Havenwood Counselling
Clinical Counselling
Duncan, BC
Online across Canada
Clinical counselling for anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, anger management, and relationship difficulties. Specializin in AEDP & Cohrence therapy.
For adults, youth, and families, including teachers, service workers, and people in leadership roles.
Experiential Therapy: Change Patterns from Within
Beyond managing the same reactions.
You may understand why you react the way you do— and still feel the same fear, anger, shame, anxiety, depression, grief or loss.
My approach to experiential counselling works with experience, memory, and emotion to reach the roots of recurring patterns. Together, within the therapeutic relationship, we bring what has remained outside awareness into focus and work with it directly.
EXPERIENTIAL PRINCIPLES
How we work with memory and emotion
Past experiences can influence what you expect from others, how you feel about yourself, and how you respond in the present.
You might anticipate rejection when you express a need, feel responsible for someone else’s disappointment, or become guarded when someone offers care.
Together, we explore the memories, emotions, and expectations connected to these responses. Sometimes a particular memory matters. Sometimes we begin with a familiar feeling or a situation happening now.
As we reach the roots of the pattern, we create opportunities for a different experience—and for the pattern itself to change.
What to expect in a counselling session
We begin with what is troubling you or what feels important that day.
I take an active role. I ask questions, reflect what I notice, and help us reach the feelings and experiences connected to your difficulty.
We may explore a memory, attend to a physical response, or notice what happens when you imagine expressing something you usually hold back.
When something significant emerges, we give it time. We stay with it long enough to understand its meaning and explore what allows it to shift.
You do not need to arrive knowing exactly what you feel. Confusion, uncertainty, and difficulty finding words can all be starting points.
Care includes working with discomfort
I care about what changes for you. That means I will sometimes invite you to stay with a feeling, memory, or reaction you would usually move away from.
I may ask a direct question, draw attention to something I notice, or help you return to something important that was difficult to express.
We approach that discomfort together, at a pace you can engage with. You have a say in how we proceed. I want to know when something feels too much or when I have missed what you mean.
Our relationship needs enough trust for us to approach difficult experience honestly—and for you to challenge me, too.
Concerns we can explore in experiential counselling
You may be seeking counselling for:
Anxiety, worry, or a persistent sense of threat.
Shame, self-doubt, or harsh self-criticism.
Withdrawal, conflict, or difficulty with closeness.
Trouble expressing needs, anger, grief, or vulnerability.
The continuing impact of painful experiences.
Recurring patterns that remain despite insight or previous therapy.
We begin with your particular experience and explore what keeps the difficulty in place.
What change can look like
The purpose is for something to become different in your daily life.
You may find yourself asking for support with less shame, staying present during disagreement, or making a mistake without feeling that your worth is at risk.
A response that once felt unavoidable may become less compelling. You may have more room to choose, connect, and express yourself.
We pay attention to these changes together. What happens outside the session helps us understand what is shifting and what still needs work.
About my approach to experiential therapy
My work centres on experience, emotion, memory, and the therapeutic relationship.
I help you reach the feelings and meanings that shape your responses, including those that have been difficult to recognise or put into words.
I bring care, curiosity, and directness. Together, we work toward change at the roots of the pattern.
Meet Rubeena Sandhu, Registered Clinical Counsellor
Rubeena Sandhu is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC) who helps people move beyond unhelpful emotional survival patterns, distressing thoughts and beliefs, and helps clients meaningfully transform emotional pain, stress, anxiety and depression.
Her work is experiential, relational, and grounded in the neuroscience of emotional transformation, integrating evidence-based approaches with authentic human connection.
Clients often appreciate her honest, genuine, and relational approach. Alongside depth and compassion, Rubeena brings warmth and humour to the therapeutic relationship, even when exploring life's most difficult and existential experiences.
Her work seeks to create the conditions for meaningful and lasting change, while offering a space where you do not have to carry everything on your own.
In-Person Counselling in Duncan & Virtual Counselling
Havenwood Counselling is conveniently located in downtown Duncan, BC.
New Adult Learning Institute (NALI)
Workshops & Trainings
The New Adult Learning Institute (NALI) offers workshops and trainings that support personal and professional growth.
Our programs blend the arts, science, contemplative practices, therapeutic approaches, and consciousness studies to create meaningful, whole-person learning experiences.
Whether you're an educator, therapist, helping professional, or lifelong learner, you'll gain practical tools, fresh perspectives, and opportunities for personal reflection and growth.
Check out our workshops & trainings.