Writer, Educator, Narrative Therapist

Exploring identity transitions, agency, and what comes next.

Christine Dennstedt, PhD, MA, RCC-ACS

Approach-

Christine Dennstedt, PhD, MA, RCC-ACS

For more than twenty-five years, I've been accompanying people through some of life's most disorienting passages—moments when old stories no longer fit and something new is trying to emerge.

I keep returning to the same questions: What is trying to become audible in this moment? What stories have shaped how we understand ourselves? And what becomes possible when we create enough space to hear what matters most?

My work is grounded in narrative therapy, an approach that recognizes that the stories we've inherited about ourselves are not the only stories available to us. Whether I am working with individuals, couples, families, or people integrating transformative experiences, I am interested in how people reclaim agency, reconnect with their values, and participate more fully in their lives.

I completed my Master of Counselling in 2002 and my PhD in 2010. I teach and present across North America and am faculty at the Vancouver School for Narrative Therapy. I also work as part of a team offering psychedelic-assisted therapy through Health Canada's Special Access Program.

My writing project, After the Medicine, explores identity transitions, agency, and what comes next. Through essays, reflections, and practices, I examine how people navigate change, question inherited stories, and find their way toward lives that feel more fully their own.



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Exploring identity transitions, agency, and what comes next. Essays, reflections, and practices for people navigating change and finding their way toward lives that feel more fully their own.

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    Individual Counselling

    Life transitions, relationship challenges, grief, recovery, anxiety, and questions of identity often invite us to pause and reconsider the stories shaping our lives. My approach is grounded in narrative therapy and a deep respect for people's own wisdom. Together, we create space to notice what matters, reclaim agency, and respond to life's challenges in ways that feel more aligned with who you are becoming.

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    Couples Counselling

    Relationships often become places where old stories, expectations, and patterns collide. Couples counselling offers an opportunity to slow down, listen differently, and explore what each person hopes for in the relationship. Together we work toward greater understanding, connection, and the possibility of creating new ways of relating that reflect shared values and intentions.

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    Psilocybin- Assisted Psychotherapy

    Psychedelic experiences can open new perspectives, illuminate forgotten possibilities, and invite profound questions about identity, meaning, and change. Through Health Canada's Special Access Program, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may be available for individuals experiencing treatment-resistant depression or end-of-life distress. My work focuses not only on the experience itself, but on what happens afterward, the integration, meaning-making, and choices that shape what comes next.

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    Identity Transformation & Recovery

    Life transitions, relationship challenges, grief, recovery, anxiety, and questions of identity often invite us to pause and reconsider the stories shaping our lives. My approach is grounded in narrative therapy and a deep respect for people's own wisdom. Together, we create space to notice what matters, reclaim agency, and respond to life's challenges in ways that feel more aligned with who you are becoming.

Creativity

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Change

  • Many extended health plans cover Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs). Check with your insurer to confirm coverage. If covered, I can provide receipts with my registration number for reimbursement.

    Here’s a quick guide to different designations:

    - Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC): Holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and is a member of professional organizations like the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. Coverage is similar to that for Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs).

    - Psychiatrist: A medical doctor who can prescribe medication and diagnose conditions. Covered by BC Medical; contact the BC College of Physicians for referrals.

    - Psychologist: Has different training and is governed by a separate body. Some health plans only cover psychologists, so be sure to check your plan’s details.

  • Rest assured that all conversations you have with me are confidential. 
    However, there are 3 conditions in which all counsellors are legally bound to break confidentiality. These are:
            – If a child is at risk of being harmed
           – If you have a clear plan to hurt yourself or someone else
            – If your records are subpoenaed by a court

  • The session are for 60, or 90 minutes.

  • You have up to 48 hours before the session to cancel your appointment without penalty.  The full fee will be charged if you provide less than 24  hours notice unless there is an emergency. If you are running late please text or leave a message to let me know when you expect to arrive.  Please keep in mind that I might be in another session up until your appointment so I may not reply right away.  I am willing to wait 30 minutes for you to arrive and you will have the remaining scheduled time.  After that our session is cancelled.  Either way, you will be billed for the full session.

Frequently asked questions