ABOUT CELINA
(She/Her)
COUNSELLOR
MACP, BA
About
Deb holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) from Yorkville University and brings a grounded, thoughtful, and deeply relational approach to her counselling work.
Deb moved to Victoria, B.C. in 1993 to finish her schooling and never left. Coming from a military family, she had long wanted to build permanent roots somewhere. Over the years, she has made Victoria home through community involvement, volunteering with local arts organizations, and working for the Province of British Columbia.
Her educational background includes a degree in Theatre from the University of Victoria (BA), completed in 1996, a degree in Sociology from the University of Victoria (BA), completed in 2014, and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) from Yorkville University, completed in 2024. These areas of study reflect Deb’s long-standing curiosity about people, relationships, belonging, identity, and the many ways humans strive toward self-understanding and self-fulfilment.
Now retired from public service, Deb brings the steadiness, perspective, and care of her lived and professional experience into her counselling practice.
Her work is especiallygrounded in narrative therapy, with a meaningful focus on supporting people through grief, shame, anger, life transitions, and the process of making sense of their stories.
Deb also brings a particular passion for supporting older adults and people navigating aging, disability, and changing access needs. This passion is shaped not only by her professional experience, but also by her own lived experience as an older adult with hearing loss and other disabilities.
Outside of counselling, Deb enjoys walking, CrossFit, reading, and canoe paddling when the opportunity arises. She currently lives in Victoria with her husband, James.
“Grounded in kindness & reflective care, Deb’s practice offers a space to unpack your story at your own pace, exploring possibility with curiosity, compassion, & care — with gentle questions along your path to help notice what may be asking for deeper attention.”
Services Offered:
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Who Deb Works With
Individuals (35+) — older adults
Couples/Relationships (35+) — older 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.
Standard Session Package:
2-12 sessions
Short Term/Brief-Therapy
Goal-oriented and structured around a defined outcome.
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 short term package to focus on new or ongoing goals.
One Off Sessions
One Time Need Sessions-oriented and structured around a defined outcome that can be completed in one session
Notes For One Off Sessions:
- This is not crisis intervention support replacing emergency services
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Deb is still working to complete training for gender affirming care offerings, so please reach out to her if you want this support but know that she is currently in the process of completing some portions of training around this.
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:
Online- Via Janeapp - BC residents -for all session types
In Person- For Walk and Talk Sessions in Victoria and Saanich, on the unceded traditional territories of the Lekwungen-speaking and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
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Counselling:
For All Counselling
Gender-Affirming Care
In training for how to do HRAs and SRAs so taking waitlist for this
Session Cost:
For
sliding scale ( $55-140) individuals
couples ($155)
groups ($75)Fill out the contact form below to book a session.
Focus & Approach:
“Deb’s approach is calm, collaborative, and grounded in deep respect for each person’s story. She integrates narrative therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, existential therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy to support clients in exploring what they are carrying, what has shaped them, and what may be possible next.
Guided by values of strength, vigour, health, compassion, and acceptance, Deb recognizes that change, ageing, and ripening happen to all of us.
In session, clients can expect a friendly, steady space where they are invited to unpack their story at their own pace. Deb does not tell clients what to do; instead, she listens closely, asks thoughtful questions, seeks consent before trying new tools, and gently offers challenge when it may support growth.”
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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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At this time Deb does not have cost coverage, but has lower cost sessions to accommodate this.
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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- $55-140 per session) -
What is a set rate?
A set rate for counselling is- a fixed, standard session fee.(If you’re looking for lower-cost sessions, please visit the Sliding Scale and Now Accepting tabs to see current reduced-rate options and availability.)
Set Rates:
$155 for couples/relationships
$75 for groups
Let’s co-create what grows next:
