
Janèle Lajoie
About Me
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). I hold a Diploma in Intercultural Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from the University of Victoria, as well as a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. I have worked in various roles in the social services sector for ten years before beginning my career as a clinical counsellor, including immigration, disability support, outreach counselling, cultural safety, social work and case management. In my free time, I love exploring the outdoors with my dog, visiting local farmer’s markets, coffee shops and bakeries, listening to music, reading, painting, watching movies and series, practicing yoga, swimming, cooking, gardening and taking care of my multiple plant babies.
Having struggled with identity, sexuality, depression and anxiety from a young age, I became fascinated with learning about psychology to manage my mental health and the nervous system begin my healing process. I offer individual therapy sessions as well as group, family and relationship/couples sessions in french and english. I also offer gender affirming care services including hormone care planning and hormone replacement therapy readiness assessments. I love to create customized treatment plans for each client by utilizing several different approaches, including somatic, internal family systems (IFS), narrative, existential, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), compassionate inquiry, attachment based, internal family systems, acceptance and commitment, art therapy and feminist modalities. I specialize in working with neurodivergent and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities as well as many other client populations, including anyone needing support regarding self esteem, body image, disordered eating, trauma recovery, anxiety, depression, relational challenges, ethical non-monogamy and other non-traditional relationship/family structures, life transitions, chronic illness, disability, identity, gender, sex and sexuality.
I am a queer, neurodivergent woman with french ancestry, and was born and raised in the traditional, ancestral and unceded Syilx tmixʷ and Nłeʔkepmx Tmíxʷ (Okanagan) territory. I currently live on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene and Inuit peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis peoples. I am an uninvited guest on these lands. I understand that without action, acknowledgment is meaningless and am committed to continued growth and education on how I can better respect, learn from and advocate for all Indigenous peoples. I am committed to creating a practice that is affirming, trauma-informed, sex-positive and centred on disability justice, intersectional feminism, anti-oppression and decolonizing frameworks.