About Beacon Counselling + Coaching

Do you need expertise and knowledge in navigating a certain area of your life? Are the daily demands of parenting wearing you down? Is your marriage or relationship not what you want it to be? Is there addiction, trauma or loss holding you back from a life of joy? At Beacon Counselling and Coaching I am here to help you navigate a new path to better relationships (with yourself and others) and improved mental health so you can get back to leading a joyful life.

Located in Sylvan Lake, AB my office is in a quiet setting just north of the downtown area with a window view of our beautiful Sylvan Lake lighthouse.

Our Vision

The vision of Beacon Counselling and Coaching was developed with the image and metaphor of a lighthouse beacon. Historically and still today beacons are a symbol of safety and light to those navigating dangerous and overwhelming seas. At Beacon Counselling and Coaching I aim to be a stable and constant guide for you in this journey. I am deeply committed to serving you, your children or those you love through difficult and unexpected situations.

At Beacon Counselling and Coaching I offer researched & effective counselling methods and specialized assessments for individuals, children, couples and families. Areas of specialty are trauma and attachment recovery, relationship healing for couples dealing with stress, addictions or relationship betrayal and individual/parenting/family strategies using attachment researched interventions.

Our Team

About Sara

Hello! I am so glad you are here. I am glad you are here because you matter. Yes – You.

What is important to know about me is this – I am your ally in this journey. It is a courageous act to reach out and to trust a therapist with your story. This is a responsibility I do not take lightly. Whether you are in this journey – your story matters.

~ I hope you can relate to my story as well.
~ I am a mom, a wife and a dreamer.
~ I have successfully recovered from the debilitating effects of panic disorder.
~ I have navigated how to lead a healthy life despite a physical illness.
~ I have walked through the impacts of trauma and am on my way to healing my story.
~ I know what it feels like to have a loved one with addiction.
~ I deeply understand how difficult it is to process the grief of someone passing away too soon and dealing with the grief of their absence in my life.

I am passionate about helping my clients, my people, overcome the impact of trauma, mental health challenges, negative thinking and finding connected and meaningful relationships.

My friends and family experience me as a person of great compassion and joy. It is essential that my clients feel they are receiving therapy that is effective and key to their healing and progress.

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Education, Trainings and Experience

Education and Credentials
~ MSW Masters in Social Work (Clinical Specialization) completed in 2010
~ BSW Bachelor of Social Work (Post-Honors Program) completed in 2009
~ BA Bachelor of Arts (Sociology Major, Psychology Minor) completed in 2008

Trainings
~ The Brain Health Project Training (February 2020)
~ Building Resilience in Trauma Exposure (November 2018)
~ Expressive Arts Therapy Introduction (March 2018)
~ Body & Mind Somatic Integration (July 2017)
~ Treatment of Complex Trauma: with John Briere (February 2015)
~ Emotion Focused Therapy Training (November 2014 and January 2015)
~ Gottman Level 1 Certification (March 2014)
~ The Art and Science of Transplanting Children (September 2014)
~ Connect Parent Group Facilitator Training (May 2012)
~ Good Grieving Workshop (April 2011)
~ Behavioural Therapy & Autism Certificate (June 2007)

*Gottman Level 2 Certification (In Progress)
*Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Course (In Progress)

Experience
~ Counselling individuals, families, children and teens in community and school settings since 2008
~ Providing Gottman Therapy techniques to parents and couples in distress since 2014.
~ Giving hope to parents and families who love a child, teen or family member with a mental health concern since 2011
~ Providing provisional mental health diagnosis’, school consultations, lead multi-sector case conferences since 2011
~ Providing home based parent-child attachment interaction assessments and school observations since 2011
~ Providing somatic and emotion-focused trauma recovery therapies to individuals since 2015
~ Experienced as a volunteer in grief recovery groups such as Rainbows Program for children and the adult Grief Group Facilitator at the Bob Glasgow Grief Support Center between 2010-2015

About Jais

My name is Jais. I hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CTTP). I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor and Counselling Therapist in Alberta. I have extensive experience working with adolescents, adults, couples, and families throughout Central Alberta.

As a therapist, I am known for helping clients create meaningful, lasting change. I work collaboratively to support you in building the skills and strategies you need to achieve your goals and lead a fulfilling life.

I tailor my approach to suit your unique needs, drawing from a range of evidence-based practices, including Attachment-Based Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and the Gottman Method for couples. Together, we will find the path that best supports your healing and personal growth.

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Jais' Recent Trainings

Trauma Solutions: Dr. Terry Levy and Dr. Diane Poole Heller:

  • DBT Skills for Adolescents & Families, Online: January 2024
  • Essentials of Trauma Treatment: Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) Training

Course, Online, PESI: 2022.

  • Parenting with Internal Family Systems Model (IFS), Online, PESI: 2022
  • Personality Disorders Certification Training: Advanced Diagnosis, Treatment & Management,

Online Course, PESI: 2022

John Gottman, Ph.D.; Julie Schwartz Gottman:

  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1: Bridging the Couple Chasm, 2021
  • Gottman Method Couple Therapy Level 2 (In progress)
  • The Gottman Method to Treating Affairs and Trauma: An Advanced Online Training Course

(Online Course)-2024

  • The Trauma Informed Care e-learning Series, AHS: 2023
  • The New Exposure Therapy: How Inhibitory Learning Can Improve Outcomes for OCD and

Anxiety Disorders, PESI: 2021

  • Grief Treatment Certification Training: Evidence-Based Approaches across the lifespan. PESI:

2024

  • Attachment Communication Training, Online: 2024

Careers

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