Lauren Phelan

BA, MA, Registered Clinical Counsellor

Lauren Phelan

Lauren Phelan is not accepting new clients

Lauren (she/her) works to nurture a warm and collaborative relationship with clients, bringing a trauma-informed and intersectional feminist approach to counselling. Lauren believes that the quality of our relationships impacts the quality of our lives, and she draws on attachment theory to help explore the ways in which our network of relationships shape us throughout life.

Lauren is passionate about supporting clients navigating relationships, sexuality, life transitions, and identity development. She actively tailors her therapeutic approach to meet the unique needs and goals of each person she works with, drawing on existential and experiential therapies in combination with practical cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness-based tools to support self-discovery, healing, and growth.

Lauren holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from UBC and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. She is also a registered provider with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and is a Certified Complex Trauma Treatment Level II Professional (CCTP-II). Lauren’s clinical experience has led her to work in non-profit, educational, and community settings with adolescents, adults, and intimate relationships. When she’s not at Peak, Lauren works at a small non-profit supporting kids and families moving through the foster care system.

booking@laurenphelan.com

Lauren’s informed consent form can be found here.

Sexuality and sexual identity
Relationships and alternative relationship structures
Trauma
Life transitions
Anxiety
Depression
Reproductive mental health
Grief and Loss
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Existential Therapy
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
Mindfulness and body integration
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

What experience or background do you bring to your counselling and supervision practice that is uniquely yours?

I’ve learned that counselling is most effective when clients feel like they can fully be themselves. It’s also easier to connect with our intuition when we feel uninhibited, so it’s important to me to create a space where clients feel like they can bring out the candid, spontaneous, and raw sides of themselves.

What is your favourite thing about working closely with people every day?

It’s amazing to witness someone discover an ‘aha moment’ that entirely shifts their perspective about a situation or about how they understand themselves. These moments are hugely powerful and can create permanent change. Being present for these moments gives me so much energy and fuels my love for this work.

What is a personal challenge that you have overcome in your own life?

As a former people pleaser and a sensitive person, I struggled with setting boundaries and saying ‘no’ for a lot of my life. Learning to feel comfortable setting and maintaining clear boundaries has actually allowed me to feel more generous with my time and energy, and keeps me more connected to my own intuition and my needs.

What have you learned from your work?

I am constantly struck by our capacity for resilience and the shared humanity at the heart of all of our struggles.

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