Laura Guenzel, RCC
Associate Counsellor
(they/them/theirs)
Virtual Sessions
Laura is currently accepting new clients!
If you are interested in connecting with Laura, please contact laura@lauraguenzel.ca. For existing clients, self-book here.
Laura (they/them) is a white settler living and working on the unceded lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. They are asexual, aromantic, queer, non-binary, disabled, COVID-conscious, neurodivergent, and fat. Providing a supportive space for clients who share these identities is the focus of their counselling work.
Laura’s counselling style is warm and nonjudgmental, creating space for you to share your story at your own pace. You are the expert on your own experience, and Laura will work with you to design a counselling process that meets your needs. Experiencing oppression and other difficult circumstances can often lead to a sense of shame and self-criticism. Laura is honoured to help clients develop self-compassion, healing, and practical accommodations that make everyday tasks easier.
In addition to counselling, Laura offers hormone readiness assessments to trans and non-binary clients. They work to make this process as affirming as possible and help clients get hormone care that matches their goals and desires.
In sessions, Laura is able to accommodate different methods of communication as needed. This can include using auto-closed captioning, the video call chat feature, AAC devices, and conversational-level ASL. They also welcome clients to turn cameras off or on as needed for comfort or accessibility. Laura uses many of these accommodations in their own life as a hearing autistic person with an auditory processing disability.
Laura’s counselling practice is grounded in a commitment to challenging systemic oppression and creating space for many ways of being. They draw on frameworks such as intersectional feminism, disability justice, fat liberation, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and anti-capitalism. Their approach is also shaped by insights from harm reduction, the anti-diet movement, and relationship models like relationship anarchy and polyamory.
Community knowledge also shapes their work, including the wisdom and resistance of autistic communities, the neurodiversity movement, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. They are deeply grateful to the many activists, organizers, thinkers, creatives, and community members whose efforts and imagination make liberatory practice possible.
Laura was born and raised on the traditional lands of the Lenape people as a settler of German, Czech, and Welsh descent. In 2019, they immigrated to so-called “Canada” and shifted away from their prior career as a music teacher to pursue counselling.
Outside of work, Laura spends time with their partner, tends their garden, and works with fibre arts—including knitting, spinning, and the occasional sewing project. They’re also drawn to reading speculative fiction and nonfiction that reimagines how we care for one another and build more liberated futures.
Laura does not keep a waitlist. Prospective clients are welcome to reach out by email to inquire about availability. If no space is available at the time, you're welcome to email again later to check in and see if anything has opened up.
Laura’s Rates
15 min Phone Consultation
No Cost
Individual Counselling
50 min
Sliding Scale: Open to Discussion
Standard: $155
Generous: $160+
Hormone Readiness Assessments
Two 40-minute sessions: $300 per assessment
Laura's Availability
Location: Virtual
Days and Hours:
Sunday 10:00am - 12:30pm (Virtual)
Tuesday 10:00am - 5:30pm (Virtual)
Wednesday 10:00am - 5:30pm (Virtual)
Thursday 10:00am - 5:00pm (Virtual)
Approaches in Therapy
Person-Centred
Relational
Anti-Oppressive
Parts Work/Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Trauma-Informed
EMDR
Licensure & Degrees
Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), BC Association of Clinical Counsellors
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University, 2022
Selected Professional Training
San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training (2025)
Seeding Relationship Workshop: Practices in Building Liberatory Connection, Kristianna Smith (2024)
EMDR Comprehensive Basic Training, EMDR Consulting (2024)
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Vancouver Island Crisis Society (2022)
Laura Guenzel
RCC, CCC
Image Description: Laura is wearing glasses and a dark blue plaid sweater. They have short hair and they are smiling at the camera. There are trees in the background.