Nanaimo Crime Victim Assistance Program Counselling

Free or Low-Cost Trauma-Informed Counselling for Nanaimo Residents Affected by Crime. Compassionate Support to Help You Heal, Rebuild Safety, and Move Forward.

Experiencing a crime can feel overwhelming and isolating. At Counsel Me Vancouver, we offer free or low-cost trauma-informed counselling through CVAP to help you stabilize, heal, and rebuild a sense of safety and strength. You don’t have to face this alone — our counsellors walk beside you with care, understanding, and hope for lasting recovery.

Book Online – Free Consultation or Session Contact Us with Questions

Book a free consultation or session online instantly – no waiting required.

Are You Struggling with These Challenges?

We serve many types of clients. It can be a survivor of crime who feels overwhelmed, unsafe, or unsure where to start. They may be coping with anxiety, trauma, grief, or ongoing stress after a harmful event. We serve clients who are looking for accessible counselling that feels safe, supportive, and practical — not another system to navigate alone.

When the Impact of Crime Feels Overwhelming

After experiencing a crime, many people face ongoing emotional and practical challenges.
These struggles can make it hard to feel safe, supported, or in control again.

Emotional Aftermath

Many survivors experience anxiety, fear, or a constant sense of unease, making everyday life and relationships difficult to navigate.

Feeling Alone and Unsupported

It’s common to feel isolated or misunderstood, unsure where to find safe, trauma-informed help that truly understands your experience.

Barriers to Healing

Financial strain, confusing systems, and lack of access to resources often make recovery feel out of reach—especially when you’re already coping with trauma.

Counsel Me Vancouver serves as a compassionate, trauma-informed guide, helping survivors reclaim a sense of safety and control. Our counsellors are experienced in trauma recovery and well-versed in CVAP funding, offering both emotional care and practical guidance. You don’t have to navigate recovery or paperwork alone — we’ll walk with you every step of the way.

A Clear Path Toward Healing

Getting started with CVAP counselling is simple and supportive. We’ll guide you step-by-step so you can focus on your healing while we help with the rest.

Step 1: Connect With Us

Book a free consultation to share what’s been happening and confirm your CVAP eligibility with one of our supportive team members.

Step 2: Get Matched With a Counsellor

We’ll pair you with a trauma-informed counsellor experienced in working with survivors, who will help you feel safe and supported from the start.

Step 3: Begin Your Healing Process

Start personalized counselling sessions focused on stabilization, coping strategies, and long-term healing—with help navigating CVAP paperwork along the way.

Take the First Step Toward Support

You don’t have to face this alone.
Reach out today to confirm your CVAP eligibility and connect with a counsellor who will walk beside you through healing and recovery.

Schedule a 15-minute consult to check CVAP eligibility, explore your options, and match with a counsellor who’s right for you.
Not sure if you qualify? Explore how the Crime Victim Assistance Program works and find out what funding and support may be available.

Book Online – Free Consultation or Session Contact Us with Questions

Book a free consultation or session online instantly – no waiting required.

Benefits of Working with Counsel Me Vancouver

Clients who have used our therapy and counselling services describe their transformation this way:
Before Counselling: Life feels heavy, uncertain, and overwhelming. The aftermath of crime brings anxiety, fear, and confusion about where to find help. Support feels distant, and recovery seems out of reach. After Counselling: Our clients feel safe, supported, and understood. With compassionate, trauma-informed guidance, they’ve learned to manage symptoms, rebuild trust, and reconnect with themselves. Healing no longer feels impossible — it feels underway.

Don’t Go Through This Alone

Without the right support, it’s easy for trauma to deepen over time — leaving you feeling isolated, anxious, and unsure where to turn.

Without help, many survivors continue to struggle with anxiety, flashbacks, or emotional numbness long after the incident. Some feel overwhelmed by systems and paperwork, missing out on funding that could make counselling accessible. Others try to cope alone, only to find that healing takes longer and feels harder without guidance.

At Counsel Me Vancouver, we’re here to make sure you don’t have to carry that weight by yourself.

Reclaim Safety, Strength, and Hope

With the right support, healing is possible. You can move beyond survival and begin to rebuild a life rooted in confidence, calm, and connection.

With compassionate, trauma-informed counselling, survivors begin to feel grounded and in control again. They learn practical strategies to manage anxiety and trauma symptoms, and start reconnecting with their sense of purpose, safety, and stability.

Through the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP), clients can access the support they deserve—without financial barriers—allowing them to focus fully on their healing journey.

With time, many discover renewed confidence, resilience, and emotional balance, along with a deeper sense of hope for what comes next.

Top 5 Questions New Clients Ask Us

If you qualify for the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP), your counselling may be free or fully reimbursed. CVAP covers the cost of sessions with an approved counsellor for people affected by crime. Our team helps you confirm eligibility and complete the paperwork to make the process stress-free.
If you’re not eligible for CVAP, we can discuss sliding-scale or reduced-fee options, ensuring you still have access to compassionate, trauma-informed support.

CVAP provides excellent financial support, but processing times and paperwork can vary by province. Some survivors find the application steps confusing or slow, especially during a difficult time.

That’s why we offer hands-on guidance — helping with documentation, receipts, and eligibility questions — so you can focus on healing, not bureaucracy.

It’s also important to know that CVAP approval is typically for specific sessions or time frames, which can be extended based on your progress and needs.

CVAP counselling provides the same level of professional, trauma-informed care as regular counselling but with financial support for those affected by crime.

While private counselling requires clients to pay out-of-pocket or through insurance, CVAP helps remove financial barriers, making therapy more accessible.

Our counsellors specialize in trauma recovery and crisis stabilization, ensuring that sessions focus on safety, trust, and empowerment at your pace.

Clients often describe CVAP counselling as life-changing, especially when they thought therapy was out of reach. Many share that working with trauma-informed counsellors helped them feel safe, understood, and supported after deeply distressing experiences.

They appreciate our counsellors’ gentle approach, practical tools, and guidance through the CVAP process, which made accessing help less intimidating and more empowering.

CVAP counselling is best for individuals directly affected by crime — including survivors of assault, abuse, harassment, theft, or other traumatic incidents — who are ready to begin healing but need financial support to access care.

It’s also suitable for family members affected by a loved one’s trauma.
Our trauma-informed counsellors provide safe, compassionate, and personalized therapy to help survivors stabilize, recover, and rebuild a sense of control and hope.

What Clients Are Saying

  • Single best decision I have ever made

    Erica at Counsel Me Vancouver has completely transformed my life in a way that nothing else has — it was the single best decision I have ever made. Her compassionate, professional, peaceful demeanor created such a safe place right from the very first moment I met her. I learned how to turn off the constant, negative chatter in my brain that told me I wasn’t good enough. I gained the ability to deal with trauma that had bothered me for decades. I acquired tools to help with an overwhelming feeling of loss. I live a calmer, peaceful, more genuine life full of friends, love, happiness, and self-assurance. Because of Counsel Me Vancouver, I feel like I have the power, confidence, and control to do whatever I want when it comes to food, exercise, grief, anxiety, relationships, my job, and my future.
    G.C.
    Vancouver Client

  • We can not recommend her enough

    After researching various therapists for couple’s counselling, a friend recommended Erica to us. She saw us through our difficult times with kindness, compassion and professionalism. With Erica’s help, our communication is stronger, our trust has grown and our commitment has never been tighter. Erica’s approach is very kind, calm and her caring manner makes her easy to talk with. We can not recommend her enough.
    A & J
    Vancouver Couple

  • Incredibly worthwhile investment I would make again in a heartbeat.

    I’ve recommended many others to Erica and they all rave about how amazing the experience is, so I can say with confidence that whatever issue you’re facing Counsel Me Vancouver can make it easier and more manageable. I can’t believe that I spent so much of my life in a fog when I could have been living the life I am now because therapy seemed ‘scary/embarrassing’ and ‘I don’t need that’ and ‘it’s expensive’. If I could have done one thing differently in my life it would have been to contact Counsel Me Vancouver earlier because it is none of those things. It is calm, safe, awesomely helpful, and in comparison to the benefits received, an incredibly worthwhile investment that I would make again in a heartbeat.
    P.C.
    Vancouver Client

  • Would recommend her to anyone

    I met with Erica in the Fall of 2014. At the time I was struggling with some relationship issues, and I needed to talk to someone in order to help guide and assist me through what was a difficult time. Erica was compassionate and understanding and I found it very easy to open up to her. Furthermore, talking through the problems I was experiencing enabled me to understand them better. It lifted a weight from my shoulders, and it provided me with hope and confidence that I could get through things.
    Erica provided me with the tools necessary to move on in my life, and she ensured that I reached my goals. I would have no problem returning if other issues emerged, and I would recommend her to anyone who may be considering counselling
    F.K.
    Vancouver Client

  • Overcome my past traumas and lead a more fulfilling life!

    Since childhood, I’d been trying to push away thoughts about my childhood abuse and the negative emotions that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. I didn’t realize the vast impact my past experiences have had on my life growing up and on my current relationships. Through counselling, I was able to delve safely into my trauma by incorporating healthy coping strategies that Erica taught me. I felt supported and comfortable in my work with Erica as she was understanding and accepting of my vulnerabilities. Working through trauma wasn’t easy, it was actually very painful at times. However, I needed to go through my pain to get on the other side to gain peace and freedom in my life.
    I should’ve gone to see a counsellor much sooner. Counsel Me Vancouver helped me overcome my past traumas and lead a more fulfilling life! Therapy completely changed my perspective. I’m so happy that I made the choice to get help.
    L.L.
    Vancouver Client

FAQ – ICBC Related Questions

A provincial program offering financial support for counselling and recovery services to victims of crime.

CVAP supports victims of many types of crime, including emotional and psychological harm.

Individuals directly affected by crime or their immediate family members may be eligible.

Virtual and telehealth sessions are accepted and often reimbursed.

Applications are submitted to the provincial CVAP office with incident details and documentation.

Counsellors and support staff can help guide applicants through the paperwork.

Trauma-informed individual therapy, crisis stabilization, and related emotional recovery services.

All sessions are private and confidential, with legal limits clearly explained.

Typically several weeks; temporary coverage may be arranged while waiting.

Session limits vary, but survivors can often access ongoing care based on need.

Take the First Step Toward Support

You don’t have to face this alone.
Reach out today to confirm your CVAP eligibility and connect with a counsellor who will walk beside you through healing and recovery.

Schedule a 15-minute consult to check CVAP eligibility, explore your options, and match with a counsellor who’s right for you.
Not sure if you qualify? Explore how the Crime Victim Assistance Program works and find out what funding and support may be available.

Book Online – Free Consultation or Session Contact Us with Questions

Book a free consultation or session online instantly – no waiting required.

Get To Know Your Professional Counsellors

Erica Beauchamp MEd RCC
Founder/Master’s Level Clinical Counsellor
Learn more about Erica

Annu Dha MA RCC
Master’s Level Clinical Counsellor
Learn more about Annu

Huda Sajjad MA MSc RCC
Master’s Level Clinical Counsellor
Learn more about Huda

Katharine Harrison MC RCC
Master’s Level Clinical Counsellor
Learn more about Katharine

Jessica-Ann Dozois MSW RSW CVRP
Masters Level Social Worker / Counsellor
Learn more about Jessica-Ann

Take the First Step Toward Support

You don’t have to face this alone.
Reach out today to confirm your CVAP eligibility and connect with a counsellor who will walk beside you through healing and recovery.

Schedule a 15-minute consult to check CVAP eligibility, explore your options, and match with a counsellor who’s right for you.
Not sure if you qualify? Explore how the Crime Victim Assistance Program works and find out what funding and support may be available.

Book Online – Free Consultation or Session Contact Us with Questions

Book a free consultation or session online instantly – no waiting required.

Therapy & Counselling Services We Offer