Registered Counselling Victoria

Registered Clinical Counselling Victoria BC

Each individual has a different experience in therapy depending on their worldviews, goals, circumstance, and stressors. Registered Clinical Counselling addresses immediate challenges in a person’s life, allowing them to adapt and confront current discomforts. Through these sessions, the client may then explore past concerns and patterns of behaviour that reinforce such discomforts and develop mindful practices to detect and adjust patterns in current functioning.

As such behaviours have been intentionally or unintentionally reinforced, counselling sessions create space to spend time addressing how they appear within one’s life and develop alternate ways of responding.

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Meet our Registered Clinical Counsellors

Keegan Baulkham

$135 per clinic session
$140 Nature-based session

Hello there, my name is Keegan (he/him) and along with being a yogi, Nature-lover, food-admirer, and adventure seeker, I am Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellor (#19211). Completing my Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology and an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology minoring in Sociology, I approach human experience through a biopsychosocial-spiritual model. Maintaining these beliefs, I navigate challenges by exploring biological, emotional, social, and spiritual needs in creating equilibrium of experience

Life is a continuous practice; an act that is requiring constant reflection, awakening, and committed action. I believe presenting symptoms are the imbalance of life’s practice and through the processes of intentional awareness, critical reflection, insightful exploration, and skill acquisition, we are invited to adjust patterns to best reflect one’s wellbeing. I facilitate sessions through a person-centred approach, meaning you are the master of your own domain; I am simply a guide helping navigate the depths of your experience. We will look at (pre)existing patterns, develop emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and spiritual awareness, adapt or adopt skills, and create a road map that allows you to achieve your most cherished intentions.

I have worked alongside individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, fear, trauma, life transitions, life dissatisfaction, identity formation, challenges self-esteem, emotion regulation, and relationships, and within the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, youth populations, open-relationships/non-monogamous community, and those experiencing development or cognitive impairments. My passion is the outdoors and in my free-time you can find me on the wealth of trails in and around the Victoria area. I have recently become certified as a Nature-Based Therapist, hosting sessions in local parks. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have!

I am currently accepting new clients, working alongside humans from age 8+.

Laurel MacKay

$150 per clinic session

Hi there, my name is Laurel (she/her) and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (CCC #7226) with a Master’s degree in Counselling, as well as undergraduate degrees in criminology and psychology. I have had the honour of working as a counsellor for the past 25 years in schools, community mental health, the military community, addictions programs, and correctional facilities. I am also a yoga teacher and sound healing practitioner and love to add these into sessions when folx are interested in exploring how these practices might support their well being.

I truly believe that a person’s presenting symptoms are adaptive responses to trauma rather than deficits within the individual that must be fixed. I am passionate about walking alongside you as you find your inner strength and wisdom to take steps forward and begin to re-discover what brings you joy. I have training in solution focused therapy, trauma informed practice, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioural and narrative therapies and I pull from these to invite you to find your way back to a life you truly love

I have been an uninvited settler on the unceded, ancestral land of the Lekwungen Peoples of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations for the past 20 years. I acknowledge the importance of engaging in ongoing personal and professional learning and unlearning in order to work from a feminist, LGBTQ2+ affirmative, and anti-racist approach and I am committed to this lifelong work. When not working I love to be on top of mountains, immersed in forests, in or on the water, hanging with my dogs and amazing daughters, and finding new ways to be the best version of myself.

I can support folx who may be experiencing or recovering from low mood, anxiety, depression, nervous system dysregulation, sexual violence, substance misuse, disordered eating and grief as well as discussing issues of sexuality and gender, military lifestyle, and life transitions,

I am currently accepting new clients and work with individuals aged 16 and above.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are your qualifications/credentials?

Keegan: I have attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Master’s of Arts Degree in Counselling Psychology. I am a registered member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), maintaining the title, ethical conduct, and standards of practice of a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC).

Laurel: I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (CCC #7226) with a Master’s degree in Counselling, as well as undergraduate degrees in criminology and psychology.

What is your availability?

Keegan: Thursday afternoons from 2-8 pm online or in-person.

Laurel: Sundays 10 am–5 pm & Mondays 2-8 pm in-person or by ZOOM.

Which therapeutic modalities do you work within?

Keegan: There are a breadth of different practices and modalities that guide my practice. As the uniqueness of our community, so too I adapt practices that best suit the individual. With this said, I have completed specialized trainings in: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills training, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focussed Brief Therapy (SFBT), and Narrative Therapy. Pending: Advanced Training in Nature-Based Therapy.

Laurel: I have training in solution-focused therapy, trauma-informed practice, somatic and nature-based practices, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioural and narrative therapies and I pull from these to invite you to find your way back to a life you truly love.

Why are you practicing in a yoga studio?

Keegan: I believe the human experience requires a holistic practice to reflect holistic health and well-being. The human psyche is one aspect of the human experience, which is accompanied by one’s physical, social, and spiritual practices for overall expression of self. A yoga practice encapsulates this holistic approach to well-being, advocating for physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual health as the foundation for optimal human function. I personally practice at MĀ Yoga and resonate with their intentions, values, and objectives, where I hope to provide services for like-minded individuals.

Laurel: I am also a yoga teacher and sound healing practitioner and love to add these into sessions when folks are interested in exploring how these practices might support their well-being. MA was the first studio I truly felt at home in, and the therapeutic benefits I have experienced from the sound healing and yogic practices have been life-changing.

Am I covered through personal health benefits? What is your rate?

Yes; HOWEVER, every plan is different, please refer to your plan and provider before your first session to ensure your plan covers the RCC designation. The amount covered may vary according to your health benefit plan.

My rate aligns with the BCACC recommended fee for clinical counselling.

Please discuss health coverage at outset of treatment in order to develop a treatment plan/trajectory that will best align with you and your plan.

What is your policy between sessions?

Please feel free to email anytime; my practice is to respond to emails as soon as possible and no longer than 2 business days (not including weekends, statutory holidays, and personal vacation).

What are your specialties?

Keegan: I specialize in enhancing the present-moment, harnessing potential, and acting in accordance with one’s values, ambitions, and goals. This will include first connecting to our own experience, managing discomforts or challenges, and directing attention to our optimal selves. When we are acting in opposition, confrontation, or conflict with ourselves, manifestation of a variety of symptoms may elicit. Specific challenges for which I have direct experience include, but are not limited to: anxiety, depression, life transitions, existential concern, stress, fear, trauma, disassociation, relationship/communication, borderline personality, helplessness, hopelessness, and/or sleep disturbances.

Laurel: I can support folks who may be experiencing or recovering from low mood, anxiety, nervous system dysregulation, sexual violence, domestic violence, substance misuse, disordered eating and grief, as well as discussing issues of sexuality and gender, military lifestyle, and life transitions.

What can I expect in therapy?

Keegan: Each individual has a different experience in therapy depending on their worldviews, goals, circumstance, and stressors. Generally, we will begin with addressing immediate challenges and adapting our functioning to confront current discomforts. We may then explore past concerns and explore patterns of behaviour that reinforce such discomforts, developing mindful practices to detect and adjust patterns in current functioning. As such behaviours have been intentionally or unintentionally reinforced, we will spend time addressing how they appear within one’s life and develop alternate ways of responding. Through a continuous practice of detecting and adjusting unhelpful responses, supplemented with explorative insight into their functions, we are able to understand ourselves, our environment, and how we respond to it. We are then develop the tools, strategies, and techniques to direct our life’s trajectory toward that which is most important to us.

Laurel: I truly believe that a person’s presenting symptoms are adaptive responses to trauma rather than deficits within the individual that must be fixed. I am passionate about walking alongside you as you find your inner strength and wisdom to take steps forward and begin to re-discover what brings you joy. I believe you are the expert of your experience, and I can be supportive in reflecting the coping mechanisms and behaviours that may no longer be serving you. We can then work together to create a plan that you believe in. I am currently accepting new clients and work with individuals aged 16 and above.

Registered Clinical Counselling