Areas of practice
- Abuse - Emotional, Physical, Sexual
- Adolescent Issues
- Anxiety and/or Panic
- Child Stress and Trauma
- Critical Incidents and Acute Stress
- Cross Cultural Issues
- Depression
- Family Issues
- Parenting Issues
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Sexual Assault
- Trauma Counselling
Approaches used
- Child Centred Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Cross Cultural Therapy
- Existential-Humanistic
- Expressive Arts Therapies
- Humanistic Therapy
- Integrative Psychotherapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Observed Experiential Integration (OEI)
- Play Therapy
Languages spoken
- German
Counselling practice website:
www.chrisrensch.comPractice information:
Chris Rensch is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who specializes in child and trauma therapy. He helps kids and their parents get unstuck when life circumstances create barriers.
As one of the only male trauma-focused children’s therapists in Langley and the Fraser Valley, Chris brings a positive male presence to children who are often in the midst of family division. He uses play and talk therapy to explore the roots of behavioural issues, and to help children and their parents work through the trauma of abuse, mental health issues and marital conflict.
Meet Chris
I have a lifelong passion for helping kids overcome hardship—abuse, trauma, anxiety or just the daily stress that comes from living in a divided home.
I take a person-centered, humanistic approach as I help children and adults become the best version of themselves. My goal is to give new hope to kids (and to their parents) as I help them step into daily life with security, certainty, and joy.
I have a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology (MACP) and a BA (Hons) in Psychology with a minor in Sociology, and a Human Services Certificate from Trinity Western University. Much of my practice deals with trauma, and I have specialized training in two specific trauma therapies: Lifespan Integration and Observed and Experiential Integration.
I’m driven by a desire to see healing at every stage of life, to help people move forward in healthy, full relationships—no matter what happened in the past.
My Approach to Therapy
I work with children and adults who feel stuck—like they can’t move beyond the abuse or trauma they’ve experienced, even if it took place long ago.
My approach is not to treat symptoms from the top down, but to create lasting change from the bottom up. It’s a highly client-centered approach, rooted in my belief that we all have the inner ability to help ourselves.
For adults and older children this usually takes the form of talk therapy. For acute, intense memories and backgrounds I use specific trauma therapies. For children I use play and art in a mostly child-led approach.
These approaches help you or your child break out of unhelpful relationship patterns that undermine your inner strength, so you can move forward with healthy attachments and firm relationships.
Counselling for Children and Teens
As one of the only male counsellors in Langley, BC, with a specific focus on children and child trauma, I bring a safe and positive presence to the lives of children and teens who may lack male role models or live in divided homes.
I specialize in therapy for trauma-exposed children—including abuse and neglect—but also for kids experiencing the anxiety of divorce and separation, loss, questions about sexual identity, or the conflict of being a “Third Culture Kid.”
Sometime the effects show up in the midst of parental conflict, but other times it may not present until years after a divorce or traumatic incident.
These behaviours take many forms, including:
-
Anger outbursts and other behavioural difficulties
-
Anxiety
-
Boundary issues
-
Depression
-
Developmental disorders and disability
-
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
-
Self-esteem issues
-
Self-harm
-
Thoughts of suicide
My child and teen therapy is largely rooted in play. I create a safe environment with the right parameters for your kids to be kids. We make connections and solve internal problems by imagining or making art together.
Trauma Therapy
If you have experienced trauma at any stage in life you may feel like you’re stuck in a rut, or a cycle you can’t emerge from. Trauma-focused therapy can help you get “unstuck” and finally start to move forward.
We start with simple safety building. Imagine you’re learning to drive a car. You wouldn’t zip onto the freeway until you’ve learned how to brake properly. We establish that simple foundation through mindfulness, relaxation exercises, safety instillment, and traditional talk therapy.
Once we’re on secure ground, we can start working through the trauma itself. I have specialized training in specific trauma therapies called Lifespan Integration and Observed and Experiential Integration. These therapies help you access your trauma experience and root it in a broader life story, rather than storing those separately in your brain.
Together we’ll try to make sense of what happened and look for resolution or ways to make peace with those experiences.
These stages aren’t linear—we’ll go back and forth as we build a level of safety and resolve memories you may have suppressed for years. We’re working towards getting you unstuck and freeing you to walk forward into life with fully engaged and whole.
Client fee individuals:
$120Client fee couples/families:
$130Availability:
| MonMonday | TueTuesday | WedWednesday | ThuThursday | FriFriday | SatSaturday | SunSunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MorningAM | Available | Available | Available | ||||
| AfternoonPM | Available | Available | Available | Available | |||
| EveningLate | Available | Available | Available |