Therapist providing online trauma counselling for 2SLGBTQIA+ adults in BC

Anja Hess, MA, RCC

(She, He, They)

FOUNDER, CLINICAL DIRECTOR, SUPERVISOR, GROUPS, THERAPY

REGISTERED SERVICE PROVIDER WITH THE FNHA

Fees: $200 per 50-minute session

Schedule: Tuesday-Friday 8am-2pm (4-6 week waitlist)

I direct bill with Metavie Blue Cross, Pacific Blue Cross, FNHA, and Sunlife

Welcome! I am a queer German-Romany settler living on the breathtaking Lekwungen Territory and I am Clinical Director and founder of Wildwood Therapy. I share my time between running Wildwood, supporting my teammates, matching new clients with their dream counsellor, supervising our trainees, and providing individual, group, and dyadic psychotherapy.

I built this group practice in 2020 in order to pay forward the care and generosity I received when I had cancer during my early 20s. It is important to me that our space centres around anti-colonial values and we are constantly learning and adjusting. I come with personal knowledge of marginalization from my Roma, queer, trans, woman, previously disabled and chronically ill, and neurodivergent experiences, but I live a very privileged life and most of what I have learned is from loved ones, teachers, and the clients I’ve served.

I am currently accepting new clients for EMDR therapy. I use an evidence-based, feminist approach that combines neuroscience with relational, somatic, and emotional healing and I have specialized training in PTSD and complex trauma recovery. I like helping folks learn how to process emotions, gain confidence, and navigate through experiences like:

  • Workplace Trauma and Healthcare Professions

  • Increasing Self-Esteem and Confidence

  • Oppression & Bullying

  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Identity

  • Trauma, PTSD, cPTSD

  • Grief & Loss

  • Neurodivergence

  • Anxious Symptoms & Panic

  • Depressive Symptoms

  • Cancer as a Young Adult

  • Social Anxiety

  • Polyamory and ENM

  • and more…

I am a naturalist and enjoy playing outside, laughing hysterically with loved ones, and looking for adventure. Inclusion and freedom are important to me and I choose to find joy in the small things. I recently took up crabbing - ask me about it!

My RCC license number is 18489

EMDR

Eye Movement Densensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is the most efficient way to process trauma. You get to decide how much or how little to disclose about what happened, giving the option of doing “secret therapy” with me. I offer EMDR for the following concerns:

  • Trauma, PTSD, and complex trauma

  • Workplace trauma including first responders and medical professionals

  • Chronic illness & chronic pain

  • Addiction and substance use

  • Anxiety disorders and phobias

  • Limiting beliefs

  • Upcoming challenges

  • And much more!


Integrated Modalities

  • Feminist Therapy

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Interpersonal Process Therapy (IPT)

  • Baranowsky’s Triphasic Model for Trauma Recovery

  • Emotion-Focused Therapy

  • Strengths-Focused Therapy

  • Ego State Work and Parts Work

  • Neuroscience

  • Somatic Therapy

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Therapeutic Expressive Arts and Writing

  • Brief Solution-Focused Therapy

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

  • Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Integration

Things I Like

  • Connecting with loved ones

  • Social Justice

  • Kindness

  • Animals and Nature

  • Birding

  • Freedom

  • Creating art

  • Making music

  • Indigenous Sovereignty

  • Humour

  • Inclusion

  • Dim Sum

  • Crabbing