy: noticing the patterns that repeat under pressure or conflict, moving at a pace your nervous system can hold, letting change happen through experience — until both systems, out there and in here, get easier to navigate.

Free Consultation?

Practical Stuff

  • Amanda is a master level registered social worker who is licensed to serve client’s through psychotherapy and counselling services in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario.

    She also serves clients from the Yukon and Nunavut.

  • Sessions cost $174.00 Canadian for 50minutes.

    I am an affiliate counsellors for FSEAP and GreenShield so if you are covered by either of these benefit plans please feel free to connect through them.

    You may also be covered by your extended health benefits. Please make sure they cover registered social workers.

  • You can book through the Jane app (click any of the buttons to book) OR if jane drives you crazy (I know it drives me crazy sometimes lol) feel free to reach out to my admin team at info@work-therapy.ca and request a day and time that works for you.

  • If you book through the Jane app (just click on any of the buttons to do so) you will receive confirmation emails and reminder emails with instructions on how to access the virtual sessions.

    If you are booking through GreenShield they have their own virtual platform.

    I also provide phone sessions - here I will call you at our scheduled session time.

  • No problem at all - you can cancel or reschedule 24 hours prior to the session.

    If you need to cancel, you are welcome to go into your Jane app account or contact the WTC admin team at info@work-therapy.ca and they will cancel the session for you

    If you are late canceling or miss a session, I try to be as understanding as possible and, if it’s a one off, I do not charge.

    If it becomes a pattern, I will charge you the full fee (and we will probably talk about it in therapy).

  • I wait 15 minutes into the session to give you some lee way in getting to session.

    If something comes up and you know you’re going to be late please text 778-355-0268 or email me at athiessen@work-therapy.ca and I will wait for you.

    If you are very, very late I may suggest we reschedule.