Laura Belland: Registered Clinical Counsellor

What makes me come alive

Hi there, my name is Laura Belland. I specialize in CBT, self-compassion therapy and solution-focused therapy. I believe we can often be our own worst enemies and harshest critics, and  I hope to help you grow and  get past any negative thinking to become your most alive and thriving self; through CBT, compassionate self-care, and mindfulness amongst other strategies. I am passionate about working with clients experiencing anxiety, social anxiety, stress, perfectionism, and depression. I have experience helping those with limiting beliefs about themselves, negative body image and disordered eating.

I would be honoured to walk alongside you on this journey and not only work through what you feel stuck on and what’s holding you back, but help you with strategies to grow more in your strengths and self-confidence.

 

I have worked in many walks of life, and have always known I wanted to help people in some way or form. I first received a Bachelors in Art with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Sociology. After working with the Edmonton Police and with family lawyers I realized that I wanted to go back to school. During the next few years, I was a respite worker and piano teacher while going to school to become an elementary teacher. I graduated with my BEd back in 2017. I love working with children and teaching, but always had a deep love of counselling and psychology, especially after seeking counselling to cope with my own struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. In 2021 I graduated with my Masters in Arts in Counselling Psychology to finally pursue my true passion and calling. I believe that everyone can benefit from seeking counselling, that it doesn’t require hitting a rock bottom to seek help. Ultimately I hope to help people get to a place where they aren’t just ‘surviving’ or doing well, but instead are thriving.

 

I also love working in Counselling for Parents on childhood emotional and behavioural regulation. Working as a teacher, I had the experience of learning about and employing different strategies to help students with their emotions in the classroom setting. In my role as a Student Support Services Coordinator, I was able to work with parents and teachers to create plans to help children best tackle these challenges. I would like to pass along practices often used in school and offer a collaborative approach where we can work together to target some of the things you’re seeing both at home and in the classroom. With a deeper understanding, we can begin to determine the best strategies to help you help your child gain back some equilibrium in their emotions, and gain the skills to deal with issues that may arise. A goal is to help kids feel more autonomy when dealing with tricky emotions, so they feel less at a loss of what to do next. Strategies may include different ways to regulate emotions and coping tools for dealing with each, ways to feel more confident in the classroom, and a growth mindset.

 

I am a lover of nature, animals and being active. I live here in Kelowna with my husband. Two years ago I moved here from Alberta and I still can’t believe I get to live here in this beautiful place. When I am not working I am outside as much as possible, hiking, biking. I have a love for the piano which I have been playing for 25+ years, yoga (I completed my YTT back in 2013 on a whim) and reading.

Hi! My name is Laura Belland, I am so excited to be joining Alive Counselling. I became interested in counselling back when I struggled with my own mental health and saw a counsellor myself. When I was a teen, I remember being so worried about going to school that I would feel (and sometimes get) physically sick, shaky and be caught in a negative loop of what if’s – especially concerning social situations. Later, during a couple of high-stress situations, I remember my heart racing, tunnel vision, a cold sweat, and wondering if I was about to have a heart attack or faint. It was terrifying. I had no vocabulary for these experiences at the time – but now I can see that I was dealing with symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks.

 

Now that I’ve learned so much about mental health, I find it so encouraging to see the shift in people becoming more aware of mental health issues. An aspiration of mine is to see a change where addressing and taking care of our mental health is just as much a part of being healthy as regular exercise and eating to nourish our bodies. Problems are never too small to be recognized and worked with – waiting until hitting a rock bottom is not a good time! My greatest hope and goal with my clients is to get them past just a place where they are surviving, and instead of getting them to a place where they are thriving.