Sam Welsh

Registered Clinical Counsellor (BC)

Sam (she/her) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in British Columbia. She offers individual therapy for moms and dads, as well as couples and relationship counselling. She is a mom to a busy toddler and supports clients who are feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, and a little lost while they figure out motherhood. Sam specializes in working with clients who are looking for support navigating the chaos and disorienting experiences of parenting and becoming parents, from conception to postpartum.

Sam will be on Leave from January 2025 to Summer 2025. If you are a new client looking for counselling from Sam, please email support@perinatalcollective.com to add yourself to Sam's waitlist.

British Columbia

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$150 / 50 mins

Not accepting new clients

Sam (she/her) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in British Columbia. She offers individual therapy for moms and dads, as well as couples/relationship counselling. Life after birth can feel chaotic, frustrating, and disorienting. An infertility journey can leave you feeling depleted and alone. No matter what has transpired, Sam recognizes that this journey can leave you feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and out of control.

From her own experience, Sam wondered why support for new parents wasn’t more readily available when her transition to parenting felt chaotic and exhausting. She wanted support from someone who understood and could resonate with her emotional experience, something she hopes she can offer to clients.

Among many areas of expertise, Sam is particularly skilled at supporting people through processing unexpected emotions, like anger, grief, or rage. Parenting during the early years can produce feelings that catch us off guard, causing guilt and shame. Sam can work with you to bring calm, peace, and ease back into motherhood.

Sam works with folks in all stages of motherhood, including families struggling with miscarriage, loss, the experience of IVF, unexplained and secondary infertility, missed miscarriage, and pregnancy after loss. Sam honours how difficult this journey is and aims for you to feel supported and seen.

Sam loves to help clients recognize that they don't have to self-sacrifice to be good enough, they don't have to let go of parts of themselves to be a good parent. Sam helps her clients find a way to feel whole, to invite those parts of self back in, and to find balance in their identity as mothers. For women in particular, Sam highlights how they have been taught to prioritize others above themselves, which impacts mental health.

An essential part of Sam's work is helping clients get their needs met, their batteries charged, and their cup full!

Counseling Approach

Counselling sessions with Sam feel very nurturing, relatable, safe, and compassionate. She's the kind of therapist that will leave you feeling like "oh my gosh, she really gets it!". Sam’s practice is client-centered (meaning *you* set the pace, and the focus is on what you need most).

Sam has a calming nature that helps clients feel cared for and held as they work through some of the hard parts of their journey in parenthood. Sam aims to help you feel relaxed and comfortable, as well as encouraged and hopeful. She creates a balance of holding space for clients to share what they're going through and how they're feeling, and also helps move clients into more desired places of healing, growth, and connection with themselves and other loved ones. Sam addresses shame and self-blame with her clients by encouraging them to locate challenges within the oppressive systems that infiltrate every aspect of women’s lives. With that framework, she helps clients understand their realm of control, release fault and blame, and help them not only find self-compassion and kindness, but also search for and create realistic solutions to relieve their challenges.

Sam often offers resources for clients to practice or deepen their learning between sessions and also teaches tangible tools during sessions like nervous system regulation skills. With a background in arts, she loves to bring in creativity where appropriate.

From a therapeutic and theoretical perspective, Sam draws from a variety of modalities including: Attachment-Based perspectives, Emotions Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and the Gottman Method for couples counselling. Her work is grounded in trauma-informed care, cultural humility, Feminist perspectives, as well as Strengths-Based and Person-Centered approaches.

I am grateful to live on sacred land stewarded by generations of Indigenous Peoples including Syilx (Okanagan), snʕickstx tmxʷúlaʔxʷ (Sinixt), Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, Ĩyãħé Nakón mąkóce (Stoney), Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and Metis Region 4.

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I have been working with Sam Welsh with anxiety related to pregnancy and birth as well as general anxiety I have ongoing in my life. My last year has caused me to realize that I have been living with a lot of anxiety. After seeing a couple different counsellors to help get some of my anxiety better controlled, I found that working with Sam has had a huge impact on my mental health. She is very kind, understanding and validating with everything that I am going though. Having someone who understands pregnancy, pregnancy difficulties and parenting has been very beneficial for me. I have recommended Sam to a number of friends and family.

- Past client

This is my first time asking for help and so I haven’t quite known what to expect. I had my second session with Sam Walsh today and walked away with some thoughtful connections and ideas about my next steps. What struck me and motivated me to respond to your email today was reflecting just how quickly I felt comfortable talking to Sam and asking her for help. It is a thing I have avoided doing with anyone for nearly 37 years. Furthermore, I never would have expected to be excited about the intellectual connections Sam has suggested or created for me in these (just!) two sessions. I feel I understand more about my experience of life already.

- Past Client

I was very nervous about participating in virtual counselling as opposed to in person. I was worried about the ability to form connection through video chat. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I connected better than I could have thought over video and with Sam. I am looking forward to continuing to access these services

- Past client

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painting outdoor murals

Get to Know Sam

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Returning Client?

Registered Clinical Counsellor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC)

MA Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University

BFA Critical and Cultural Studies, Emily Carr University

Foundations of Narrative Therapy Certificate, Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy

Certificate Perinatal Grief and Loss, Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Training

Certificate Birth and Reproductive Trauma, Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Training

Gottman Method Couples Therapy, levels 1 and 2

Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples (EFT) for couples

Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)

Unexpected hobby: Skipping rocks at the lake
Secret dream job: A pâtissier in a french bakery
Unconventional therapy tool: Self-regulation by cultivating comfort for yourself
Evening ritual: Kitchen dance party
Guilty pleasure: Pretending not to be able to find the toys that drive me nuts...
Songs that get me on the dance floor: Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man
Coffee Order: french press coffee with cream, please!
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