Mindfulness Therapy in Surrey BC
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Maybe your thoughts race at night, replaying conversations or rehearsing worries. Maybe you move through whole days on autopilot, reacting before you have a chance to choose. Or maybe you have tried meditation apps and found that sitting alone with your thoughts felt more overwhelming than calming.
Mindfulness based therapy offers something different: a way to build a steadier relationship with your own mind, with a counsellor alongside you, at a pace that fits.
What Is Mindfulness Based Therapy?
Mindfulness based therapy is counselling that weaves mindfulness, paying attention to the present moment with openness and without harsh judgment, into the therapeutic work itself. Clinicians sometimes call this family of approaches mindfulness based interventions.
Rather than a meditation class, it is psychotherapy. A trained counsellor helps you notice thoughts, emotions, and body sensations as they happen, so you can respond to them with more choice and less automatic reactivity. Over time, many clients find they can observe a difficult thought, I always get this wrong, without being swept away by it.
Research reviews suggest mindfulness based approaches can offer moderate improvements in anxiety, stress, and low mood for many people. Like any therapy, they help some people more than others, which is why at Sojourn mindfulness is integrated into counselling that is tailored to you rather than delivered as a one size fits all program.
What It Is Not
Mindfulness based therapy is not a religious practice, and it is not simply being told to relax or clear your mind. It is not an app, a retreat, or a wellness class. Those can be valuable, but they are not individualized clinical care.
It also is not a replacement for medical or psychiatric care. Mindfulness based counselling can work well alongside care from your doctor, and decisions about medication always belong with your prescriber.
And it is not MBCT or MBSR. Those are specific eight week group programs with their own structure and training requirements, which Sojourn does not currently run. What we offer is mindfulness integrated into one on one counselling, where the practices can be shaped around your history, your goals, and your comfort.
Not sure whether mindfulness based therapy fits what you are going through? That is a normal question to bring to a first session, and our counsellors will be honest with you about fit.
Concerns Where Mindfulness Informed Counselling May Help
Counsellors at Sojourn may draw on mindfulness when working with everyday stress and overwhelm, racing or self critical thoughts, difficulty managing strong emotions, burnout, sleep disrupting worry, and the general sense of living on autopilot.
If you are seeking help for a specific concern, our condition focused pages are the best starting point: anxiety counselling, depression therapy, and PTSD therapy. Mindfulness may be one thread of that work. Your counsellor will help you find the right combination.
What a Session Might Look Like
There is no single script, but sessions often include short, guided practices woven into ordinary conversation. Your counsellor might invite you to pause and notice what is happening in your body as you describe a stressful situation. You might practise following the breath for two minutes, or, if that feels uncomfortable, anchoring attention on sounds in the room or your feet on the floor. You might learn to name emotions as they arise, or to watch a worry come and go like weather.
You will never be asked to sit in silence for an hour. Most practices are brief, practical, and adjusted in the moment based on what you notice.
If Mindfulness Has Felt Difficult Before
For some people, especially those carrying trauma, turning attention inward can bring up more than it settles. Closing your eyes or focusing on the breath can feel activating rather than calming. This is a real and well recognized experience, not a personal failure.
This is exactly where working with a trauma informed counsellor matters. Practices can be shortened, done with eyes open, anchored outside the body, or set aside entirely for a while. You stay in choice throughout, and your counsellor paces the work with you. The same flexibility applies if you are neurodivergent and classic meditation instructions have never fit how your attention works. Mindfulness at Sojourn is adapted to your mind, not the other way around.
If trauma is the main concern bringing you in, our trauma therapy pages describe approaches designed specifically for that work.
How It Fits With Other Therapies
Mindfulness rarely works alone at Sojourn. It is usually integrated with the approach that fits you best. It pairs naturally with cognitive behavioural therapy, where noticing thoughts is the first step to working with them. It is one of the core skill areas taught in DBT informed therapy, and a central process in acceptance and commitment therapy. Clients doing EMDR or somatic therapy often find mindfulness skills support the grounding and awareness those therapies draw on.
Your counsellor will be transparent about what they are drawing on and why. And if a different approach or service would serve you better, they will say so.
Counsellors Who Work With Mindfulness
Loretta Thorgeirson, MEd, RCC
Incorporates mindfulness based techniques alongside CBT, EMDR, and play based approaches. She works with children, youth, and adults, and brings particular experience supporting neurodivergent clients, including adapting mindfulness so it works for different kinds of minds.
Jonathan Wieser, MA, RCC, RMFT
Draws on mindful, present moment awareness within emotionally focused and trauma informed work with individuals, couples, and families.
Katherine Ouano, MEd, RCC
Teaches mindfulness skills as a core part of DBT informed therapy, with formal DBT training and extensive experience with children, youth, and families, including evening and weekend availability.
Tarnia Pickard, RCC
Integrates mindfulness skills from DBT alongside EMDR, IFS, and expressive approaches in her work with children, youth, and families.
Alexandra DeFazio, MEd
Associate Therapist. Works with acceptance and commitment therapy and somatic approaches, where mindfulness and present moment awareness are central to the work.
Counselling at Sojourn is provided by Registered Clinical Counsellors and supervised associate therapists.
Not sure who fits? Answer a few questions in our Find a Counsellor tool, or browse all counsellors. Lower cost sessions with our supervised interns are also available through low cost counselling.
In Person in Surrey or Online Across BC
Sessions are available in person at our Cloverdale office, Unit 211, 17696 65A Avenue, Surrey, BC, serving Surrey, Cloverdale, and Langley, and by secure video across British Columbia. Mindfulness informed counselling translates well to online sessions, and many clients appreciate practising in their own space.
Related pages: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy · DBT Therapy · Acceptance and Commitment Therapy · Somatic Therapy · Anxiety Counselling · Depression Therapy · PTSD Therapy · EMDR · Online Therapy
Take the Next Step
You do not need to arrive calm, experienced, or sure this is the right approach. That is what the work is for.
Book an appointment online, or find a counsellor whose experience and availability fit your needs. If you are unsure where to start, contact us and we can help you find a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mindfulness Based Therapy
Is mindfulness based therapy just meditation?
No. Meditation is one way of practising mindfulness, but in therapy the emphasis is on working with a counsellor to notice what is happening in your thoughts, emotions, and body, often in short, guided, practical ways, and connecting that awareness to the concerns that brought you in.
Do I need any meditation experience?
None at all. Everything is guided, brief, and adjusted to you. Having found meditation difficult before is common, and useful information for your counsellor, not a barrier.
Do you offer formal MBCT or MBSR programs?
MBCT and MBSR are structured eight week group programs with their own training requirements, and Sojourn does not currently run them. Our counsellors integrate mindfulness into individual counselling, which allows the pace and practices to be tailored to you. If a structured group program is what you are looking for, we are glad to help you think through options.
What if mindfulness makes me feel worse?
That is a real experience, especially for people carrying trauma. In session, practices are adapted: brief, eyes open, anchored in the room rather than the body, and you are always free to stop. Pacing this with you is part of your counsellor’s job.
Can mindfulness based therapy replace medication or medical care?
No. It can work alongside care from your doctor or psychiatrist, and decisions about medication belong with your prescriber. If you are in crisis or at immediate risk, please contact 911 or call or text 988 rather than waiting for a counselling appointment.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no fixed number. Some clients find a few sessions of skill building helpful; others weave mindfulness into longer term counselling. You and your counsellor will review what is helping as you go.
Is online mindfulness counselling effective?
Many clients find video sessions work well for this approach. Practices are simple to guide over video, and you get to practise in the environment where you will actually use the skills.