Shauna Burns-Thomson

Relationships, sexual wellness, intimacy, stress and related disorders, and trauma - Shauna is here for the tough stuff, with the goal of helping you live your best, most fulfilling life possible. She works with individuals and couples/partners.

Shauna’s work with couples supports the development of relational safety, open and healthy communication patterns, connection, and a deeper understanding of one another. While one of her areas of practice is sex therapy, the work she does with partners extends into other realms of their relationship as well. Her training in the Gottman Method helps couples learn to disarm conflict, improve communication, increase intimacy, respect, and affection, reduce feelings of stagnancy, and build empathy and understanding

Shauna assists clients with healthy sexual development, including, but not limited to:

• Enhancing communication

• Conflict resolution

• Rekindling romance

• Bringing elements of play into the intimate relationship

• Gaining empowerment in identifying and articulating sexual wants, needs and fantasy exploration with partners

• Challenging problematic sexual narratives

• Demystifying the sexual experience

• Dismantling sexual shame

• Vulva-owner's sexual health and wellness

• Sexual dysfunction

• Low libido

• Gender identity and/or orientation exploration

• Addictive sexual behaviours

• Coping with problematic sexual interests/behaviours

Shauna also has experience working with clients facing the impacts of stress and trauma, winning a national award for her work in supporting the mental wellbeing of public service personnel. Shauna recognizes that trauma presents differently based on each person’s journey, and works with individuals and partners based on their unique experiences.

Shauna supports clients experiencing stress and effects of trauma such as:

• Coping with trauma from childhood and beyond

• Intergenerational trauma

• Compounded traumatic experiences

• Institutionalization

• Systemic oppression

• Experiences of sexual abuse

• Addiction

• Post Traumatic Stress Responses

• Burnout

• First Responder fatigue and/or experiences

• Issues unique to partners/spouses of First Responders

• Critical Incident Stress Management follow up

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Understanding the stress response

• Emotional dysregulation

• Developing effective coping strategies

• Releasing the hold of stress and trauma within the body

Shauna’s approach to counselling blends together techniques from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, the Gottman Method, and Somatic-based therapies, based on the needs of her clients.

Shauna has completed a Master of Science in Psychology and is currently completing a PhD in Clinical Sexology. Shauna has training and experience supporting neurodiverse clients, both individually and in partnered sessions. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC).

Shauna provides phone and virtual/video counselling to clients across BC. She enjoys working with adults of all gender identities and sexual orientations through individual or partnered sessions.

Please note: emails/messages sent to Shauna through the CounsellingBC.com website are forwarded to the confidential inbox of the Clinical Director of Gravitate Counselling Inc., who can answer your questions and/or help you book your first appointment with her.