About
Hi, I'm Parsa.
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor working with adults and couples in Port Coquitlam and online across British Columbia, in English and Farsi.
Therapy works because of the relationship, not the technique
Decades of research keep landing on the same unglamorous finding: the biggest predictor of whether therapy helps is the quality of the working relationship between the two people in the room. Not the model. Not the credentials on the wall. The fit.
That shapes how I work. I am not interested in performing expertise at you. I am interested in building a space where you can say the actual version of something, the one you have edited out of every other conversation, and have it met with curiosity rather than alarm or advice.
You are not a problem to be solved. You are a person who has been coping with something, in the ways that were available to you.
Two languages, and what that changes
I offer counselling in English and in Farsi, and I welcome people from every cultural background. Working in someone's first language changes what becomes sayable. The word that actually carries the feeling often has no clean equivalent, and having to translate it first puts a small distance between you and the thing you came in to talk about.
It also means the parts of a life shaped by family, culture or faith can simply be present in the room without being explained from scratch. Whether any of that matters to you is entirely yours to decide. It is simply available.
The toolkit
Integrative and eclectic, on purpose
Therapy here is not limited to a single method. I draw from a range of established approaches depending on what is most likely to help you, not on which one I happen to prefer.
-
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Mapping the loop between thought, feeling and behaviour, then testing whether the beliefs driving it hold up.
-
Mindfulness-based practice
Noticing what is happening in the body early enough to have a choice about what happens next.
-
Trauma-informed care
Safety and pacing before content. You are never required to retell more than you choose to.
-
Motivational interviewing
For the part of you that wants to change something and the part that does not, without taking sides against either.
-
Narrative therapy
Examining the story you were handed about who you are, and who got to write it.
-
Person-centred therapy
You are the authority on your own life. My job is to make it easier to hear yourself think.
-
Solution-focused work
Starting from what already works, on the days it works, and doing more of that on purpose.
Questions
Good things to ask a counsellor
What are your qualifications?
I hold a Master's degree in Counselling and a Bachelor's in Psychology, and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. RCC registration requires master's-level education, supervised clinical hours and ongoing continuing education.
Are sessions confidential?
Yes. What you say in session stays in session, with the narrow legal exceptions every counsellor in BC is bound by: risk of serious harm to yourself or another person, suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, and a court order. I walk through these in the first session so nothing is a surprise.
How often would we meet?
Most people start weekly or every other week, then space sessions out as things settle. There is no minimum commitment and no package to buy. We decide the rhythm together and adjust it as needed.
Do you work with men?
Yes. Roughly one in six counsellors in this region is male, and some men find it easier to talk about anger, pressure or shame with a male counsellor. If that matters to you, it is a legitimate preference.
You do not have to know what to say yet.
A free 15-minute call is just a conversation. No cost, no commitment. If I am not the right fit, I will help you find someone who is.