Nicola Ingram, MA, RCC
Certified Hakomi Therapist
I feel privileged to be able to witness the inner worlds of children and adults. My passion is to support people, through counselling, to live life fully and with authenticity.
Counselling Experience
I have worked for eight years as a counsellor in inner city schools helping children and their families deal with very difficult situations that were often out of their control. In learning how to support these children, I have found that ‘ talking about their problems’ is often too hard initially. Through my own observations and professional training in expressive therapies, I learned how to use a child’s natural affinity with play to explore and heal wounds that were too painful to meet head on. I also have gained an appreciation of the incredible power the stories we are told about ourselves by others and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves have on determining who we become. Gently unearthing and correcting a child’s false or limiting ideas about themselves is sacred work. I never cease to wonder at the paradox of how sensitive children can be to the world around them and yet how resilient they can be in healing from traumatic events.
I have also counselled adults, couples, and families through an agency and privately.
Counselling Experience
I have worked for eight years as a counsellor in inner city schools helping children and their families deal with very difficult situations that were often out of their control. In learning how to support these children, I have found that ‘ talking about their problems’ is often too hard initially. Through my own observations and professional training in expressive therapies, I learned how to use a child’s natural affinity with play to explore and heal wounds that were too painful to meet head on. I also have gained an appreciation of the incredible power the stories we are told about ourselves by others and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves have on determining who we become. Gently unearthing and correcting a child’s false or limiting ideas about themselves is sacred work. I never cease to wonder at the paradox of how sensitive children can be to the world around them and yet how resilient they can be in healing from traumatic events.
I have also counselled adults, couples, and families through an agency and privately.
Professional Training
Throughout my career, I have been drawn to learning environments that challenge and integrate my whole being – my mind, my emotions, my body, my spirit. My MA in systems counseling challenged me to look at my own patterns within my family and how these play out in all my relationships. I now see people not only as individuals but as interrelated links in a system – the actions of one person are influenced by and influence the others in system, be it family, work , or friends. My three year study of Hakomi led me to becoming a Certified Hakomi Therapist (for more information visit www.hakomiinstitute.com) . I learned how to use mindfulness to make conscious the memories and knowledge we carry in our bodies and unconscious. I find this work paradoxically both incredibly powerful and gentle. I also pursued training that taught me in to tune into the subtleties of the energy fields surrounding us and within us. I learned tools to help myself and others be grounded, centered, and present.
The Journey of Parenthood
When I was in my late 30’s I made the decision to become a mother as a single woman. It was not an easy decision and there did not seem to be many supports out there to help me deal with the emotional angst around making the best decisions for this potential child and myself. Now, as the proud mother of a wonderful six year old, I have been supporting other single women in helping them sit with their desires, fears, doubts and questions about becoming mothers. In this process, each woman can gain clarity as to the individual path that is right for her.
Becoming a parent myself, combined with my insatiable desire to further understand what was going on for the children I counselled, led me to the attachment paradigm of Dr Gordon Neufeld ( for more information see www.neufeldinsititute.com). This paradigm put into language so much of what I felt intuitively, that the quality of our relationships has the most profound ability to influence our lives. I completed the intensives on Making Sense of Kids and Common Childhood Problems. I am excited to bring this understanding into the work I do with children and parents.
Becoming a parent myself, combined with my insatiable desire to further understand what was going on for the children I counselled, led me to the attachment paradigm of Dr Gordon Neufeld ( for more information see www.neufeldinsititute.com). This paradigm put into language so much of what I felt intuitively, that the quality of our relationships has the most profound ability to influence our lives. I completed the intensives on Making Sense of Kids and Common Childhood Problems. I am excited to bring this understanding into the work I do with children and parents.
Life & Family
To relax and nourish my soul, I spend as much time as I can in the wilderness. I love running along the trails on the North Shore, camping by the ocean, and skiing in the mountains miles from anywhere. Since becoming a mother, my forays into the wilderness have been a little less adventurous but I am passing along my love and appreciation of nature to my son!
 ...to grow sweet fruit, nourish the roots.
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I am proud to offer gentle and effective counselling to individuals and families in Vancouver, Burnaby, and North Vancouver, BC inspired by Hakomi Therapy and the work of Gordon Neufeld in attachment parenting. Services include counselling for children and youth, adults and whole family support. 1892 W. Broadway, 2nd floor. Vancouver, BC V6J 1Y5. 778-235-6689.
