Opening up is tough…

It’s natural to feel nervous about starting therapy. Talking about your emotions can feel scary… especially if it isn’t something you have done much before. It is also courageous that you are here. You are worthy of support.

 
Image of counsellor Lara Rabb smiling on the beach in Port Moody.

I’m Lara.

I’m a Registered Clinical Counsellor in Port Moody, BC and a passionate Couples Therapist.

I know how hard it can be to let someone in when you are struggling. I also know I will value what you have to say, hold you with a gentle presence, and validate your experience as the expert you are on your own life.

 

Are we a good match?

Who I Am

  • A therapist who is very skilled, but also relatable and kind

  • Innately curious and ready to learn more about you

  • Committed to the process of your growth and your hopes for therapy

  • Excited to go to work each day

  • A mom, a wife, a nature-enthusiast, and aspiring poet

  • A BIPOC therapist, and someone who identifies as Queer

Who You Are

  • Deeply curious about your internal experience and emotions

  • Looking to cultivate a more fulfilling relationship within yourself, and with others

  • Motivated to better understand yourself or how you relate to your partner

  • Searching for a therapist who is non-judgmental and kind

  • Open to exploring how emotions show up in your body

My Story

Counselling is my third career in my adult life, and it is by-far my favourite. I am so glad I found my way here after nearly a decade working in education as a teacher, and several years running a business for new parents in the postpartum period.

I have always been curious about therapy, but it was my own experiences in individual counselling, as well as, couples therapy that led me to pursue my masters in counselling psychology. I know what it is like to sit on the other side of the couch, and I am no stranger to the aloneness we can feel when life is tough.

My Approach

Friendly & Inviting

I will welcome you to therapy with warmth and acceptance. I believe relationship is at the heart of our work together, and I invite you to come as you are.

Curious & Hopeful

I believe you are the best source of knowledge we have to work with in the therapy space. I am curious to hear what you’d like to be different and hopeful we can find our way there together.

Present & Intentional

I pay attention to what is happening between us, or what is happening between you and your spouse. I am intentional about how we use our time, and what I share about what I see.

Background & Training

  • Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC)

  • Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)

  • Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University, NB

  • Certified Teacher in the Province of BC

  • Trained in trauma-informed stabilization treatment and working with trauma-exposed professionals

  • Completed multiple trainings in Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy through ICEEFT

  • Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy

  • Advanced training in working with depression and suicidality

Therapies I Practice

  • This means I believe you are the expert on your own life. The goal of this form of therapy is increased self-understanding and self-acceptance. My hope is you will feel better understood and more trusting of your own experience.

  • This therapy looks at emotions as central to our functioning. The goal is to better understand how emotions show up in your body, the meaning you give to them, and the actions they are most trying to communicate to you. Emotions are biological tendencies that can tell us a lot, but we often ignore them.

  • The goal of AEDP is for the client-therapist relationship to be a safe-haven for self-discovery and exploration. You will be invited to explore emotional and relational experiences deeply in hopes of having a new emotional or corrective experience in the therapy space.

  • Here the goal is to explore your bodily felt-sense of your experience so you can better understand your emotions and behaviour. Often we are unaware of what we are really feeling. Focusing shifts the attention internally in hopes of finding newer, clearer, meanings for experiences beyond simply using cognition.

Let’s talk

Finding the right counsellor is super important. Want to know more? Schedule a complimentary conversation.