Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) Therapists in Courtenay, BC
Annie Szalkai
Registered Psychotherapist
I work with adults from diverse backgrounds, supporting those navigating anxiety, stress, and self-esteem challenges. My approach is client-centred and integrative, drawing from CBT, ACT, EFIT, Solution-Focused Therapy, and more to meet each person’s unique needs.
Chantelle Vaz
Registered Psychotherapist
I offer a warm and collaborative space where you can explore your experiences with curiosity and care. My approach is rooted in empathy and authenticity, supporting you in understanding your story, building self-compassion, and creating meaningful change. I draw from narrative, attachment, and emotion-focused therapies to meet your unique needs.
Emma Laughlan
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I work with children (10+), teens, and adults who feel anxious, overwhelmed, or exhausted by the pressure to get everything “right.” You may be stuck in overthinking, people‑pleasing, panic symptoms, health anxiety, or relationship patterns that leave you doubting yourself. On the outside, you might appear high‑achieving and capable. Inside, you feel tense, self‑critical, or never quite enough.
Eleni Anagnosti
Pre-Licensed Professional, MS, HBA, BA
My approach is compassionate, culturally attuned, and collaborative. I draw from CBT, strengths-based, solution-focused, and trauma-informed approaches to support ADHD, anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, life transitions, and relationship patterns. Together, we focus on building practical tools, emotional balance, and a stronger sense of self-trust.
Sarah Perone
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I help individuals and couples break painful relationship cycles so they can feel more connected, secure, and confident. I support concerns like recurrent conflict, relationship anxiety (and ROCD), limerence, and resentment. Using an attachment- and evidence-based approach, I offer warm, non-judgmental virtual therapy across Ontario. Book a free 15-minute consultation to get started.
Abby Tait
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
You might come to therapy feeling stuck in familiar patterns - ways of coping, thinking, or relating that once made sense but now feel hard to shift. You may be thoughtful and self-aware, yet find yourself overthinking, avoiding certain emotions, or feeling disconnected from who you are or where you’re headed. Questions about identity, values, and purpose often sit quietly underneath these experi…
Katharine De Santos
Registered Psychotherapist
Healthy Minds Psychotherapy was founded in 2018 with the mission of providing psychotherapeutic care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, fostering resilience in each person and our community as a whole.
Dr. Erinn Bailey-Sawatzky
Psy.D, MACP, R.C.C., R.T.C, C.T at Country Counselling Services Camrose Alberta
Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D) Master of Arts Counselling Psychology (MACP) Registered Clinical Counsellor Registered Therapeutic Counsellor Counselling Therapist Offering individual and couples therapy, clinical counselling assessment, Insomnia treatment, Menopause support, ADHD and Autism Counselling, and more. For a full listing of services please visit WWW.COUNTRYCOUNSELLING.COM
Colombe Mazerolle
Licensed Counselling Therapist - C
Are you struggling with intense emotions that feel overwhelming, ongoing conflict or disconnection in relationships or feeling stuck in survival mode or repeating self-sabotaging patterns? I'm Colombe, therapist at Ember Counselling Therapy, and I help individuals and couples build emotional balance, heal from past pain, and create healthier relationships.
Maria Yaglovski
Registered Psychotherapist/ Canadian Certified Counsellor
Hi, I’m Maria, a Registered Psychotherapist and Canadian Certified Counsellor. I provide a supportive, non-judgmental space to explore patterns, beliefs, and challenges. Through mindfulness and evidence-based approaches, I help you gain clarity, shift perspective, and create meaningful, lasting change.
Mandeep Lalli
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Are you feeling anxious, overwhelmed or stuck? Maybe something feels wrong? I help people navigate anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and relationship struggles, with culturally sensitive care that honours your full background, including pressures others may miss. As a South Asian therapist who spent 15 years in the corporate world, I bring lived experience and real-world context to therapy.
Helen Beynon
Registered Clinical Counsellor, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
I help thoughtful women transform “never enough” into calm confidence. If you look successful on the outside yet secretly wrestle with self-doubt, people-pleasing, or exhaustion from trying to keep it all together, you’re not alone. You don't have to stay stuck - together we’ll turn survival patterns into sustainable self-trust so you can enjoy relationships, work, and your own company.
Sandra Daoust
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC) and Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling (MPCC-P)
You're not broken, and you don’t need fixing. At your core, you're whole. But life, trauma, loss, stress, and relationships can make you feel fragmented/out of alignment. My work is about helping you remember who you are beneath the layers: sovereign and capable of living an authentic life. My approach is collaborative to your unique lived experience. Healing is not linear, but it is possible.
Emma Hartley
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), BA (she, her)
Are you looking for a therapist that knows what it's like to feel lost or overwhelmed and how to find your footing again? Noticing yourself feeling more anxious, "just tired", and craving a space to slow down and reconnect with a sense of meaning or purpose? Trying to make sense of shifts in mood, questioning careers, exploring relationships, parenting and identity, or a major life transition?
Mackenzie Fournier
Registered Psychotherapist
Hi, I’m Mackenzie! I’m a Psychotherapist who loves keeping therapy real, down-to-earth, and practical. I help people untangle patterns around anxiety, food, and self-trust using tools grounded in science. In sessions, I bring my authentic self—you can expect a mix of support, guidance, and maybe a little humour when it feels right—so we can tackle challenges together without the extra pressure.
Maya Awad
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), ADHD-SP, HBSc (she, her)
Accepting NEW clients - Are you feeling overwhelmed or like you’re carrying a lot on your own? Feel like you're doing everything you’re “supposed to do,” but something still doesn’t feel right? Have a desire to better understand your thoughts, emotions, or patterns, work on building confidence or self-esteem, or find support for your relationship?
Stacy Kirkbride
Registered Psychotherapist, Recreation Therapist
I offer compassionate support for those living with chronic illness, pain, and post-injury life challenges. I specialize in helping you navigate the emotional and mental hurdles these bring. My goal is to help you reclaim your sense of self, cope with grief and loss, and rebuild your life with resilience and purpose. You're not alone--I'm here to support you every step of the way.
Sawah Danniels
Certified Canadian Counsellor
I'm a person-centred therapist. I offer an eclectic approach, preferring to find ways to work with who you are, how you exist in the world, and what you hope to achieve. I aim to create a cozy, comfortable and safer space for you to be yourself and get curious about what is coming up for you.
Alexandra Kozikova
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor RTC
I am a client-centered, trauma-informed counsellor who uses evidence-based approaches such as CBT, alongside mindfulness and relaxation techniques. With a compassionate and practical style shaped by both my professional and life experience, I support clients in understanding challenges, building skills, and creating lasting, meaningful change.
DeRoux Jones
Registered Psychotherapist
I’m DeRoux Jones, a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario with a Master of Counselling Psychology specializing in Marriage & Family Therapy. I serve individuals, couples, and families, helping with anxiety, depression, grief, relationships, and Christian counselling. My approach is collaborative, evidence-based, and client-centered, creating a safe space for growth and healing.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Acceptance and Commitment (ACT)
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
ACT (pronounced as the word "act") is a modern, evidence-based form of CBT that focuses on psychological flexibility — the ability to be present with difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them dictate your behaviour, and to take action aligned with your values even in the presence of discomfort. Rather than trying to eliminate negative thoughts or feelings, ACT teaches you to change your relationship with them so they have less control over your life.
How is ACT different from traditional CBT?
Traditional CBT aims to identify and change unhelpful thoughts — replacing distorted thinking with more balanced thinking. ACT takes a different approach: rather than changing the content of your thoughts, it changes your relationship to them through defusion (learning to observe thoughts rather than being fused with them) and acceptance (making room for difficult feelings rather than fighting them). ACT also places significant emphasis on values clarification and committed action toward what matters most to you.
What conditions does ACT treat?
ACT has a strong evidence base across a wide range of conditions including anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, substance use, eating disorders, PTSD, and workplace stress. It is particularly well-suited for people who have already tried to "think their way out" of mental health struggles without lasting success, and for chronic conditions where eliminating distress is not possible but improving quality of life is. ACT is also widely used for general personal growth and resilience building.
What does an ACT session involve?
ACT sessions use a combination of experiential exercises, metaphors, mindfulness practices, and values exploration. Common exercises include defusion techniques (creating distance from unhelpful thoughts, such as noticing "I'm having the thought that..."), acceptance practices (making room for difficult feelings without struggling against them), and values clarification (identifying what matters most and what you want your life to stand for). ACT is experiential rather than lecture-based — the work happens through doing, not just discussing.
How many ACT sessions are typically needed?
ACT is often delivered over 8–16 sessions for specific conditions, though it can be shorter or longer depending on the complexity of the presentation. Many people find ACT principles continue to deepen and benefit them long after formal therapy ends because the approach provides a general framework for living — not just a set of techniques for a specific problem. Between-session practice of ACT skills in daily life is an important part of the process.