Christina Atkinson Counsellor MA, RCC (she/her)
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor who offers support to teens, parents, and adults who are facing a variety of challenging life circumstances. Sometimes we cannot always change the circumstances of our lives, but I believe everyone possesses the capacity to turn towards their pain with compassion and curiosity to help discover, reclaim, and cultivate their own personal strengths.
At the heart of my work is the belief that we are not meant to live, work, and experience our pain and struggles alone. We are relational beings and healing happens in connection. This is why I prioritize taking a person-centered approach to treatment which permits me to create a safe, non-judgemental space that offers empathy and compassion.
Given the nature of work that I do with individuals and families, I also draw on Emotion Focused Family Therapy, which helps encourage emotional exploration and expression to facilitate relational change.
I also draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which focuses on accepting life experiences as they come without judgement and with more compassion. These approaches permit me to equip my clients with mindfulness strategies to manage uncomfortable feelings and circumstances, as well as somatic strategies that inform how their emotions are being expressed physically. Alongside these approaches, and with the understanding that social factors can significantly influence our well-being, my counselling approach is also connected to a social justice framework where I work with a trauma informed, feminist, and anti-oppressive lens.
My experience working with teens, parents, and adults has been through community-based mental health. I regularly support families and individuals who have been impacted by a variety of mental health and life stressors. These stressors include navigating through life transitions, coping with grief and loss, managing chronic stress, and dealing with anxiety and depression. My clinical work has also given me experience with reducing family conflict, strengthening parenting approaches, navigating co-parenting challenges, and supporting individuals who have experienced domestic abuse.
When I am not wearing my counselor hat, I am experiencing life as a mother of three (including two teenagers). I am intimately aware of the joys and challenges family life can bring and I believe this personal experience enriches my skill as a counsellor.
