Hi, good to meet you!
I’m Christina Kinch (she/her), a Registered Clinical Counsellor. I’m so glad you’re here.
I’ve spent my life exploring trauma healing, somatic (body-based) work, child and youth mental health, community care, social justice, and spirituality. I’m continually learning from both contemporary research and ancestral wisdom about how people and communities heal.
I know what it’s like to live with chronic pain, migraines, and a constantly on-edge nervous system—the frustration, exhaustion, and sense of being stuck that comes with it. I also know how much life can shift when the nervous system begins to settle, coping feels more natural, and daily moments of ease and connection become possible.
Clients come to me looking for a space where they don’t have to face difficult experiences alone. Together, we work gently and at your pace to navigate what’s overwhelming, develop practical coping skills, strengthen relationships, and create lasting nervous system and brain changes—so you don’t have to “try harder” all the time.
With years of experience and specialized training in trauma healing, I offer support and guidance with care, curiosity, and practical strategies that help you create real, tangible shifts in your everyday life.
Outside of work, I love poetry, walks in the trees, and belly laughs. I am a queer, neurodivergent, fourth-generation Irish-Canadian settler, and these identities shape how I show up in the world and in my work supporting healing.
Counselling might be right for you if you sometimes wonder…
Why do my feelings (anxiety, fear, depression, joy, hope, pleasure, etc) get so complicated, erratic, elusive and big?
How can my feelings be clearer, more predictable and right-sized?
Why is it so painful to feel misunderstood, lonely and disconnected?
How can I connect to community and experience belonging?
Why do my past experiences have such an impact on my mental, emotional and physical health?
How can I integrate these experiences and become unstuck from patterns that no longer serve me?
Why does my emotional state influence my physical pain levels?
How can I listen to my body and find more ease?
Why do I keep experiencing difficulty in my relationships with partners(s), family, friends?
How can I experience deeper connection and less overwhelm?
You don’t have to do it alone.
If any of this sounds familiar, reach out. We can figure it out together.
Many of my clients are…
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Many of us think of trauma as a one time event, and sometimes it is. But often the impacts of trauma are most significant when we have repeated experiences that overwhelm our ability to cope. This results in us coming up with strategies to make it through (that worked…you’re here now!) but sometimes aren’t as sustainable as we would like them to be— think shoving down your feelings and being strong/ calm; using substances to dull the overwhelm; relying on your super smart intellectual ability to circumvent your feelings. Sound familiar?
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Many of my clients are queer, trans, and/or non binary. I love working with my community and in my work I draw heavily on my personal and community experience. This experience helps me translate my academic and continuing education learning into a supportive and non-oppressive practice for queer folks.
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Many of my clients practice polyamory, consensual non monogamy, relationship anarchy or other less mainstream relationship structures like friends co-parenting or communal living etc. All structures have benefits and challenges. Want someone to help you navigate? I got you.
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If you know, you know. Chronic pain can be exhausting and impact all areas of your life. You’ve likely tried SO MANY things already. I can help you work in a way that is practical, yet deep, strategic, yet not overwhelming. We can work our way towards any feelings that are fuelling the pain and explore how different parts of you are responding to the pain. This will help you find more ease.
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Many of my clients are formally diagnosed and many self-identify. Personally, I currently identify as “likely some kind of neurodivergent”. As you may know, the research is lagging. As a result, many folks are benefiting immensely from in person and online community-based learning about neurodivergence. I draw heavily on the lived experiences of neurodivergent folks to inform my practice. These folks are my friends, clients, colleagues and folks I follow online (both professionals and lay folks with lived experience of neurodivergence).
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Who isn’t? I can help without gaslighting you and telling you your worries aren’t real. We can figure out together where these feelings are coming from, and make some internal and/or external shifts so life isn’t so hard all the time. I’ve been know to say to clients, “this isn’t a you problem” (don’t worry, we can still create strategies for you to feel less anxious- they might just be different in this situation than deep breathing exercises). I’ve also been known to say, “ok, so I think this is a place where slowing down and listening to your feelings/sensations might be helpful” (you don’t have to now how to do this, I can help).
A few things to know about my work…
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As a counsellor, I work to show up in my full humanity. For me this looks like being honest with you about what I know and what I don’t know. It also looks like honoring the counselling relationship as a real relationship by sharing what I’m actually thinking and feeling in our conversation. For example, if you say something that moves me, I will tell you. If you ask me a question, I will answer it. If I’ve made a mistake, I will apologize. For me, this stance is the heart of a feminist, anti-oppressive counselling practice. I am a human and you are too. We are all just moving along trying to figure out how to suffer less and experience more joy and connection (if you’re not into that and your goal is something like becoming a bazillionaire… I suspect we’re not going to be a fit).
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In working with me, I will invite you into a deeper relationship with yourself and friends, family (chosen or given) and partner(s) by attuning to where life energy is moving and where it is stuck or stagnant. We will explore together what you want to add to your life and what you want to let go of in order to move towards more ease and balance. You will notice that choice is a defining part of my practice and you will often hear me say, “I’m thinking about these two directions… do either of them seem interesting to you?”
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If you choose, I can support you to integrate difficult and/or traumatic past experiences that are showing up in unexpected (or expected) areas of your life and preventing you from living your life the way you want. I won’t poke or force you to do this work. But if you want to, we will do this with careful pacing and in ways that feel safe, supportive and not completely overwhelming (the heart of a trauma-informed approach).
I can also support you to grieve, rage, resist and build resilience to live through and challenge systems of oppression.
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The body is amazingly wise. It can be a guide that helps us figure out our yes’s and no’s, and can also reveal to us places that need healing (of course physical, but also emotional). I trust our embodied wisdom. I also know that through difficult life experiences we can become disconnected and end up holding tension, pain, and untended emotions in our bodies. Somatic counselling integrates the body and allows for healing of trauma and difficult experiences. This work can be powerful for those of us who have done SO MUCH work already, but still feel impacted by past events. It can also be a powerful approach that helps us move through experiences we can't quite put words to.
Nuts and Bolts- Approaches & Training
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I draw heavily on a “parts work” approach. These approaches understand that we all have different “parts” of ourselves. For example, a part of a person might really want to stop a certain behaviour, and another part of them might be find that impossible to do so. These different perspectives can lead to confusion, stuckness, anxiety, depression and a host of other difficulties. When we slow down and allow different parts of ourselves to express what they’re feeling/sensing/ thinking without interruption or judgment, this eases the internal chaos and helps the next steps become much clearer. For those of us who have experienced trauma or overwhelming life experiences, a parts work approach can be particularly healing.
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This approach works with deeper parts of the brain to help us shift patterns that are below our conscious awareness. If you want to learn more of the neuroscience- you can check out some videos here.
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DBR (Frank Corrigan, Deep Brain Reorienting, Level 2)
STAIR (Julianne Taylor Shore, currently in level 3)
TIST Certified (Janina Fisher, Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment Level 3)
RLT (Terry Real, Relational Life Therapy, Level 1)
Masters of Education in Contemplative Inquiry, Simon Fraser University
Masters level counselling courses, City University and Yorkville University
Undergraduate Degree in Child and Youth Care and Certificate in Intercultural Education and Training, University of Victoria
Yoga Therapy Extension Certificate, Mount Royal University
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Memory Reconsolidation, Julianne Taylor Shore
Understanding Dissociation, Jamie Marich
Internal Family Systems Circle Program, IFS Institute
The Neurobiology of Attachment, National Institute for the Application of Clinical Behavioural Medicine
Frontiers in the Treatment of Trauma, National Institute for the Application of Clinical Behavioural Medicine
Working with Trauma in Children and Youth: Building Your Toolbox, Cameray Child and Family Services
Transforming Trauma, James Finley
Healing Pathway Energy Healing Program, Naramata Centre