Andréa Dorrans, Student Counsellor

Andréa Dorrans, Student Counsellor (she/her)

AREAS OF FOCUS:

• Trauma and Post-Traumatic Growth

• Anxiety and Social Anxiety 

• Burnout 

• Grief and Loss 

• Relationships and Attachment Patterns 

• Chronic Illness and Disability 

• Perimenopause and Life Transitions 

• Neurodivergence 

• Belonging and Identity

THERAPY MODALITIES:

• Trauma Informed 

• Somatic Approaches 

• Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) 

• Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT informed) 

• Narrative Therapy (Informed) 

• Existential Therapy (informed)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT informed)

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH Andréa

Many of my clients are creative, insightful people who feel exhausted, isolated, or unfulfilled  after years of trying to conform. Over time, they have learned to edit or minimize themselves to stay safe or accepted. When you share your story, I consider both the wider context and your  unique patterns: how struggle can reflect a mismatch between a person and the systems  around them, and how your coping strategies have helped you and what they have cost you. 

As your therapist, I show up as an authentic person. I’m present and curious, and willing to name what I notice, at a pace that supports your safety and self-trust. I’m interested in work that is felt, and happens in real time. 

Often, meaningful change can look like bringing forward the parts of your story that have been  concealed, including beliefs and feelings that may have felt too tender, unsafe, or complicated to name. When we make space for what has been guarded and explore it with care, the relief can be palpable. Sometimes it’s even joyful. 

With time, our work together can support you to live more fully, for yourself and in your  relationships.

Andréa’S EXPERIENCE & TRAINING

I am currently completing my Master’s in Counselling Psychology at City University and am a  student counsellor in practicum under the supervision of Sarah Pullman. 

I bring years of counselling experience in community settings, including as a volunteer  counsellor at Citizens’ Counselling Centre in Victoria and in youth-focused crisis support,  helping young people through acute distress. These roles shaped my commitment to ethical  practice and my belief that meaningful change can occur even in brief moments of feeling  connected and understood. 

Outside of clinical training, I draw from lifelong personal practices in yoga and meditation.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

I bring much lived experience to my therapeutic practice. While each person’s story is unique, my own includes chronic illness, grief and loss, and surviving interpersonal violence. It also includes post-traumatic growth and embracing my neurodivergent identity. 

In my personal life, I cherish connections with loved ones, all forms of art, deep rest, and simple  pleasures. I find solace and celebration in nature, play and beauty in creative expression,  comfort and joy in my chosen and inherited family, and great pleasure in doing very little. I adore  nothing more than reading a novel in a sunbeam with my darling cat, ZaZa.

FEES

Individual sessions with Andréa are $70 per 50-minute session. Limited sliding scale spots may be available, please inquire.

HOURS

Andréa is available in person on Sunday afternoon/evening, Friday afternoon/evening, and virtually on Mondays from 9-3.

Education and Professional Development:

• Master’s in Counselling Psychology, City University (in progress) 

• AEDP Immersion (April 2026)

• Citizens Counselling Centre Training Program (2023)

• Mental Health First Aid (2023) 

• Indigenous Perspectives Training (2023) 

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) (2022)

• Anti-Racism Response Training (ART) (2021)

• Suicide Prevention (QPR Gatekeeper) (2021)

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All of the counsellors at Bodymind Counselling gratefully live and practice on the lands of Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.