Taylor Whittall, CCC (Candidate)

About Taylor

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"My journey into counselling has grown from a rooted interest in understanding people’s inner worlds and witnessing how they adapt, grow, and find resilience through life’s challenges. Growing up in a small rural town on the Sunshine Coast, I developed a strong connection to nature, animals, and community spaces where I learned the value of slowing down, paying attention, and being present. These early experiences continue to shape my therapeutic approach, and I believe that calm, reflective environments, sometimes including the natural world, can support meaningful self-exploration and healing.

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I later moved to Cranbrook to pursue a degree in education through the University of Victoria while playing for the College of the Rockies Avalanche volleyball team. Sport played a significant role in shaping my understanding of connection, pressure, and perseverance. Through athletics, mentorship, and teamwork, I became increasingly curious about how people respond to challenge, regulate emotion, and carry their experiences both on and off the court.

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Teaching further deepened this curiosity. While I loved working with students, I often found myself aware that their struggles, strengths, and aspirations extended far beyond what could be addressed in a typical school day. I wanted to create space for those deeper conversations, a space where people could feel heard without time pressure or expectation. This realization ultimately led me to pursue my Master’s in Counselling.

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My therapeutic approach is relational, flexible, and tailored to each client’s needs. I draw primarily from person-centred, psychodynamic, and emotion-focused approaches, while integrating play-based and DBT when appropriate. This allows us to attend both to present-day concerns and to the deeper patterns and emotional experiences that shape how clients move through the world. Whether we are focusing on practical strategies, exploring relational dynamics, or simply creating space for reflection and emotional safety, my goal is to meet clients with empathy, curiosity, and respect while supporting them in reconnecting with themselves and what matters most to them."