Small things,
BIG
ThriveLife's story of Transformation
Impact
Have you ever felt too small to make a difference?
I am grateful that I have had a number of mentor-like people in my life who have shaped my own sense of what it means to make a difference and who have helped me learn to trust the process.
There are two major learnings I have found to be substantial in shaping how I see making a difference to the world. The first is that fundamentally all humans have a deep need to feel seen, heard, known and valued. Seen without judgement for really who they are; heard without judgement for truly how they think and feel; known and understood for more than the superficial ways they show up in the world; and valued and accepted as they are. When people feel seen, heard, known and valued, they have a substantial part of what they need to be their best selves.
The second learning, is the concept of ripple effect – that we can make a difference on a small scale, and that every singular drop ripples outward, making larger scale change. We may not see it. We may not see the depth or scope of impact we have on the greater world, but if we trust that the drop inevitably and invariably becomes a ripple, we can know that widescale transformative change is happening. When we can combine and enact these two principles, small things can make BIG impacts.
15 years ago I became a clinical counsellor and started a small private practice. I met with clients in a small room inside of a reflexology clinic in Walnut Grove (Langley, BC). My room had no windows, a huge lazy boy recliner, and I had to carry another chair in and out each time I came so I had somewhere to sit. It wasn’t the most ideal counselling space, but it was enough, and I can still think of small yet mighty impactful moments that happened with clients in that room.
A couple of years later, I moved to a larger space in Fort Langley, where now you will find Serendipity Salon near SABA café. It was during the 5 years in that space that the idea for ThriveLife really took shape. It was just me in this one-room office, with a couple of friends and colleagues who used the space before or after my own hours as they started to grow their own practices. Even when we were a bit like ships passing in the night, it was nice to have connection to others who were doing the hard work of caring for people in their hard and hurting places.
It was then that it struck me: helping clients is an amazing part of my life, but I could help more people feel supported and cared for if I could create a unique model that supported counsellors to feel seen, heard, known and valued, who could then better support their own clients in the same way. A trickle-down effect. More drops, more ripples, wider transformative impact for this community and the world.
Down The Street From Village Square Office...
Now The Whole Family Is Involved.
Second Kid Due In A Month.
Waiting Room Walls Ready.
My New Office.
Furniture Assembly Begins. Baby Evie 10 Days old.
"Helper".
He Was Useful At Times.
The Boys Working Hard.
We Definitely Didn't Accidently Lock Her In The Office And Call A Lock Smith.
Waiting Room.
My Office (Lindsay)
In 2017 we had keys in hand for a new Fort Langley office that would become the original home to ThriveLife Counselling & Wellness. Committed to creating a haven for counsellors to bring their best work, we trusted that this would create exponential impact. And you know what? …It worked. It turns out, when you care for people, the ripple effect is far reaching. Caring for clients is a piece, and caring for the people caring for those clients, grows the scale of impact.
We had hit a stride. We knew that we had something really special – happy, cared-for counsellors meant a growing team and expanding impact, cared-for clients, and a healthier community. …But something was missing.
In my own practice, I would often refer clients to other kinds of helping professionals: massage therapists for tension release support or chronic pain management; naturopathic doctors for support with various medical difficulties that weren’t getting sufficient attention or results from the clients GP; dieticians for care around nutrition, digestive concerns or weight loss; yoga classes for nervous system regulation; and so much more.
I often wrestled to have specific practitioners I could refer to who I could trust to do good, trauma-informed or mental health-minded work for my clients, and too many times when clients googled options, they would come back sharing that their experience was less than ideal.
Yoga was a frequent example – clients would often go to the bigger yoga studios in the Langley area and find it overwhelming to be in big classes that felt intimidating when everyone else in the class looks super fit and seem to know all the Sanskrit lingo. Rather than calming their nervous systems, they would often feel anxious, on heightened alert, worried about being judged, fearful of messing up, and struggling to return to get to a point of benefit.
Starting With An Empty Slab
Clean Slate To Create
Rooms Mapped Out On Floor
Walls...Sort Of
Door Frames Go In
Kids Have Truly Grown Up With Office(s) Now
Hard At Work Planning Furniture
New Outside Door For Yoga Studio (Rooted)
Walls !
Lots Of Insulation
Really Seeing It Now
Closets Functioning
Walls Painted, Floors Going In
Yoga Studio (Rooted) Gets A Floor.
Floors. Doors. Drawers (coming)
The Vision Is Becoming Reality
Accent Walls, ThriveLife Is Getting Colour
Doors Almost Ready
Furniture Starts To Arrive. Good Forts.
Good Helpers
Once Again Building Lots Of Furniture
So Much Cardboard
The Rest Of Furniture & Storage Arrive
Storage Ready To Go
Storage Is In
Storage Complete. Nearly There.
Family Helping On Finishing Touches
Move In Weekend !
Opening Tomorrow...
ThriveLife Counselling & WELLNESS - 2024 And On...
Spacious and Entertaining Waiting Room
12 Different Counselling & Wellness Rooms
La Niche - Play Therapy Room
Big Enough Now We Have A Second Hallway
Poplar - Counselling Room
Entrance To Our Yoga Studio/Group Space: Rooted
ThriveLife Main Entrance At End Of Hall.
This led ThriveLife to make one more move.
In July 2024 ThriveLife Counselling & Wellness moved to our new custom-built home.
Located on the 200th Street Corridor in Langley, near the Langley Events Centre, in the Jericho / Willoughby neighbourhood, you can now find our wellness clinic that is home to more than just counselling. We are working to develop a team of wellness practitioners that wrap around our clients, providing a depth of care that we trust will be truly transformative.
Continuing to focus on caring for the practitioners who work with us and giving them a home that enables them to do their best work is our goal. We are excited to be able to expand the scale of impact we can have to clients and the Langley and area community.
ThriveLife is now home to counselling for diverse demographics and clinical needs.
Therapeutic massage for diverse pain, rehabilitation and stress reduction needs.
Small class size, super chill (not pretentious or intimidating) Yoga for nervous system support, and physical and mental well-being.
One-on-one yoga therapy for personalized applications of yoga for various difficulties including trauma, mood disorders and more.
Our framework is simple.
CARE FOR PEOPLE.
Care for our practitioners to support them in bringing their best selves to the work they are passionate about, allowing them to have all they need to serve their clients with expertise and quality care.
Care for our clients by creating a safe haven where they can come and trust that they will be seen, heard, known and valued by all of us here.
Care for our community by hearing their needs and creating and adapting our supports to meet them. One drop at a time, each moment-to-moment human-to-human caring connection, every seeing, hearing, knowing, valuing touch-point, is how small things can make BIG impact.
We hope you will join us on the journey – here are some ways you can:
Try a complimentary yoga class
Attend one of our upcoming yoga + mental health workshops
Book a therapeutic massage with one of our Registered Massage Therapists
Try a personalized one-on-one yoga therapy session
Connect with a counsellor
