foto © elisabeth van assum ~ salish sea, 2025

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compassionate counselling for life’s challenges

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Counselling Approach


I’ve spent over a decade counselling clients in the Comox Valley, Vancouver, and abroad, and I bring a warm, energetic, and fully engaged presence to every session. I’m not a silent, nodding counsellor—I’m collaborative, curious, and right there with you as we explore what’s feeling heavy, confusing, or stuck. My style is warm, engaged, and collaborative — I’m here with you in the work. Together, we explore your experiences, your patterns, and the parts of yourself that are asking for attention, clarity, or compassion.

I specialize in trauma-informed and culturally humble counselling for women, caregivers, and adults navigating anxiety, overwhelm, grief, identity shifts, and major life transitions. My practice is grounded in deep listening, genuine connection, and creating a space where you can move at your own pace without pressure or judgment. I want you to feel not just safe, but truly met—seen, heard, and supported as you awaken to your own truths.

Beyond my credentials, I bring a sincere passion for this work. I know that reaching out for therapy can feel vulnerable, and I honor that courage. My role is to walk alongside you, to stay engaged, and to help you reconnect with the strength, clarity, and confidence that already exist within you. This work matters deeply to me, and it’s a privilege to support people in finding their way back to themselves.

Therapy is courageous work, and I’m passionate about walking alongside people as they find their way back to themselves—at their own pace, in their own way, with someone who’s truly engaged in the process.

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acknowledgments about elisabeth

  • "I have known Elisabeth for over 15 years and know her as an individual with integrity, heart, professionalism and commitment. She has dedicated herself to the well-being of others and consistently demonstrated capacity for truly listening to you - exemplified by the focused and thoughtful feedback that she provides. She speaks informed truths - which are not always easy to receive, yet inevitable contribute to a improved understanding of self or context."

  • "I have known Elisabeth for over a decade. She is a thoughtful and compassionate listener. She combines that compassion with an unusually clear eyed intelligence. I admire her commitment to social justice and her active engagement with people of all backgrounds and experiences. She is a person of enormous integrity and is one of the people I trust most in this world. She has been there for me on more occasions than I can count. to hold space for me and validate my reality where others have attempted to deny it. I rarely feel more sane and safe than I do in the prescence of Elisabeth. I’ve made many a personal recommendation for her services and will continue to do so."

  • "Elisabeth is a colleague I have the privilege of knowing and consulting with on a regular basis. She is an excellent psychotherapist who is able to facilitate genuine and deep insight where others often fail. She is very professional and embodies both compassion and critical thinking. I have no hesitation in sending her referrals, and everyone I know who has worked with her has had fruitful outcomes."

  • “Elisabeth is someone I can trust to bring anti-oppressive values into her practice with clients. I refer clients to her when I want to make sure their diverse experiences and identities will be respected, understood and held with care. A true asset to the Comox Valley.”

  • “Elisabeth is deeply compassionate, kind and wise. I have known her for over 15 years an appreciate her wonderful tact and honesty. Without a doubt she is one of the few people I trust the most with my emotional and personal traumas. I always feel listened to and respected.”

Outside of my counselling and supervision work, I’m often creating through food. As a trained chef, I find a lot of joy in working with local, sustainable ingredients and bringing people together through what nourishes them. I’m also a parent of two, and my family and I make our home in the Comox Valley, where time in nature is part of our daily rhythm.

Community and creativity are central in my life—whether that’s sharing meals, connecting with friends and family, spending time outdoors, or enjoying music. You might also see me DJing under the name, therapy, a playful extension of the joy and connection in community I value so deeply

counselling courtenay 
foto © elisabeth van assum ~ cloud mountain 2024

detailed education & experience

In 2009 I graduated with a Masters (M. Ed.) in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia with a focus on research on youth in transition-to-adulthood issues, and women & later-life fertility and sexuality issues.

In 2000 in the Netherlands I graduated with a Masters (M.A.) of Gender Studies, with Dr. Gloria Wekker as my thesis advisor, from the University of Utrecht, having written a thesis on systemic issues of racialised inequality in Dutch society.

In 1994 earned my undergraduate degree Honours Bachelor of Arts (B.A. hnrs) in Sociology, and minor in Women's Studies with thesis advisor Dr. Dawn Currie, from the University of British Columbia having written a thesis on narratives of identity in women and men who identify as bisexual. 

In 2010 to 2012 I was the lead instructor and visiting lecturer for the Certificate in Peer Counselling at the UBC department of Continuing Education downtown Campus.

In 2019 completed the certificate in Indigenous Studies from the University of Alberta ensuring I apply and understand how being a white settler on indigenous land has informed and shaped my world view, moreover ensuring that I am transparent as a culturally accountable and culturally humble counsellor, and that I take mental health issues that arise in colonialism and racism seriously.

From 2016 to 2019 I worked for UBC Students’ Counselling, working with various students from over 30 different countries. I developed a depth of practice regarding the diverse cultural and mental health experiences of global youth living in British Columbia.

Since 2023 I work as a qualified front line mental health worker for Emergency Health Services and Critical Incident Response Services, BC.

Since 2014 I am a member in good standing & Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) member Number #13013 and I am fully insured by the Mitchell and Abbott Group.

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“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh