Name: Jess Andrews
Title: Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC #11254672) - Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy
Credentials: Master’s degree in psychotherapy; Undergraduate degree in nursing
Services Offered: Counselling, Academic Coaching
Client Focus: Individual adults and teens (ages 16+)
How would you explain your style and approach to therapy when working with clients?
It has been my experience that hope is powerful and change is possible. When people feel safe, seen, and connected, there is an innate capacity for healing and transformation to emerge. My goal is to offer you a skilled and compassionate presence to support your brave work of healing and growth.
My counselling approach draws inspiration from various modalities including embodiment, internal family systems, mindfulness, emotion-focused, grief support, solution-focused, narrative, and spiritually-integrated lenses. I have community experience with 2SLGBTQ+, trans, and non-binary folks, and I strive to provide culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and holistic care.
What training and expertise do you bring to your sessions?
My master’s degree is in psychotherapy with a certificate in multi-faith spiritual care from Knox College at the University of Toronto. With a background in hospital and university chaplaincy, my training in spiritually-integrated psychotherapy means that I have some familiarity with a broad range of spiritual traditions and that I am equipped to integrate my clients’ faith and spiritual beliefs into the counselling process if that feels important for them.
My professional background includes healthcare, outdoor education, and faith-based roles. My first career was as a Registered Nurse in rural emergency care, perinatal health, and advanced clinical practice in a Little Red River Cree community in northern Alberta. I have provided multi-faith spiritual care in hospital settings and I also work as a university chaplain.
My life experiences make me uniquely positioned to offer counselling in grief/loss, crises of faith, emotional dysregulation, perinatal support, coping with concussion symptoms, chronic or complex health issues, and trauma-informed care. I make it my priority to understand each client and meet them where they are in order to offer meaningful support at any stage of life.
Additional training:
• Clinical Supervision in Internal Family Systems
• Clinical Embodiment course with Dr. Hillary McBride
• Mental Health First Aid (Canadian Mental Health Association)
• Non-Violent Communication
• Listening Circle Facilitation
• Enneagram in Spiritual Companionship
• Childbirth doula
Outside of your therapist role, what are some ways in which you express your uniqueness as a person?Outside of work, I enjoy reading, yoga, and mountain biking with my husband and three kids. You might encounter me cheering wildly at one of their soccer matches!
Favourite Quote:
“Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.”
― Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen