Hello! It's important for the success of your counselling experience to feel a sense of connection with the counsellor you choose to work with, and to resonate with how they work, so I'm glad you're taking the time to read a little bit more about me.

Photo thanks to David Seath Photography

Professionally, I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor in private practice and I work with both individuals and couples, either by phone, Zoom, or in person in Victoria, BC. (*due to Covid-19, in-person sessions are currently not available.)

I identify as a cis-gender white settler woman with mainly British heritage, and feel grateful to call the unceded territory of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples home.  I am sensitive and perceptive, and use an appropriate balance between support and challenge, depending on the needs of the person I am working with. I love connecting with and supporting my clients in their healing and growth, and I count being able to help facilitate and witness deep and healing changes in others as one of the foundational blessings of my life.

I work with people who are struggling with issues related to:

My Journey:

My formal studies in both education and counselling and my deep interest in the subject of healing have led me down many roads of learning about personal and relationship wellness.

Photo thanks to David Seath Photography

I was a young person with a high level of sensitivity, and as such I was interested in psychology, healing, and spirituality from the time I was 12 years old. My first real experience of inner transformation and unfolding came at the age of 15, when I attended a very powerful youth leadership camp. (If you’re curious, or you know a teen who might benefit, check out the camp’s current incarnation at www.theyes.ca.) There I both witnessed and experienced the potential of humans to heal and grow through developing self-awareness, cultivating honest and heart-centered relationships, and stepping outside of our comfort zones.

A new way of being in the world, different than what I had experienced in my family or at school, was shown to me there, and I was hooked! I remained connected to that camp for another 20 years as a facilitator and leader, during which time I also began to study other avenues of healing and growth.

The long and varied healing journey I continue to pursue has helped me find a deeper peace and contentedness within myself and in the world. I have learned how to feel more peaceful with and connected to friends and family, how to be more in touch with my intuition, and how to develop the inner resources to better handle my high level of sensitivity and the inevitable stresses in life.

My journey has also given me the tools to navigate the inevitable challenges that come up in relationships and in life with more ease and grace.

And--I’m still learning! I am truly grateful for the continued opportunities to learn from life, and for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with others when it is helpful.

I am grateful for the inspiration and learning I receive daily from the other therapists, healers, teachers, alternative health practitioners, and entrepeneurs I have in my life.

And, on a more personal note, I feel extremely blessed to live, work, and play on the lands of the Coast Salish people and in my time off I enjoy walking and beach time with my dog, hiking, swimming outdoors, and, during non-Covid times, yin yoga, 5 Rhythms dance, kirtan, satsang, poetry, live music, and connecting with friends and community. 

My Counselling Practice:

In my counselling practice I use a holistic, client-centred, psycho-educational and somatic approach informed by attachment theory, research pertaining to trauma,  and internal family systems, and also influenced by the practices of cognitive/behavioral, transpersonal, and mindfulness-based counselling.

You may be wondering what that means in layperson’s terms...the next paragraphs may help!

The heart of my training and the essence of what I use in my practice has been developed over time, mostly through my own explorations in personal and spiritual growth such as the healing ceremonies I have been blessed to participate in, my time spent doing meditation retreats, my learning with Michele Ley, a very gifted energy healer and spiritual teacher, my hours and days of dancing the 5 Rhythms (a form of movement meditation), and other practices such as yin yoga, Byron Katie’s The Work, dreamwork, etc. 

I would also like to acknowledge some of the many other teachers that I have learned from over the years:  Adyashanti, Jeannie Zandi, Adam Chacksfied, Carly Forest, Daniel Foor, Natalie Rousseau, and Toko-pa Turner...and of course the exquisite poet-teachers Mary Oliver, David Whyte, John O'Donohue, Rilke, and others. 

The experiences, practices, and teachers named above have all informed my own continually evolving mindfulness practice and understanding of healing, both of which inform my counselling practice, in which I integrate the mind, body, and spirit as appropriate with the particular client I’m working with.

I have an M. Ed in Counselling from the University of Victoria and am a Registered Clinical Counsellor through the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. *

I have completed a 2 year training in a somatically-oriented, attachment-based approach to healing complex trauma with Lisa Mortimore, Ph.D called Bringing the Body into Practice, and have been blessed to be one of the assistants in one of the current cohorts.  

I also have ongoing interest, experience, and training in:

I incorporate as appropriate an awareness of family systems, and genetic and ancestral heritage/intergenerational trauma.  I also work with an awareness of our sociopolitical context, and the current environmental and global circumstances, and how these things are adding to and inextricably linked with our collective and personal distress. 

I have spent the last 35 years studying and working with both children and adults in various settings, including schools, camps, leadership seminars, university, and community agencies. I love working with people who are looking for ways to reduce their stress and find deeper happiness, peace, and purpose in their lives and their relationships.

For more information about my counselling services, or for a free 20 minute phone consultation, please email .

To your wellness,

Tamara Mortimer

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