Associate faculty
Chelsea is an Associate Faculty member at the Vancouver Island City U Master of Counselling Program. A registered clinical counsellor and death doula, Chelsea has a focus on end of life, grief, and medical assistance in dying (MAiD). She’s worked with children, teens, and parents/caregivers in private practice and is the co-developer of a group therapy program for people pursuing MAiD with the national registered charity Bridge 14. In 2022, Chelsea published her children’s book, Pancakes with Nana: A Storybook About Medical Assistance in Dying, which is used by hospices, health authority MAiD offices, and private practices across Canada, the US and Australia. Chelsea is a seasoned educator who has designed and facilitated dozens of workshops and courses online and in person on end-of-life psychosocialspiritial care. She currently trains helping professionals to support youth grief and loss with the non-profit Learning Through Loss, where she also facilitates school-based youth grief psycho-educational and therapeutic groups. Walking alongside her clients, Chelsea integrates system navigation and resourcing to address pragmatic care needs and theories of grief, existential, meaning centred, narrative, dignity therapy, feminist social justice, and creative arts approaches.
Teaching
I see teaching as a collaboration that begins with relationship. I strive to bring my authentic self with humor, creativity, and vulnerability to foster conditions for mutual growth and learning. I believe that grief and loss influence many aspects of mental health, one’s life path, and community. I’m excited to explore these themes with students as I strongly believe professionals must do the work we are supporting our clients to do as they engage with their mortality. Thus, real-world examples from practice and experiential learning strategies feature in my teaching approach. We will likely find ourselves collaborating in secular or nature-based rituals, mindfulness, culturally relevant, creative and somatic approaches to support our own regulation and expression, and to build skills for practice. Likewise, attuning to power in the classroom, the counselling relationship, and care systems encourage awareness and responsibility to advocate for equitable care alongside our clients and communities. As a queer cis-woman with an invisible disability working in the end-of-life and bereavement field, I strive to centre wellness and to integrate these themes into my classroom, including welcoming diverse approaches to demonstrating knowledge. I encourage students to create strategies to support their well-being that promote balance and career longevity.