Questions parents ask.

You don't have to decide, and you can't really choose wrong. The first assessment usually makes the right approach clear, and sessions can blend both. Broadly: counselling helps with emotional and social difficulties such as anxiety, low confidence, or a hard experience, while coaching suits a young person who feels unmotivated, stuck, or unsure what comes next. Some teens actually prefer the idea of coaching: it looks forward, and nothing has to be "wrong" to start.

Fifteen relaxed minutes: what's going on, what you're hoping for, and whether this is the right fit. If it is, we pick a starting point together. If it isn't, you'll leave with a better sense of what to look for.

Counselling for ages 4 to 18, and coaching for teens and young adults from 13 to 24. Parent coaching has no age limit at all.

Counselling usually runs 3 to 12 months, with a 6-week assessment available. Coaching programs run 6 weeks to about 4 months. Parent coaching is typically 4 to 8 sessions spread over 3 to 6 months.

Counselling sessions are 50 minutes. Coaching sessions run 45 to 60 minutes. Sessions happen weekly during term time, at the same day and time, which gives your child a rhythm they can rely on.

Both. In-person sessions happen at Urban Balance Wellness on Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Online sessions cover the rest of Canada, the UK, and worldwide. Children under about 8 settle most easily in person, where sessions use play therapy; older kids and teens often prefer online from their own room.

Most kids and nearly all teens settle quickly online. Sessions stay creative: animated videos, teen-led courses based on cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety, OCD, and anger, worksheets, and drawing activities, not an hour of staring at a webcam. If you're unsure your child will engage, ask about a trial session.

Better than you might expect. Sandra is on Pacific time, and her working mornings are the UK's afternoon and evening, which is exactly when after-school sessions need to happen.

Counselling sessions are C$125 online or C$150 in person for 50 minutes, and C$75 or C$100 for 30 minutes. UK families are billed in pounds: £75 and £55. Teen coaching programs start at C$475, or £325 for UK clients, which works out to C$95 / £65 per online session. Parent coaching programs start at C$675, or £425 for UK clients. Full details are on each service page, and every fee is on the fees page.

A sliding scale is available; just ask. Paying in instalments is fine too.

Sandra is a Registered Master Therapeutic Counsellor (MTC), a designation recognized by many insurance providers. Check your plan's coverage for counselling under that designation. For BC families, Sandra also supports those accessing Autism Funding.

By bank transfer or e-transfer, per program or per month, arranged before sessions begin.

She is certified in Child & Adolescent Counselling and Parent-Child Therapy (artspsychotherapy.org, London) and Teen Resilience Coaching (youthcoachinginstitute.com). She is registered with ACCT as a Master Therapeutic Counsellor, with the BC Play Therapy Association, and with the BACP in the UK, and holds international liability insurance.

Since 2012: first in London across charities, schools, and private practice, and since 2021 from North Vancouver. More than 400 families so far.