Polyamorous and Open Relationships Therapists in Canada

Specializing in LGBTQIA*, ENM, Kink, Sex Workers, and Psychedelic Integration. I launched Nested Heart Counselling in 2013 in response to calls from within the local polyamorous community for mental health support that didn’t require further education about unconventional identities. It’s always been important to me to shout my acceptance for unconventionality from the rooftops, rather than hope word would travel underground in a way that perpetuates stigma. Even with this philosophy, it took time for me to proudly display my body modifications - now clients tell me all the time that this kind of bravery is part of the reason they show up in the first place! It would be hypocritical of me to encourage you to live authentically and not arrive in session doing so myself. We have a whole team available for you, check out our website to learn more.

Welcome. Wherever you are right now is a good place to start. You might be carrying something you've held on to on your own for a long time, or you and your partner might keep arriving at the same hard conversation. Either way, I'm glad you're here. I'm a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) offering individual and relationship therapy, in person in East Vancouver and virtually across BC and Ontario. My practice is split evenly between the two. I'm a gay cisgender man, and I come to this work with lived experience as part of a marginalized community. My work is queer-affirming, and I welcome people in all relationship structures, including polyamorous and open relationships. You won't need to explain or justify who you are or how you love before we get to what brought you in. In individual therapy, people often come to me when anxiety or self-doubt is taking up too much room, or when a change in their life has left them unsure of who they are now. I draw on Internal Family Systems, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and an attachment-based approach. Together we get curious about the different parts of you, including the ones that are critical or afraid, and about how your early relationships shaped the way you relate to yourself and to others today. Over time, most clients find they can meet themselves with more compassion and make choices that reflect what matters to them. Many people come to me because of work. Before training as a counsellor, I spent fifteen years inside the corporate world, in tech and human resources, so the context is already in the room. I know what a reorganization costs and what it is like to sit in a performance review that isn't going the way you hoped. I see burnout as what happens when the demands on you keep outpacing what you have to give, often in a workplace that makes it hard to say so. In our sessions, we work on the conversations you've been avoiding and on who you are when the job that has defined you stops fitting. Along the way, we reconnect you with your sense of agency, so your decisions line up with the person you want to be. In couples therapy, I use Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method. We slow down the moments where you miss each other and look at what each of you is feeling and needing underneath. From there, we build ways of talking and listening that bring you closer. Some couples come to strengthen something that is already good. Others come at a turning point, such as opening their relationship or rebuilding trust. I think of myself as a fellow traveller. I walk alongside you while you find your way, and I treat you as the expert on your own life. I bring training, structure, and an outside view. As an RCC, my sessions are covered by many extended health plans. If you'd like to find out whether we're a good fit, you can book a free 20-minute consultation.