Jacqueline Nakamura

I work with both youth and adults who feel consistently stressed, anxious, or weighed down by unresolved trauma, break free from unhelpful patterns and reduce the impacts of stress or emotional pain on well-being. My aim is to help you feel empowered in your path toward healing and self-discovery, and in control of your life. Together, we’ll explore the underlying patterns that may be keeping you stuck and develop practical, personalized tools for managing stress, anxiety, substance use or emotional pain.

Counselling Approach

I offer both in-person and virtual sessions. My approach is grounded in a compassionate, collaborative and trauma-informed approach that uses evidence-based approaches focused on helping you create meaningful and lasting change. I draw from therapeutic approaches such as:

EMDR - an effective approach for processing trauma and reducing the emotional impact of difficult past experiences.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Useful for working with anxious/worry thoughts and builds mindful tools for living life in line with your values.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Approach the helps in identifying different “parts” within us (ex: inner critic, wounded child etc) with understanding and compassion to support healing.

Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) - Supports individuals to build stronger awareness of their emotional experiences in order to heal attachment wounds and build internal resources.

Therapeutic Art - Useful approach of processing emotions that may be harder to verbalize

Professional Background

My professional journey started at the University of British Columbia where I completed my B.A in Psychology and was first introduced to counselling psychology. After graduating, I took a year and half off to work and volunteer. It was in this transition period of volunteering at a local children’s hospital that led me to Child Life – a role that supports children, youth and families receiving hospital care. Working with patients undergoing some of the most difficult health concerns from terminal cancer, emergency surgeries, to anxiety and fears of hospital interventions, was the turning point for me in expanding my Psychology degree to the specialization in Counselling Psychology. I sought a Master of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology from Simon Fraser University, and throughout these experiences I gained some of the most valuable experience working with youth and adults navigate extreme struggles, including trauma, chronic illness diagnoses, and coping with stress and emotional pain.

More recently, I have been working in the mental health and substance use system supporting individuals with complex trauma and substance use concerns, including loved ones affected by substance use. Our current cultural environment is deeply influenced by factors like social media, harmful substances, fast-paced lifestyles, and burnout, all of which can negatively impact our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. My overall aim is to support individuals in navigating such stressors and build coping strategies that support overall health and facilitate meaningful, lasting change.