Hey, I’m Danny.

A young person with wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and earrings, smiling in front of a plain background, wearing a gray collared shirt.

I’m a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works with folks who want to learn to live in ways that align with their inner most selves. 

I grew up in a family of caregivers (my dad was a pastor and my mom worked with seniors and kids in foster care) so I’ve been around all kinds of folks in varying states of needing a hand. I realized I wanted to be a counsellor when I was 17; I was always the friend that people came to with their problems and I found it exciting to try and understand what was going on. Since then, I’ve spent my working life (barring a short stint in retail) learning to help others: I’ve done crisis work, community mental health and addiction care, and mental health education. As a queer man who grew up in an Evangelical environment, I also bring personal expertise in working with identity conflicts and spiritual deconstruction.

At work, I have been described as a “mother hen” who will tell it to you straight, but with a lot of care. I believe it is important to bring my full self into the therapy room and feel alongside you. I love passing on the information underlying how I work so that you can understand what we’re doing and we can be curious together. I also believe in celebrating wins; therapy doesn’t have to just focus on the hard stuff, but can also be about smaller moments of change and making space for moments of joy. 

I was trained as a couples and family therapist and have my Master’s degree from Trinity Western University. While I no longer do relationship counselling, I believe this specific training gives me a unique perspective when working with individuals.

Work with Me

Who I work with

I’ve worked with people from many walks of life and have found that I particularly enjoy working with: 

  • queer and trans folks

  • people who have been harmed in religious/spiritual communities 

  • intellectualizers: people who try to think their way through problems and who are curious about what it might be like to be in touch with their feelings, emotions, and bodies 

  • people pleasers: those who struggle to know and say what they need, feel, and want 

  • people who were parentified or forced to grow up too quickly 

  • health care workers and other folks working within dysfunctional systems 

  • people who use humour when things get hard (I promise to laugh at even your darkest jokes)

  • yappers, talkers, and Chatty Cathys

  • those who have tried CBT/DBT and not found it as helpful as they’d like

My Approach

Experiential & Emotion Focused

Although therapy was historically framed as “the talking cure,” you might have noticed that insight alone doesn’t always lead to lasting change. Experiential therapy is when we actually go through the process of feeling our feelings in the body in session, not just think or talk about them in the abstract. 

This might sound pretty intense or scary! Many people learned that feeling/trusting their emotions and body is dangerous. My role is to help slo-o-o-ow it down and build your capacity to feel in new ways. 

Systemic

I believe it’s important to look at how you’re situated within your family, community, and the wider world. I take into consideration how systems of oppression, such as patriarchy, capitalism, white supremacy, ableism, and heterosexism, impact you. I believe that what we often think is “abnormal” is actually a perfectly reasonable response to these systems. I work with folks who are already critical of the systems they exist in, as well as folks who are just beginning to recognize their impact.

Relational

Relational counselling is based on the idea that healing happens when we are seen and feel validated in our experience, both past and present. Further, relational counselling holds that humans need to be accompanied when things feel too intense, rather than being left alone or needing to change our experiences to please others. 

I am not a removed, “objective” observer; I feel and respond as a person who cares deeply for my clients, and I make sure that they know it.

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Areas of Practice

Getting in touch with emotions

  • Anger Concerns

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Emotion Regulation

  • Grief & Loss

  • Suicidal Ideation

Changing relationships

  • Boundaries & Communication Skills

  • Family Conflict

  • Values & Identity Conflicts

Healing trauma

  • Religious trauma

  • PTSD

Understanding and exploring Identity

  • Gender Identity & Transitions

  • Men & Masculinity

  • Perfectionism

  • Queerness & Identity 

  • Self-Criticism & Self-Worth

  • Sex & Sexuality

FAQ

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  • I incorporate thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and body sensations when working with clients. Specifically, I use Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and body-based therapies.

    While I incorporate some skills from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), people often come to me who say CBT was not the best fit.

  • I work in person Mondays and Tuesdays afternoon/evenings, and virtually on Wednesdays.

  • My rate for a 50-minute session is $155 (no more GST on RCCs). I offer a limited number of reduced rate spots for those without external financial support.

  • I take cash and e-transfers as payment. All sessions are issued a receipt which can be submitted to extended health benefits that cover Registered Clinical Counsellors.

  • My office is on the first floor and is accessible for those with mobility aids. There are two gendered washrooms, each with a wheelchair accessible stall, and folks are encouraged to use the washroom that feels best for them. None of the doors in the building are automatic, so if you need any assistance, please let me know!

  • It depends! If this is you, please let me know in a consult call so we can figure out together whether working together would be appropriate. If not, I can refer to someone I trust who works similarly.

Get in Touch!

I offer a free 15-minute phone/virtual consultation to answer your questions and to help see if we’re a good fit.

Book Consultation
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