Katharina Bleinis

Thank you for finding your way here. My name is Katharina, and I am a student counsellor based in Squamish, British Columbia, offering trauma focused counselling to individuals across the province. I am currently completing my Master of Counselling Psychology at City University of Seattle. I am passionate about supporting individuals in navigating the impacts of trauma, attachment wounds, emotional dysregulation, and dissociative experiences, while helping to foster a deeper connection to the wisdom of our bodies. It’s my belief that our bodies are storytellers, carrying experiences, emotions, and memories that can guide us toward wholeness when met with curiosity and care.

I support individuals navigating the impacts of single event, relational, and developmental trauma that can show up later in life such as patterns of shame, chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, people-pleasing, dissociation, and challenges with trust, boundaries, and self-worth. Using a parts-informed and nervous system-focused approach, we explore how protective patterns have developed to help you cope and survive. Together, we work toward building self-understanding, emotional regulation, and a greater sense of safety within your body and within yourself.

In my work, I integrate a body-centered and nervous system-informed lens, drawing from somatic therapy, parts work, and attachment-based approaches. With a background as a yoga teacher, I bring an awareness of the nervous system into the therapy space, supporting clients in reconnecting with their bodies and expanding their capacity to experience both safety and positive affect.

My approach to counselling is client-centered, relational, and down-to-earth. I see therapy as a collaborative and experiential process, where we move with curiosity and at a pace that feels supportive to your nervous system. I view you as the expert of your own lived experience and support you in connecting to the wisdom of your body as a pathway toward deeper understanding and integration. My work is informed by Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and the Structural Dissociation model.

In addition to working at a private practice, I have experience working within the community mental health system through Vancouver Coastal Health, supporting diverse adult and youth populations. 

Pat Ogden somatic approach explores how trauma is stored in the body’s sensations and movement patterns, using mindful awareness of the body to support healing and nervous system regulation.

Richard Schwartz therapeutic model that understands the psyche as made up of parts, each with their own roles, emotions, and needs. It focuses on creating safety and trust between parts and the inner Self to support healing.

a trauma theory that explains how the mind responds to chronic or developmental trauma by creating distinct parts. Some focus on coping and daily tasks, and others storing traumatic memories as a natural and adaptive survival strategy.

Polyvagal Theory explains how the nervous system is constantly scanning for cues of safety or danger, which influences whether we feel calm, anxious, or shut down. Our nervous system responds to these cues through emotions, behaviours, and in relationship. In therapy, we use this understanding to help you notice these states, honor their purpose, and develop tools to return to balance and connection.