Our Team

Tricia earned her B.Sc in Psychology and her M.Ed Counselling from UNBC in her home town of Prince George, BC.  She worked as a program coordinator in a street-level, non-profit organization that supported marginalized pregnant women and families as well as a Team Leader for Northern Health in detoxification and methadone maintenance programs. She is birth doula and has a keen focus on women’s perinatal mental health (infertility, assisted reproductive technology, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, post-partum, infant loss, and therapeutic terminations). She is working toward international certification in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples and is also adept at working with men who are struggling. She is sensitive to the unique needs and challenges of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals.

Tricia prioritizes trauma-informed practice with a focus on safe, person-centered, attachment-focused, emotion-focused therapy. Tricia is skillful at working with a variety of challenges such as mental illness, addictions, life transitions, grief and loss, trauma, self-worth, employment difficulties, and relationship challenges.  Her authentic, curious, and warm disposition creates a safe and enriching therapeutic experience for individuals and couples.

Olga is a long-time resident of Prince George. She had a successful career in the beauty industry for many years as a stylist, educator and eventually a salon owner. While honing her skills of creating relationships and connecting with clients, she realized her passion for helping people, not only on the outside, but more importantly, on the inside. Olga’s compassion and empathetic personality helped her create a safe space where clients would share. To this end, she felt compelled to want to help in a more meaningful way and her love of research led her to return to school. She decided to change careers and further her education, initially earning her Bachelor’s in English and completing a year of the Education program. This wasn’t quite the right fit, so she carried on and subsequently completed her MEd in Counselling at UNBC.

Olga has extensive experience in managing mental health and addictions. She has trained with Gabor Mate in Compassionate Inquiry. She has a person-centred, trauma-informed, narrative therapy approach with specialized training in Emotional Focused Therapy (attachment based) for individuals, couples, and family.

Olga is a dedicated professional, committed to helping her clients co-create healing and find peace so they are able to live their best life and reach their full potential.

Kiran has been a resident of Prince George her entire life and completed her BSc Psychology in 2018, at which time she began her MEd Counselling (both at UNBC). Her interest in mental health started from some of her volunteer roles and strengthened through additional experiences. She has experience as a former Crisis Line Worker at the Crisis Centre of Northern BC, a Peer Support Mentor at UNBC, and as a School Counsellor at Prince George Secondary School (for her practicum). Currently, she also volunteers at the Prince George Hospice Society and offers grief support. Furthermore, she has been involved in numerous research projects at UNBC and has been employed at the Prince George Public Library for over 8 years. Kiran also speaks 3 languages (English, Punjabi, and Hindi).

Kiran has experience working with adults of all ages, as well as youth (aged 9 and older). She practices an array of therapeutic methods and operates through a trauma-informed, person-centered lens. During sessions, she uses techniques drawn from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), as well as Crisis Counselling. In addition, she also has training for running a psychoeducational mindfulness group for teens. Regardless of the reason you are pursuing counselling, Kiran believes she can create a comfortable atmosphere, where the client is heard and has the freedom to lead the session if they choose, while she provides collaboration along with support.

My name is Callista Vagt and I am an advocate for destigmatizing mental health in our community. This involves not only supporting those that struggle to maintain good mental health, but also talking openly about the challenges. Additionally, I advocate for Prince George to support the arts, hiking and biking trails, and community events, all of which have been proven by research to create good mental health in a community. I have been working as a counsellor for 3 years but have had a lifetime of experience that has brought me to this place. I have a Bachelor of General Studies from Simon Fraser University, and I focused my studies on Learning Disabilities and History. I have been a teacher in our district for 17 years, often working with vulnerable youth and their families. I am currently working as a counsellor in our Alternative Community Programs.

I completed the Masters in Education Counselling at UNBC, studying under Dr. Linda O’Neill, an expert in trauma counselling. I was exceptionally grateful to be mentored in my 10-month practicum by both Dr Linda O’Neill and noted couple’s counsellor Dr. John Sherry. I worked with a variety of clients, including couples, and though I am not qualified to counsel couples yet, I have learned many tools that I apply in my practice daily.

I gravitate toward trauma survivors and their loved ones, likely because I have seen how difficult it can be to find adequate care, but I truly enjoy working with all humans. I keep myself mentally regulated with outdoor activities, an awareness of my own desire to help others, and a firm belief in brain plasticity, all concepts I love to share with my clients if they are curious.

I adhere to the Rogerian theory that states that “everyone is the expert in their own lives.” I direct my counselling approach to what works for my clients. That being said, I am especially excited to share concepts and theories from Emotionally Focused, Attachment, Narrative, Dialectical Behaviour, and Cognitive Behavioural Theories.

Being a survivor of my own mental health challenges allows me a unique perspective of what hope can look like and how to find it. No one is a problem to be fixed, no matter the past trauma or present issues. I hope to communicate this to every client I encounter and help them to develop their own self awareness and personal compassion.

Chelsea has worked as a licensed educator since 2009, working within the elementary school system supporting families who have children with special needs. Through this work, she focused on social-emotional learning and building rapport with students, staff and families.

Chelsea uses a trauma-informed and person-centered approach, with a focus on attachment style and family systems, to create a safe and therapeutic space for clients. Chelsea uses a variety of evidence-based techniques to help clients experiencing grief and loss, trauma, anxiety, depression, and/or relationship challenges.

Chelsea has a specific interest to support individuals (biological, adoptive, LGBTAIA2S+, and foster caregivers) in their pre and post-natal journey, especially those experiencing infertility, miscarriages, post-natal depression/anxiety, and infant loss.

Chelsea also has a keen interest to support individuals that are parents/legal guardians to children with special needs.

Ultimately, Chelsea believes that clients are the experts in their story, and she approaches each relationship with curiosity and respect, so clients feel heard and seen.

Cassidy grew up in Fraser Lake, B.C. and relocated to Prince George in 2015. After several years of working in the beauty industry, she discovered what she loved most was connecting with her clients and providing them a space to feel heard. This led Cassidy to pursue this atmosphere for individuals at a deeper level. She has earned a Diploma of Applied Psychology and Counselling and continues to become a Registered Professional Counsellor Candidate (RPC-C). 

When supporting individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, grief, loss, body image and eating challenges, Cassidy uses a person-centered, attachment, and emotion focused therapy approach. She prioritizes her relationship with clients and values autonomy, safety, and curiosity in sessions. Cassidy has taken additional training in working with clients who experience eating disorders, and plans on expanding her education in this area further. Cassidy works with individuals of all genders including the LGBTQIA2S+ community. 

Kim earned her B.A. in Psychology at Thompson Rivers University and her M.Ed. Counselling from the University of Northern BC.  Kim has worked in many roles supporting parents and their children.  Kim also has experience supporting adoptive families and families involved with MCFD.

Kim enjoys using creative modalities including play therapy and music therapy in working with children and youth.  She also has experience using art therapy with children, youth, and adults of all ages. She has broad knowledge of the struggles individuals experience when challenged by Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.  Kim works from a trauma-informed lens with a focus on culturally-sensitive, person-centered, strengths-based therapy.  Kim is skilled at providing support through many of life’s challenges such as parenting challenges, mental illness, working through trauma, and building confidence in employment, education, and other areas of life.

I have been a guest on Lheidli T’enneh territory (Prince George) since 2015. Since this time, I have been committed to learning about this place and building community, connecting especially with organizations providing low-barrier mental health and harm reduction supports to youth and adults. 

In my counselling practice, I strive to create a safe container for young people to explore themselves in relationship with their complex worlds. In my previous experience providing drop-in counselling services at Foundry Prince George, I supported youth to navigate a wide variety of life stressors and hard stuff, including challenges in relationships, grief and loss, identity formation, and overwhelming emotions or experiences. I am committed to honoring youths’ autonomy and strive to empower their own self-knowledge and meaning-making. I practice from a trauma-informed, person-centered perspective; while integrating an array of counselling strategies and philosophies, I am particularly interested in narrative therapies.  

Reaching out to connect with a counsellor or any kind of support is a brave and bold first step. If you think you might be interested in learning more about counselling and about me, I look forward to meeting you wherever you are at in your own process of discovery and unfolding. 

Gina Marie has worked in the mental health and addictions field in Toronto since 2009 and became a certified therapist in 2014. Gina Marie currently practices in Prince George and works full-time at UNBC as a counsellor supporting university-aged learners on their wellness journeys.
Gina Marie embodies an anti-oppressive, feminist, trauma-informed framework. Gina Marie works from a Rogerian, person-centered style, prioritizing the therapeutic relationship by creating safety and stabilization, and seeing and hearing clients as authentic beings. As your therapist, Gina Marie will strive to show up as her genuine and transparent self in session.
Gina Marie can also offer a narrative lens, such as a space to explore the kinds of stories that clients create about themselves in life and in relation to how others may perceive them, and opportunity to shift or rewrite these narratives so that clients can feel empowered and authentic in who they are.
Gina Marie’s style is not to provide answers or tell clients what to do, but to ask questions or provide feedback based on what clients share, that may offer space to process, validate and/or provide insight so that clients feel more capable to trust in their own strengths and decision-making skills.
Gina Marie is also interested in ecotherapy and art therapy and open to creating art during session alongside talk therapy or walk and talk appointments if that is a preference of the client.
Gina Marie believes that the goal in therapy is to support clients in becoming their own therapists outside of session.