Elaine Zbitniff

Elaine is a registered clinical counsellor and has former experience as a registered nurse in the specialties burns and plastic surgery unit and in a hospice. Her knowledge as a nurse has been informative to her practice as a counsellor as she has seen first hand the benefits of integration of mind, body, and soul when optimizing one’s health.

Her focus in counselling is with individuals and couples ages 17+ years old as she believes we all have the capacity for growth, change and healing at any age. She works with clients to connect with their meaning and purpose in their lives to achieve their realistic goals in counselling. She believes that to connect with one's self more deeply one must connect with their self on an emotional level.

Elaine is passionate about her work with individuals and couple clients dealing with health issues, such as: chronic illness, autoimmune diseases, anxiety, depression and trauma. Her work with the caregiver spouse is an area she has experience. She has a special interest in her work with Firefighters, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and healthcare professionals, as supporting and making safe space for our caregivers to be cared for allows them to continue to do their important work. Elaine aspires to support her client’s health from a mental and emotional perspective, while also having an understanding of the medical perspective and medical system for her clients. She understands the toll emotional stress has on an individual’s wellbeing.

Elaine is trained in the trauma therapy EMDR and works from a trauma informed lens. 

Her work with couples is based in her training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) to create more meaningful connection and to assist in a deeper marriage relationship. Her work with couples has been focused on understanding patterns in their marriage and how to have more effective communication and how to resolve conflict that isn't damaging to their relationship.

Elaine is a relational counsellor who is attachment focused in her work with clients who are focused on developing healthier relationships in their lives whether it be with themselves or others. Working from an attachment perspective with clients assists clients in having a better understanding of their relational needs and understanding their emotions or actions within their relationships with their friends, family, children, parents, spouse, or significant others.