Practice information:

Jan Sutherland is an experienced couples, marriage and family therapist with a well established practice in Kelowna, B.C. She provides relationship and marriage counselling to both singles and couples. In couples therapy, Jan helps people to communicate more effectively, develop better conflict resolution strategies, and enhance intimacy and connection.

In the beginning, most relationships are exciting and fulfilling. Many people, however, report that over time those good relationships become strained and difficult. Through couples counselling, Jan helps people stop the “drift” that creeps into so many relationships by helping couples rebuild the positive loving connections they once had.

Fighting about kids, sex, money, or household chores drain the life and fun out of being together. All couples experience problems from time to time but if they cannot overcome them, resentments grow and partners stop communicating in a productive and loving way. As an experienced Kelowna couples counsellor, Jan can quickly determine the work that needs to be done to restore harmony and balance in a relationship.

Relationship issues affect individuals too, causing stress, anxiety and depression. Jan provides counselling and therapy to help individuals overcome problems that they may have in developing happy relationships.

Jan believes that her therapy clients want to see results. She works to help people set realistic goals that will solve their individual and/or relationship problems. Through couple and individual counselling Jan’s aim is to remove the roadblocks so that people feel more fulfilled individually as well as in their relationships.

A special interest is step and blended families which developed through Jan's own personal experiences. Step and blended families can run smoothly but often at times they can be very challenging. Through individual, couples and family counselling, Jan helps family members process the losses and newness that comes with reconfiguring the family and then helps to build hope, realistic expectations and new strategies for getting along.

A former president of the British Columbia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy from 2006 through 2007, Jan remains active in this association. She is also an approved supervisor of marriage and family therapists in the Okanagan. She and her husband have been married for 30 years, live in Kelowna B.C. and have four children.