Christian Counselling · British Columbia
Christian Counselling in British Columbia
TEO Counselling Services offers Christian counselling across British Columbia, virtually. Sessions are delivered by Alison Shaji, a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with a master's degree in Clinical Psychology, and combine evidence-based psychotherapy with a Christian framework where you want that. Sessions are also available in Hindi and Malayalam. The initial 15-minute consultation is free. Alison is a practising Christian, so faith isn't something that has to be explained or translated before the work begins.
Book a free 15-minute consultationChristian counselling vs. biblical counselling — an honest distinction
These terms get used interchangeably, and they shouldn't be. The difference matters when you're choosing.
Biblical or pastoral counselling is usually delivered by a pastor, elder, or lay counsellor working primarily from scripture. It may be offered through a church, often at no cost, and the counsellor may not hold clinical licensure.
Christian counselling as we provide it is clinical psychotherapy delivered by a Registered Clinical Counsellor, with your faith integrated into the work at whatever level you choose. It uses evidence-based methods — EMDR, IFS, the Gottman Method — and is claimable under most extended health plans.
Neither is better in the abstract. But they suit different situations. If you're working through trauma, a diagnosable condition, or something that hasn't shifted with prayer and pastoral support, clinical care is usually the right call — and it doesn't have to mean setting your faith aside to get it. Many clients use both, and we're glad to work alongside your pastor rather than in competition with them.
What faith-integrated actually looks like in session
You choose the level, and you can change it at any point:
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Fully integrated — prayer, scripture, and a Christian framework are woven through the work.
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Faith-aware — your beliefs shape how we approach things, without scripture being the method.
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Set aside — you want a therapist who understands your world but would rather keep therapy clinical.
What it never means: being told what to believe, having a diagnosis reframed as a spiritual failing, or being told that more faith would resolve a clinical problem. Depression is not a lack of faith. Anxiety is not disobedience. Trauma is not a discipline issue.
What we work with
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Anxiety and depression, including the guilt of struggling while believing you shouldn't be.
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Trauma and PTSD, using EMDR.
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Marriage and couples counselling through the Gottman Method — including couples where one partner's faith has shifted.
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Grief and loss, including grief that unsettles beliefs that were supposed to make it bearable.
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Church hurt and religious trauma — harm that happened inside a faith community, addressed without asking you to leave your faith.
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Purpose, calling and vocational discernment where it's affecting mental health.
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Forgiveness — including the situations where it's genuinely complicated.
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Parenting, family conflict and intergenerational faith differences.
Therapy in Hindi and Malayalam
Alison offers sessions in English, Hindi, and Malayalam. For Malayalam-speaking Christian families — Syro-Malabar, Marthoma, Orthodox, and Pentecostal communities across BC — this combination is uncommon: a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works in Malayalam and understands the faith context, without either needing translation.
If you've held off because explaining your family, church, and community to a therapist felt like more work than the problem itself, that's the gap this is meant to close.
Confidentiality
Sessions are confidential under BC privacy law and the ethical standards of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. Nothing is shared with your church, pastor, family, or employer without your written consent, apart from narrow legal exceptions explained before you start.
This is a real difference from counselling offered through a congregation. If you'd rather your church community not know you're seeking support — for any reason at all — virtual, independent, confidential therapy is the answer to that.
Sessions and fees
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Counsellor | Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC |
| Languages | English, Hindi, Malayalam |
| Initial consultation | Free, 15 minutes |
| Individual | $150 |
| Couples | $175 |
| Format | Virtual, anywhere in BC |
| Sliding scale | Available, ask |
| Insurance | Most extended health plans covering RCC |
Frequently asked questions
What is Christian counselling?
Christian counselling is psychotherapy that integrates Christian faith into the clinical work. At TEO Counselling Services it's delivered by a Registered Clinical Counsellor using evidence-based approaches, with faith included at whatever level the client chooses — from fully integrated prayer and scripture, to simply working with a therapist who shares and understands the framework.
Is Christian counselling the same as biblical counselling?
No. Biblical or pastoral counselling is typically delivered by a pastor or lay counsellor working primarily from scripture, often through a church and without clinical licensure. Christian counselling as we provide it is licensed clinical psychotherapy with faith integrated into it, which means it can address diagnosable conditions and trauma, and is claimable under most extended health plans.
Will you use scripture or prayer in sessions?
Only if you want that. Some clients want prayer and scripture woven through the work; others want a therapist who understands their faith but prefer to keep sessions clinical. You set the level and can change it at any time.
Can Christian counselling help with church hurt or religious trauma?
Yes. Harm that occurred within a church or faith community is treatable with the same evidence-based approaches used for other relational trauma, including EMDR. You are not asked to leave your faith to address it, and the goal is not to talk you out of belief.
Is Christian marriage counselling available?
Yes. We use the Gottman Method, the most research-backed approach to couples therapy, applied within a Christian framework where couples want that — including couples where the partners' faith has diverged.
Is Christian counselling covered by insurance in BC?
Usually, yes. Because sessions are delivered by a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), most extended health plans that cover counselling will reimburse them. This is often not the case for pastoral or biblical counselling, which typically isn't provided by a registered clinician. Check whether your plan specifies RCC coverage.
Written by Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC — TEO Counselling Services. Registered with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC).
Book a free 15-minute consultation
A short conversation about what's going on and whether this is the right fit. No assessment, no commitment.
Book a free 15-minute consultation