Meet Our Counsellors

Hello folks. A bit about me: I am a registered clinical counsellor with an MA in Counselling and a Bachelor of Social Work. My background in outreach-based social work informs my practice as a counsellor. Over the past 20 years I’ve worked with LGBTQ2S++ folks in both individual and group settings and with youth and adults from many vibrant communities in Victoria. Personal change and social change are often deeply connected—I consider the effects of systems of power on the lives of my clients using interpersonal, anti-oppressive and somatic approaches in our work together. I am passionate about the work we do here at VSAC and supporting survivors towards their own healing paths. I am keen on finding ways to reduce barriers to accessing services. When not working at VSAC you can find me at home trying to learn the guitar, listening to music, spinning wool and tending to my plants.

I have been a counsellor at VSAC since 2006, providing immediate short-term support to women and trans survivors of sexualized violence. My approach is conversational, holistic and Response-Based. I was born and raised in Spain, completed my B.A. at the University of Alberta, and my M.A. in Counselling Psychology at City University of Seattle. I am very grateful to be living and working on the unceded Coast Salish Territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations, with my partner, two dogs and three beehives. Glad to be serving our VSAC community for the past 17 years!

Dẕenēs hoti’e (Greetings) everyone. My name is Michelle Gregoire (she/her) and I am grateful to be VSAC’s new Indigenous Crisis Counsellor! I am a Tāłtān woman who was born and raised in Kitimat on x̄á’isla territory and have been a visitor here in Victoria on the territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples for the last three and a half years. I have recently graduated with my Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work degree and in the long-term hope to go back for a Masters of Counselling Psychology degree. I have a passion for mental health, Indigenous revitalization and land-based healing and have worked the last eight years guided by those passions. In my free time I like to play hockey, bead and play video games.

I have worked as a Trauma Therapist and Group Facilitator at VSAC since 2018. I specialize in Somatic Attachment Psychotherapy. I have extensive experience in Non-Violent Communication and have well established community based meditation practice, attending regular weekend and weeklong retreats. I take a safe inter-relational approach to therapy, encouraging us to make a priority of caring for your nervous system and emotional state while we work. Mindful awareness and identifying what needs underly feelings and experiences is integral to my approach.

As a white settler descendant of primarily Irish and Welsh ancestry, I am grateful to have lived much of my life in the lands of the Coast Salish people, and have lived in Lək̓ʷəŋən territory specifically since 2014. I hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Victoria, and have worked in anti-violence organizations for over 5 years, supporting survivors of intimate partner violence and sexualized violence. My approach to counselling is integrative and interpersonal, with an ever-deepening devotion to anti-oppressive and trauma-informed care. In my work, I prioritize witnessing people within the contexts of their own lives and identities, recognizing and respecting our minds’ and bodies’ strategies for survival, and supporting clients in cultivating compassionate, trusting relationships with themselves. Beyond my role at VSAC, I can be found near the ocean, or cozied up at home with my dog, slowly crafting my way through a long list of creative pursuits (including sewing, gardening, interior design, pottery, and infinitely more!).