Strength in Heart Counselling

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Strength in Heart Counselling We're here to help, no matter where you are, or what your budget is!

A team of counsellors in Victoria & Mill Bay, BC & online across Canada who support individuals (ages 13+) couples & families to transform their pain into strength.

10/20/2026

Meet Brooke Halling, RCC.

Before becoming a counsellor, Brooke taught in elementary and high schools. She has seen how anxiety, ADHD, autism and social struggles show up in a student's day, and how they spill into friendships, grades and family life.

Now she helps teens (13+) and adults build practical skills they can use the next day at school or work. Her main approach is CBT, and she's also a certified PEERS® provider, a social skills program developed at UCLA for teens and young adults.

Brooke sees clients at our Victoria office on Fort Street and online across BC, and she's accepting new clients. Parents, you're welcome to book the free 20-minute consult to talk about what your teen is going through.

Read more about Brooke: https://www.strengthinheart.ca/blog/2026/10/19/meet-brooke-halling-teacher-counsellor-victoria

If thinking harder were going to solve it, you probably would have solved it by now. Overthinking often disguises itself...
10/18/2026

If thinking harder were going to solve it, you probably would have solved it by now. Overthinking often disguises itself as problem-solving.
But there is a difference between thinking that moves you toward clarity and thinking that keeps circling the same question.

When you notice yourself looping, try asking:

Is there actually a decision I need to make right now?
If yes, identify the smallest decision available.
If no, ask: Am I searching for certainty that may not be available?

Then shift from:
“What if this happens?”
to
“What would I do if it did?”

If overthinking regularly takes up significant time, affects sleep, or makes everyday decisions feel exhausting, therapy can help explore the patterns underneath it.

You’re irritated by things that never used to bother you.You feel less patient, less affectionate, or more emotionally d...
10/16/2026

You’re irritated by things that never used to bother you.
You feel less patient, less affectionate, or more emotionally distant.
You keep thinking about old arguments that never really felt resolved.

Sometimes, the issue isn’t what happened today. It’s everything that has been building underneath it.

Resentment can develop when hurt, disappointment, unmet needs, or unfairness go unaddressed for too long. It doesn’t always look like obvious anger either. It can show up as withdrawal, criticism, sarcasm, or simply feeling disconnected from someone you care about.

For some people with ADHD, boredom can feel intensely uncomfortable. Low-stimulation tasks may make it harder to stay fo...
10/15/2026

For some people with ADHD, boredom can feel intensely uncomfortable. Low-stimulation tasks may make it harder to stay focused, motivated, or mentally engaged.

That can lead to:

Putting things off until they feel urgent
Constantly switching tasks
Reaching for your phone
Needing background stimulation
Struggling with repetitive routines

Sometimes the challenge is less about “trying harder” and more about how the brain responds to stimulation and reward. Understanding your patterns can make it easier to build strategies that actually work for you.

Sometimes the issue is not only the conflict. It is the pattern around it.Avoiding hard conversations.Getting defensive....
10/11/2026

Sometimes the issue is not only the conflict. It is the pattern around it.

Avoiding hard conversations.
Getting defensive.
Shutting down.
Repeating the same argument without resolution.

If communication feels stuck, therapy can help you understand the cycle and create more productive ways of responding to each other. Book a consultation to learn more about how couples therapy can support your relationship.

Meet Adria Lipsett, RCC, now seeing clients at our Mill Bay office in the Mill Bay Shopping Centre.Adria believes humour...
10/10/2026

Meet Adria Lipsett, RCC, now seeing clients at our Mill Bay office in the Mill Bay Shopping Centre.

Adria believes humour and lightness belong in therapy, and she makes room for both while doing the deeper work. She has a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and her background includes horticulture and growing up on the West Coast, where the forests have long grounded her. She is a mother, and she has her own experience of trauma and loss, which is part of why she meets each person’s story with respect and curiosity.

Her approach is intuitive and creative. It rests on narrative therapy and person-centred care, delivered in a trauma-informed way, with parts work, inner child work, somatic practices, mindfulness and nature-based elements added when they suit the client.

Clients come to her for depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, shame and guilt, burnout, boundaries and life transitions.

Adria is accepting new individual clients (age 14+) and couples, in person at Suite 368, 2720 Mill Bay Road, or online across Canada.

Individual sessions are $150 and couples sessions are $185. The first step is a free 20-minute consultation, and direct billing to extended health is available.

Read the full post and book here: https://www.strengthinheart.ca/blog/2026/10/7/counselling-in-mill-bay-bc-with-adria-lipsett-rcc

Have you already had tomorrow’s conversation 14 times in your head?Mental rehearsal can feel productive because your bra...
10/08/2026

Have you already had tomorrow’s conversation 14 times in your head?

Mental rehearsal can feel productive because your brain is trying to prepare for every possible outcome. But eventually, preparation can turn into rumination.

Try this instead:

1. Decide what you actually want to communicate. Reduce the conversation to one or two key points.
2. Separate preparation from prediction. You can decide what you want to say. You cannot control how the other person will respond.
3. Give yourself permission to respond in real time. You do not need a perfectly prepared answer for every possible reaction.
4. Notice what you are trying to prevent. Are you afraid of being misunderstood? Rejected? Criticized? Seen as difficult?

Sometimes the rehearsal is less about the conversation itself and more about trying to eliminate emotional risk.

Sometimes the hardest part of setting a boundary is what happens afterward.You might replay the conversation.Wonder if y...
10/06/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of setting a boundary is what happens afterward.

You might replay the conversation.
Wonder if you were too harsh.
Feel responsible for the other person’s disappointment.
Think about taking the boundary back just to relieve the discomfort.

It can happen when you are used to keeping the peace, accommodating other people, or measuring whether you did the “right” thing by how comfortable everyone else feels.

A few reminders for the aftermath:

Your discomfort does not automatically mean you made the wrong decision.
Someone being disappointed does not necessarily mean you were unkind.
You can care about another person’s feelings without changing your boundary to manage them.
And you do not have to immediately fix the tension created by saying no.

Sometimes growth looks like allowing the discomfort to exist long enough to learn that you can tolerate it.

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Victoria, BC

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

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