hi, I’m Jessica
licensed Canadian clinical counsellor
+
practice owner
you’re here, I’m so glad 🫶🏼
I imagine that you’re searching for a therapist because you’re wanting to improve your well-being, heal with confidence, and you’re looking for a support while doing so.
as a licensed Canadian clinical counsellor, I offer individual therapy to support you in your personal growth. I will be there alongside you, listening to you, hearing you, asking questions to challenge you, and creating a safe container for you to process, so that you can move towards your goals.
as a therapist, I help you gain new, and different perspectives, so that you can overcome the blockages to your growth, and create new and different coping mechanisms for the future.
-Jessica rita irene, ma, ccc
well hello! I’m here to support you
My background
in my professional life, I have done quite a few things other than being a therapist, including being a social worker in the government mental health system for 9 years, before starting modern courage counselling.
and this included roles from front-line work in emergency rooms in hospitals, to flying into remote areas of northern British columbia to work in underserved communities. i’ve been very grateful to have had the experiences i’ve had, as it has informed me as a multi-faceted human, and therapist.
in my personal life, some of you may know me from my tiny home adventures. I am now onto my next small dwelling project, renovating a 32’ school bus with my partner, and toddler (world’s slowest Reno project, I might add).
I grew up on a small hobby farm with more animal friends than human friends, in a very rural mountainous part of British Columbia, Canada
and part of this is due to knowing first hand the journey of social anxiety… and part is very much because I'm incredibly happy as an introvert, and love animals.
with that said, I can personally relate to the journey of navigating anxiety, growing self-worth, healing from a difficult birthing experience, and the weight of being a woman in this modern world.
if you’re curious to connect, you can email me by clicking the button below.
I graduated with my masters of counselling psychology in 2020, and within that time, I also fell in love with the modality of emdr.
i trained in emdr alongside the completion of my masters, and I continue my education around this modality, as I truly love, and whole-heartedly believe in it’s effectiveness.
as a forever learner, I continue to explore non-traditional therapeutic modalities (that are also evidenced based), that are supportive of creating holistic wellness for the clients in my practice.
you can find a chronological list of my trainings, and education below.
my credentials
Bachelors of Social Work - University of Victoria - 2016
Masters of Counselling Psychology - Yorkville University - 2020
Eye-Movement Desensitization + Reprocessing - EMDRIA - 2020
Clinical Hypnotherapy Basic Training - Daybreak Institute - 2020
WildMind Training - Eco/Depth Psychology - Animas Institute - 2020 (On-going)
Dream Tending - Stephen Aizenstat - Pacifica Graduate Institute - 2020
Had a baby! - 2020 (on-going)
Depth Psychology Mastermind - Daybreak Institute - 2021
Clinical Hypnotherapy Advanced Training - Daybreak Institute - 2022
Externship - Emotionally Focused Therapy - Arkansas EFT - 2022
Core Skills - Emotionally Focused Therapy - Cambridge EFT - 2022/2023
breathwork mentorship w/ Ariana Fotinakis - 2023
breathwork facilitator training - rewild breathwork - 2024
emdr + psychedelic medicine integration consultation 2024 (on-going)
emdr + internal family systems integration 2024 (on-going)