Havenwood
Counselling
In Person on Vancouver Island & Online Across Canada
Lasting Change is Possible
True inner change rarely arises from insight alone. It unfolds when deeper emotional patterns are re-experienced and then transformed through evidence-based healing processes alongside another person who is engaged, connected and genuinely interested in your healing process.
Experiential Therapy at Havenwood Counselling
What is it?
We begin with what’s already present—the patterns, symptoms, and emotional responses that arise in daily life.
These become our entry points - leading to practical, long-lasting transformation.
Experiential Therapy is emotion-focused therapy designed to heal trauma, anxiety, and depression by processing emotions in real-time, leveraging neuroplasticity to transform painful experiences, symptoms, habits and responses.
If you are wanting to move through trauma and elevated responses - this kind of therapy is designed to help uncover emotional blocks & patterns, and support long lasting change.
Session Options
Individual Therapy for Adults (18+)
Integrative Experiential Therapy
Trauma - informed, experiential sessions to gently explore and shift the emotional & behavioural patterns holding you back. These therapy sessions utilize a blend of experiential modalities (AEDP & ACT) to align with what works for you.
Coherence Therapy
Coherence Therapy is a neuroscience-informed, unified set of methods and concepts designed to support profound change with a high level of consistency. A clear, structured seven-step process helps clients identify and change the emotional beliefs behind persistent patterns through evidence-based memory reconsolidation processes—so patterns can change at their source.
This approach may not be a fit if you are primarily seeking coping strategies, advice, or skills-based therapy. It is also not typically appropriate as a starting point for individuals experiencing significant, ongoing trauma responses that require stabilization or nervous-system regulation first.
Coherence Therapy is most effective for people who are ready to engage actively with their emotional experience as part of the change process. Because this work unfolds over time, a minimum of three sessions is required after the initial session.
Process Arts - Informed Therapy
Memory and imagination are intimately link. Sessions explore past memories, and envision new modes of perceiving inner life and outer relationships. We may include brief use of images or basic art materials, used to support reflection and emotional processing. When helpful, symbolic material is approached —as lived experience and meaning—rather than through interpretation, supporting access to deeper layers of awareness. No art experience necessary, this is about process, not product.
Individual Therapy for Children & Youth (ages 6-18)
Integrative Experiential Therapy
Trauma - informed, experiential sessions to build an authentic relationship. We gently explore symptoms to shift the emotional & behavioural patterns that are overwhelming, distressing or unwanted. These therapy sessions utilize a blend of experiential modalities (AEDP & ACT) to align to support healing.
Arts -Informed Therapy for Children & Youth
A gentle, process-based approach that supports emotional understanding and regulation through simple, structured creative activities. Sessions may include play, clay, collage, or basic art materials, used to help children express and process emotions when words are not yet available.
Fibre Arts-Informed Therapy for Children & Youth
In Fibre Arts–Informed Therapy, sessions begin with structured fibre arts instruction, such as knitting, crochet, or embroidery. The repetitive, rhythmic nature of the work supports regulation and sustained attention. As a calm, focused state develops, verbal reflection and emotional processing can occur more easily and organically. Children must be individually motivated and have an intrinsic desire to learn fibre arts skills to qualify for these sessions.
Meet Rubeena
Rubeena Sandhu is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC) in Duncan, BC, with over 20 years of experience in wellness, education, fine arts and philosophy. She holds a MEd in Counselling, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is a certified Waldorf Teacher.
She is Level 1 - AEDP & Coherence Therapist, who is compassionate, honest and holds a deep understanding of human development, including the arcs of existential change we go through in life.
She is known for her calm, relational presence and her ability to help people feel at ease—meeting them with warmth, humour, and respect.
Booking for March 2026
Havenwood’s Professional Ethical & Commitment. As a registered clinical counsellor, Rubeena follows the ethical guidelines of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) and adhere to all privacy and confidentiality standards, including the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), to protect your sensitive information and ensure your trust in our work together.
Havenwood acknowledges with deep respect that we practice on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Peoples. Our downtown Duncan location rests on the traditional lands of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) peoples, whose enduring relationship with this land continues to guide and shape its life.
Our Sahtlam location, nestled in the forested hills west of the city, lies within the broader territories of the Quw’utsun, and neighboring Nations including the Ts’uubaa-asatx, Halalt, Stz’uminus, Penelakut, Lyackson, and Malahat peoples. We recognize that this land was never ceded, and that colonization—including displacement, residential schools, and ongoing systemic harms—continues to affect Indigenous communities.
Havenwood honours and affirms the dignity, identities, and lived experiences of all people, including those who are Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and beyond (LGBTQIA2S+). We recognize and respect each person’s right to self-identify and express their gender and sexuality freely and authentically. We are committed to creating a safe, welcoming, and affirming space where all individuals are valued and supported in their journeys of healing and growth.
Havenwood recognizes that healing often involves more than just the mind and emotions—it can include the spirit as well. These sessions create space for your personal spiritual or existential beliefs to be explored and supported, without judgment or agenda. Whether you draw from a specific religious tradition, nature-based practices, meditation, or simply a sense of meaning or connection beyond yourself, this approach honours your inner life as a vital part of your healing process.