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Experiential & Somatic Psychotherapy in Vancouver
Therapy for when you're feeling discouraged, or struggling to be yourself
I offer experiential, bottom-up processing, relational counselling for adults navigating anxiety, depression, shame, low self-esteem, relationship issues, life transitions, and the lasting effects of difficult experiences.
Online across British Columbia - In-person available in Vancouver - English & Spanish
Marina Sandonato, BA Psych, MPCC, RTC, FOT
Registered Counsellor
Welcome!
I see therapy as a space where change happens through real, human connection.
You might be carrying with you a heavy fog of discouragement, a persistent edge of anxiety, or a vague sense that you can't quite be yourself.
Together, we slow down and pay attention to your experience as it shows up, making space for your whole being. I help you enter into a relationship with your feelings and needs, including what's unclear.
Through this process of gently staying with what's alive in you, deeper understanding and insight emerge, with steps for more authentic and rewarding living.
Experiences we can explore together:
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A vague, persistent sense of being stuck, anxious, or on edge without knowing why.
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Intellectually understanding your patterns but finding that you're not able to act on that insight
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Feeling numb, disconnected, or feeling like you're carrying weight or tightness in your body.
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Navigating deep-seated shame, low self-esteem, or the effects of interpersonal trauma.
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Difficulty sensing what you genuinely feel or need.
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Moving through major life transitions or carrying questions about belonging and meaning.
Counselling in Vancouver: In-person and online
I offer in-person sessions in Vancouver and online sessions across BC. My fee for a 60 min individual session is $140. Most extended health insurances cover my services, and I am able to do direct billing with a few of them. Sessions can be in English or Spanish.
Shifts you can expect:
• A more grounded nervous system, moving you gradually out of chronic survival modes like fight-or-flight, freeze, or people-pleasing.
• Deeper self-trust and clarity, learning to confidently listen to and interpret your own experience.
• Relief from stored stress and tension, as your living system is safely allowed to complete and release emotional cycles.
• Clearer, healthier boundaries that protect what you value and enrich your relationships with others.
• Moving into wholeness, transforming from internal conflict, tension or disconnection into more of who you genuinely are.
My work draws from:
Process-experiential therapy
Attachment theory
Gestalt therapy
Person-centred therapy
Focusing-oriented therapy
Trauma-informed practice
Culturally responsive care
I adhere to the ethical standards of the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada and the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association.
A relational and experiential approach to therapy
My work focuses on helping you slow down, sense into your experience, and shift patterns from the inside out.
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We meet in a relaxed, conversational way
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I listen carefully, without judgement or quick fixes
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Together, we explore what you're feeling and what it means
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I help you notice patterns and make space for new ways of being
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You learn to relate to yourself with more clarity and kindness
Therapy is more than talking. It's a way of listening to yourself more deeply, with support.
The Felt Sense
(Focusing Approach)
A core part of my work is helping you connect with what is often just beneath words. Like a subtle, unclear, yet meaningful experience called a "felt sense."
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It's not just emotion, and not just thought
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It can feel vague at first, like a sense of somethig there in the middle of your body
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When you stay with it, it begins to form into something clear
This process allows deeper parts of your experience to come forward, bringing insight, relief, and a sense of direction.
"The way one wants to change isn't just from one category to another, or from being like some people to being like other people. One wants to change precisely into oneself, into more of oneself than one has been able to be so far."
Eugene Gendlin - Experiential Psychotherapy
Start where you are
You’re welcome to book a free consultation directly using the link below. If you’d rather connect by email, just send a short note to marina@intobeing.ca, and I’ll follow up within 24 hours.
You don't have to figure it out alone. I'm here to help.