READY FOR CHANGE?
LET’S TURN YOUR STORM INTO A STORY OF STRENGTH
Counselling in Victoria BC, Cobble hill BC & ONline
Gwendolyn Gentle, MSW (Cand.)
Practicum Student Counsellor
Accepting new individuals for counselling online across Canada.
Free 20 minute virtual consultations, Free 1st session & then $35 per session
(Under the direct supervision of Carla Mae Leuschen, RSW #14081)
“I will walk alongside you with presence, curiosity, & care, holding space for all of the parts of you that long to be seen & heard. Together, we will explore your story, gently release what no longer serves you & nurture healing relationships with yourself & the world around you.
May your days be kind to you; may you feel loved, secure, playful, honoured & cared for in everything you do. Thank you for being here.”
Individual Counselling: Free 1st session & then $35 per session.
Areas of focus
Trauma & PTSD
Attachment wounds & relational trauma
Healing from sexual violence & reclaiming intimacy after sexualized violence
Self-esteem, self-love, self-relationship
Relational repair & accountability practice
Breakups
Grief, loss, pet loss
My Approach
My approach is rooted in being present, listening, holding stories, bearing witness, and collaborating on how to navigate forward. I believe in the inherent strength and knowledge of every person. My role is to be a mirror, finding and reflecting back your light.
My practice is trauma-informed, somatically grounded, relational, and critically conscious. I move at the speed of trust. I honour your body’s wisdom, your heart’s intelligence, and all of the stories you carry. I welcome clients exploring trauma, desire, identity, intimacy, reparenting, grief, repair, and loss, in infinite relationship forms (with ourselves, our constellations of care, community, kinship networks, collective humanity, relationship with the Earth and with every living being).
I enjoy Gottman Method, Internal Family Systems, compassionate inquiry, somatic-, art-, and land-based practices, and am forever learning and open to exploration. I aim to support you in making sense of your experiences, recognizing and offering compassion for your protection strategies, releasing burdens you no longer wish to carry, and reconnecting (or discovering!) your favourite self. Together, we can create safety, empathy, and the chance to be witnessed. I yearn to see you flourish. I hope to grow with you as you cultivate your healing.
May your days be kind to you; may you feel loved, secure, playful, honoured, and cared for in everything you do. Chi-miigwech (big thank you) for being here.
My Story
Aanii (I see your light), my name is Gwendolyn. I am a student therapist completing my Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Wilfrid Laurier University. I am very excited to be here virtually for my placement at Strength in Heart Counselling under the supervision of Carla Mae, MSW. My learning focus is on trauma-informed and anti-oppressive practice, exploring modalities of Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), Compassionate Inquiry (CI), and somatic-based healing.
I hold 8 years of experience working in peer support, suicide and crisis intervention, sexual health education, survivor accompaniment, and training healthcare providers in responding to sensitive disclosures and navigating complex conflicts. I love bearing witness to and celebrating people’s strengths and stories. I gain wisdom from the knowledge-sharing of every person I work with.
I come to this work authentically through lived experience, my own survival story, and the survival stories of my community. I enter this space as a white, queer settler of Scottish, Welsh, French, and British ancestry. I was born on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, and am grateful to currently live on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Chonnonton, and Haudenosaunee peoples in what is colonially known as Kitchener, Ontario. Relational accountability and Indigenist Indigenizing are central in my work. Healing, to me, requires community care, and I strongly believe that no one should ever have to go through anything alone. In my own journey as a service user, I have explored CBT, DBT, PET, EMDR, IFS, somatic-based practices, and am now delving into art and nature-based practices. I find immense healing in connecting with the wisdom of the body, relational care, and the beauty of nature. I am grateful, honoured, and humbled to walk alongside others on their unique healing paths.
Education & Training
Currently enrolled in a Master of Social Work (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Counselling Skills for Mental Health Certificate (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Levels 1 and 2 (The Gottman Institute)
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST+; LivingWorks)
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology and Life Sciences (Queen’s University)