Karen Mitchinson (she/her)

MA, RCC-ACS

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Karen is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with more than 30 years experience working with children and youth, families, and adults. She has expertise in mental health, trauma treatment, autism, addiction, families (foster, adoption, separation, and divorce) and life transitions.

Karen has experienced the amazing capacity we all have for growth and healing. The process of creating a therapeutic relationship through the counselling process opens the opportunity to experience our inner strength and resilience. 

In the last decade our society has gained a greater understanding about the role of the brain in our capacity for healing. Through therapy, Karen works with her clients to take advantage of the brain’s neuroplasticity to create change, heal, build greater resilience, move from distress to regulation, and from sadness and grief to acceptance.

Karen brings a variety of life experiences to her work. She has lived and worked across Canada and spent decades in the Northern Canada. She has worked in Child and Youth Mental Health for about 20 years and adult mental health for 15 years including within post secondary counselling department.

FOCUS

Karen understands that therapy needs to start with a trusting, strong, and safe therapeutic relationship. She offers an integrative approach to counselling with each individual based on their unique needs. Karen believes in each individual’s inner strength and wisdom.

Karen uses evidence based therapeutic modalities in her work with her clients, such as:

  • Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Somatic Body processing
  • Solution Focused Therapy
  • Emotionally-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) 
  • Expressive Therapies: Art therapy, Sand – tray and Play Therapy.
  • Synergetic Play Therapy
  • Certified Clinical Supervisor for BC Association of Clinical Counsellors.

Karen's Profile

Location Vancouver, BC
Ages 5 - 30
Specialties
  • Anxiety/ADHD
  • Depression
  • Trauma
  • Mood issues
  • Addiction
  • Grief & Loss
  • Autism
  • Life Transition
  • Voice of the child reports
  • Reunification
  • ACES - Adverse early childhood experiences
Qualifications Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology (MA)
Master’s Degree in Integrated Recovery of Co-occurring Disorders
Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)
BOOK NOW

Complimentary 15 minute consultation.

Approach

Karen  provides counselling to children, adults, and families.  She offers Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to explore how thoughts and emotions can impact overall well-being, as well as improve interconnectivity between mind, body, and relationships. This approach can be used for children and adults. She uses Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) to support parents/caregivers and families to identify, cope with, regulate, and transform their emotions with the hope of improving relationships with themselves and their loved ones. She offers EMDR and Somatic Body Experiencing for trauma treatment,

Karen uses expressive therapy approaches with children and youth and families.

Fees

Complimentary 15 minute phone consultations

$170 per 50 minute session for individuals

$200 per 50 Minute Session for couples or family

Payment in the form of credit card or email transfer is due at the end of each session unless other arrangements have been made. Please note that 2 business days notice is required to cancel a scheduled appointment to avoid being charged the full session fee. Some third party payment plans such as Extended Health Care Insurance and Employee/Family Assistance Programs pay partial or total coverage for counselling services. Please follow up with your benefits plan/health care provider.

Accepts CVAP, First Nations Health Authority, WorkBC, Autism Funding.