Hello, I’m Simon Zukowski, a Registered Clinical Counsellor with a Masters in counselling degree from the University of Northern British Columbia.

What attracts me to counselling is my desire to help clients rediscover their innate worth and find peace and meaning in who they are—in relation to themselves, others and the world. Very few professions are as deeply meaningful and impactful as this one.

Having suffered with anxiety, depression and chronic stress myself for many years, I know first hand what many of my clients are going through. I’ve been there, and I know that it can get better.

My counselling style is rooted in Person-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes everyone’s innate capacity to grow and develop towards their full potential, given the right conditions. This includes fostering a therapeutic relationship based on authenticity, unconditional positive regard, and empathy.

On top of this foundation, I draw on multiple other therapeutic approaches and especially on mindfulness and Internal Family Systems (IFS).

At the core of mindfulness is the understanding that there is a spacious and peaceful place inside each of us. It is a part of us that can never be hurt and it is the source of true self-esteem and meaning. Few of us naturally know how to access this space so we spend our days caught-up in the stormy weather of troubling thoughts and emotions, unaware of the unchanging and unperturbed blue sky that lies beyond. We can learn to access this space, the blue sky in this metaphor, by bringing a certain type of attention, or awareness to our everyday experiences, thus transforming them and seeing them anew.

Internal Family Systems or IFS is a psychodynamic approach, which means that it takes seriously the idea that each of us has multiple “parts” to them, and that these parts have their own agendas, fears and desires, which are sometimes at odds with one another. It’s a bit like having a family living inside you! Perhaps a stern mom or dad as the “manager” who keeps everyone on task, but who is sometimes too harsh or intolerant of “weakness” or “failure"; perhaps a softer little kid that’s afraid to be scolded and hides away, but whose hurt you often feel without being able to put your finger on where it comes from; or maybe an impulsive teenager that makes you do things that you later regret. Perhaps there’s an angry part of you that rushes to your defense when it is (too easily!) triggered by some perceived slight or insult. IFS helps you identify the different parts that together make up who you are and helps them all feel heard and understood (maybe for the very first time!) so that the whole “family” can become more harmonious, loving and supportive.

I’m a member of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (#20618) the largest professional counselling body in BC. I’ve been in practicing as a counsellor since 2023. I live in Prince George, BC with my wife and two young daughters.