ABOUT CELINA
(She/Her)
COUNSELLOR
MC, BCYC, RCC (In Progress)
About
Celina holds a Master’s in Counselling (MC) and is an RCC in progress with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), pending final registration.
Her educational background includes a BA in Creative Writing (Poetry), a BA in English, and a Liberal Arts Diploma in Peace Studies — a reflection of her deep curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning, which continues to shape her counselling work.
Celina has supported youth and adults across a wide range of roles, including as a Youth Outreach Worker with the North Shore Neighbourhood House (NSNH), an Inclusion Facilitator with Steps Forward, and as an Inclusion facilitator she worked promoting accessibility and inclusive education for youth and young adults with developmental disabilities. She completed her clinical counselling practicum with Citizens Counselling Centre in Victoria, BC — an organization dedicated to providing affordable and accessible counselling to adults across Greater Victoria. These experiences have deeply influenced Celina’s collaborative, intersectional approach and her capacity to work comfortably with children, youth, and adults alike.
As a Squamish person from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw of mixed German and Chilean heritage now residing in Bulkley- Nechako Regional District (RDBN)- of the Wet'suwet'en Nation- Gitdumden Clan (Smithers, B.C.) and as a mother with lived experience of anxiety and depression, Celina roots her work in decolonizing, Indigenizing, and feminist frameworks.
Her counselling is gentle, non-judgemental, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive, offering a grounded space for healing and growth.
Celina brings a sensitive, creative, and listening-centered approach to her sessions, helping clients move at a pace that feels safe and authentic to them.
Her practice offers a welcoming and inclusive space for all, with particular focus on supporting BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, disabled, and other intersectional communities.
“Rooted in culture and renewal and care, Celina’s practice is where culture, compassion, and creativity meet — a space to belong, laugh, and grow together.”
Services Offered:
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Who Celina Works With
Individuals (10+) — children, youth, and adults
⏳ Lengths of Counselling
Long-Term / Ongoing
For continued, open-ended support with no defined end date
Focuses on evolving goals, steady care planning, and long-term growth.
Brief-Therapy
Goal-oriented and structured around a defined outcome.
You’re Choice Of:1-12 sessions over a 15-week period.
Notes For Brief Therapy:
- The number of sessions and length of time can be adjusted to fit your therapeutic goals.
- Once a set of sessions is completed, you can book a new package to focus on new or ongoing goals.
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What Is A Gender-Affirming Care?
A Gender-Affirming Care Support Session is a dedicated space for people ages 10+ and 16+ (for sessions involving paperwork or letters) to connect with Celina about your gender journey and goals for affirming care.
whatever feels most supportive for you.
Together, we’ll explore where you’re at, what supports are already in place, and what you’re needing next.
Sessions Can Include:Completing forms or letters to access hormone therapy and/or gender-affirming surgery (16+)
Finding gender-inclusive resources, providers, and supportive community spaces
Talking through what transition means to you — including hopes, expectations, and values
Exploring your current and future support systems
⏳ Gender-Affirming Care Session Lengths:
Long-Term / Ongoing Care — continued care and support with no set end date, focusing on affirmation, exploration, and sustained well-being
Short-Term Care — focused support for specific gender-affirming goals, such as paperwork, advocacy, or resource navigation
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Where- for all session and offering types:
Online- Via Janeapp - BC residents
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Counselling:
For All Counselling
Gender-Affirming Care
For All Gender Affirming Care
Fill out the contact form below to book a session
Focus & Approach:
“Celina’s approach is listening-centred, creative, and rooted in gentleness and collaboration.
She integrates somatic, solution-focused, mindfulness, relational, motivational interviewing, experiential, expressive arts, and narrative therapies within a strengths-based and goal-focused framework.
Grounded in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, feminist, and decolonizing practice, Celina supports clients through curiosity, creativity, and care — helping them explore, heal, and grow at their own pace”
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💭 TRAININGS
🌈 LGBTQIA2+
Gender-Affirming Care (Hormone & Surgical Readiness Assessments)
Trained and qualified to support individuals in exploring readiness for hormone therapy and/or surgery, and to complete required documentation.
Counselling Modality Specific
👥 Motivational Interviewing (MI):
A collaborative and compassionate approach that helps people explore and strengthen their own motivation for change. Rather than giving advice or pushing for solutions, the counsellor and client work together as equal partners to uncover personal reasons, values, and goals that make change meaningful.
Using open questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries (known as ORS), MI helps build clarity, confidence, and sustainable motivation from within.☀️ Solution Focused Therapy (SFT):
A short-term, collaborative approach that helps you move toward your goals by focusing on what’s working rather for you. Using questions like the “miracle question” and identifying moments when challenges felt lighter, SFT helps you imagine a preferred future and make meaningful, achievable changes in the present.
Foundry Virtual Counseling Training Certificate, 2020
🫴Crisis Support Training:
These provide practical skills for recognizing, responding to, and de-escalating situations where someone is in distress or crisis.
They focus on safety, active listening, empathy, and connecting people to appropriate supports.
Mental Health First Aid - Supporting Youth, 2025ASSIST, BC Crisis Centre, 2021
Mental Health First Aid, St. John Ambulance, 2020
SafeTALK, BC Crisis Centre, 2020Skillfully Responding to Distress, BC Crisis Centre, 2020
🧠 General Mental Health Training:
Trainings that build knowledge about mental health, brain development, and effective ways to support mental health and well-being
UBC Learn Mental Health Literacy Certificate, 2020 -
Indigenous wellness – reconnecting with culture, community, and identity through decolonizing, land-based, and relational approaches to healing
Anti-oppressive counselling – exploring identity, systems of power, and lived experiences with care, compassion, and accountability
Trauma-informed counselling – creating safety and gentleness in sessions while understanding how trauma impacts the body, mind, and relationships
Identity & self-understanding – exploring who you are, your values, and your story through creative, reflective, and narrative-based approaches
Goal-focused & brief therapy – short-term, collaborative support that helps you clarify priorities, build momentum, and take practical steps toward change
Life transitions – support through change—school, work, relationships, loss, or shifts in identity—with grounding and curiosity
Gender-affirming care – exploring gender, transition goals, and self-expression in affirming and empowering ways (training in paperwork for hormones & surgery readiness in progress)
Creative & expressive approaches – integrating poetry, art, writing, and other creative forms of expression to process emotion, tell your story, and foster healing
Youth & Young Adult Support – building confidence, coping skills, and connection through a strengths-based and empowering lens (ages 10+)
Session Cost:
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Indirect Coverage
(You pay upfront and submit receipts to your insurance provider for reimbursement.)
In Progress- will be possible once fully registered
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What is Sliding Scale?
💧 Sliding Scale (Supported Access)This type of pay is designed to make counselling accessible for those with no, low, or fluctuating income
This reflects equitable access for community.
Currently Accepting Sliding Scale Clients For:
All Session Types
(Rate- $50-150 per session)