**Currently offering online, telephone and in person sessions. Scroll to bottom of this page for the COVID-19 in person policy

Are you struggling and feeling stuck? Are you ready for a change?

I am here to help you.  My name is Sandy Maclean.  I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor and therapist in Nelson, BC.  I provide counselling and psychotherapy for adults, teens and couples in the Kootenays who are looking for support with stress, self esteem, relationship problems, anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, eating disorders and chronic pain.   You may have been handling things on your own or with the support of friends and family.  At a certain point you wonder if therapy would help.   

Many have a tendency to put off counselling for fear that it won't work for them, or because it can be awkward to take that first step.  I want to reassure you that in over 14 years of practice I have seen first hand that even the most painful, stuck patterns and emotions can be transformed to make way for a more joyful and fulfilling life.  Counselling is a very effective way to help expand on the things you have already tried to make a lasting change.    

Do any of these sound like you?

• Lack of enjoyment, fulfillment, energy or motivation in life

• Stuck in patterns of worrying, fear and stress that are hard to stop

• Having anxiety or fear that is stopping you from doing things that you want

• Lack of self-esteem or confidence in social situations

• Feeling lonely or isolated

• Intense feelings or anger, sadness or anxiety that are getting in the way

• Struggling in your relationship or marriage with negative cycles that feel hard to stop

• Experiencing a chronic pain condition that seems to get worse with stress

• Using food, alcohol, drugs or other behaviours to numb out or relieve your stress

• Thoughts of worthlessness or not wanting to be alive

• Excessive Dieting, food restriction, binging or binge/purging

I Can Help You...

• Recover from negative past experiences and move forward

• Reverse the negative cycle of depression, low energy and motivation and feel more alive again

• Sooth and reverse anxiety cycles so that you can feel relaxed and confident

• interrupt and transform negative thought patterns and negative core beliefs

• Address intense feelings and reactions at the root level so that emotions are more manageable

• Reverse negative relationship patterns that are getting in the way of feeling close and connected

• Feel motivated and inspired to take care of yourself and find balance with food and substances

• Get to the root causes of disordered eating so that a healthy relationship with food is possible again

• Learn healthy ways to identify and reduce your stress and reduce the intensity of any chronic pain

Individual Counselling can help

As your therapist, I will offer you a trusting and non-judgemental professional relationship to explore what changes you want to make.  I will help you discover what is strong and resilient in you.  Together we will build on those strengths to help you create the lasting shifts you are looking for.

My approach to counselling is client-centered and draws from many modalities.  We will explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  We will pay attention to automatic reactions, situations and experiences that seem to trigger you.  I will help you better understand these patterns and learn strategies to change these experiences.  

Couples/Marriage Counselling can help

Most people experience significant problems in their relationship for six years before considering marital/couples therapy. People sometimes think of counselling as a last resort, when it is in fact a great way to avoid ever getting to a last resort.  I help couples identify and make small and big changes to strengthen their connection and manage conflict in ways that bring them closer together rather than further apart over time.

Together we will identify and build on what works in your relationship.  We will explore concrete and specific things that each person can change about how they manage conflict and respond to each other to reverse negative cycles and get back to the connection and trust that was there before.  

Parent/Child Relationship Counselling Can Help

Parents and teens can also find themselves stuck in very negative cycles of relating.  Helping teens who are suffering with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or addictions can take different forms in counselling.  Sometime teens benefit from a one-to-one connection with their therapist and the counselling can look very similar to therapy with adults.  For teens still living at home, it is also often important to include some relationship/family counselling to help the dynamic at home be most supportive of moving forward in a positive direction.

Contact me for a free consultation

Click here for more information about my fees and how to reach me.  I can be reached by email at sandymaclean@gmail.com or phone at 250-509-1092.  I offer a free 20-minute initial meeting to help you get a sense of the process and my fit for you.

Covid-19 Policy

If you plan to attend in person, you are most welcome. Here are the steps. 

1. You understand that there are inherent risk for illness in coming and no protocol can control for all risks.

2. You and I both agree that we will shift to online session or cancel, even at very short notice, if you or I have even mild symptoms that may be signs of Covid-19 including: Fever, Cough, Chills, Shortness of breath, Sore throat or pain with swallowing, Stuffy or runny nose, Loss of sense of smell, Headache, Muscle aches, Fatigue and Loss of appetite. Cancellation fees will not be in effect for any cancellation due to illness.

3. You must also confirm that you have not been in contact with anyone displaying illness, or signs and symptoms of Covid-19 within 14 days prior to their treatment.

4. You will wait for your appointment outside of the building close by. I will text you when I am ready. That text will include a summary of 2. and 3. (above) to confirm you are symptom and exposure free right before the session.

5. You will then enter through the Kootenay st entrance and come straight to my office room. All doors will be open.

6. Please sanitize your hands as you enter building. There is a dispenser at the top of the stairs. There in more in my room if needed. 

7. Our chairs will be 6 feet apart.  A window will be open, so please dress accordingly. Come in and sit down. I will close the door for both of us. 

8. Your chair will be covered with a covering that is unique to you that you will put into a laundry bag when you leave. 

9. I will have disposable masks available for myself and/or you to wear if you wish for that option. Please tell me by text when I let you know I am ready if you want me to wear a mask. 

10. You will leave my building from the Baker St stairs. 

11. Minimize bringing any extra personal objects to the space. Please bring your own water/tea. 

12. Minimize the need for the bathroom please. I will have it available, of course, but there is no viable way to have it completely sterilized between each person in the building. There is hand sanitizer outside of the bathroom for use before and after. 

Sandy Maclean, MA, RCC.

415 Kootenay St. Room 102 (not for mailing)

Nelson, BC.

Telephone:250-509-1092

email: sandymaclean@gmail.com

©2020 by Sandy Maclean. All rights reserved.