A Note from Amelia:
Our Story
Hi! My name is Amelia Bradaric and I am a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor and founder of Adventuring Loss. I have spent much of my life exploring trails, ski slopes and the open ocean of Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 2015, my loving husband died suddenly. Every corner of my life was touched by loss and the impacts of trauma. Like most people who have experienced life-altering loss, I looked for ways to cope, survive the day - and sometimes survive the minute. I leaned on well-intentioned friends and family who couldn’t grasp the weight of what I was holding. I turned toward what I knew - adventure. Since my loss, I’ve been privileged to explore landscapes in Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, UAE and throughout North America.
Being a changed person in an unchanged environment is lonely - in desperation I sought out places that gave me permission to show up as who I was becoming and be honest with myself and others about all that was lost. I wanted to be around people who had also experienced adversity.
Although traveling provided a new perspective and an openness to life once again, nothing had me adventuring my loss more than the safe therapeutic relationship I had developed with my counsellor. She has witnessed the vast well of my grief, and provided me with safety and stability to witness it myself. She challenged me to rethink and reframe what was unhelpful, she helped me integrate who I’ve been into who I was/am becoming. I was able to find insights into who I was and who I wanted to be.
It was in the therapy room that I discovered my purpose in helping others overcome hardship. I went back to school to do just that.
In 2020, in the middle of global collective grief and an insurmountable individual grief and trauma - Adventuring Loss was born.
My mission is to bring you a team of qualified therapists who have a wide range of lived experiences, academic education, experiential training and continuous education in the field of psychology. As well as educational courses, grief support groups and other resources.
Helping you navigate and overcome hardship while empowering you to restore your aliveness is the foundation of Adventuring Loss.
As a team, our Vancouver Counsellors believe in evidence based techniques, trauma-informed care and that each person is an expert in their own lives. Our goal is to equip you with the tools to tend to grief and trauma, to manage emotions, overcome anxiety and depression, achieve your goals and see the world in a new perspective.
Our Counsellors work with you to inspire confidence, peace of mind and ultimately, lifelong resilience.
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma informed therapy looks at the impact of trauma on behaviours, patterns, emotions and regulation while also considering the effects of inter-generational trauma on clients.
Trauma informed therapists are aware of the complex impacts trauma has on how an individual's suffering shapes their effort to cope. Each trauma counsellor at Adventuring Loss is trauma informed. We seek to recognize trauma’s role in our clients outlook, emotions, and behaviour, while also acknowledging that the impact of trauma is far more prevalent than our society realizes.
Trauma-informed counselling can apply to anyone. It’s not just for people with obvious sources of trauma like physical or sexual abuse. Trauma-informed care applies as well to people with a history of depression or anxiety that has wreaked havoc on life, people with emotional abuse or attachment wounds, or any kind of trauma.
You may not consider your life experience to include trauma.
Yet the way you have learned to cope in life may reflect the impact of trauma even if you don’t recognize it in yourself. That is why the most effective treatment is from an approach that is trauma-informed.
The reality is, a wide range of adverse events can cause trauma. Some are easier to recognize than others. A trauma-informed therapist’s job is to help someone heal from adverse experiences, even when that person does not identify as a trauma survivor.
Working through trauma is often a slow process. Our Vancouver trauma counsellors are trained to work with clients at a pace that does not create further overwhelm.
Online Counselling
Virtual therapy is a very useful resource that in recent years has been added to the psychological intervention services. Online therapy offers some benefits over traditional face-to-face treatment.
Some advantages of online counselling include:
-
You can see a virtual therapist from the comfort of home, without having to travel to an office, or pay for parking. Working with a therapist online can be a huge time saver. Just make sure you have access to a nice, quiet room that offers you privacy, a stable internet connection and you’re good to go!
-
Seeing your counsellor online can give you access to the comforts you find in your own space. Perhaps a pet, your own pillows or blankets. You can spend time in reflection immediately after your session with a journal or music if you choose, instead of hurrying back to a busy outside world.
-
You’re not limited to seeing therapists who live in the same city as you, which means you can choose from a wide range of licensed therapists with different areas of expertise including trauma, grief, loss, cross-cultural issues, addiction, or work life.
-
Our Vancouver counsellors are able to share their computer screen to offer up visuals, resources and educational tools. As well as, a text box for sharing links and other materials.
-
Mobility is often an underrated issue when it comes to accessing care for mental health. Online sessions make therapy far more accessible for people who are disabled or housebound.