The Okanagan is growing faster than its counselling provision. See a BC-registered clinical counsellor by video or phone — no waitlist, and no drive down Highway 97.
Online counselling · Kelowna · West Kelowna · Vernon · Penticton
Counselling for the Okanagan, online
Openings this week — no waitlist
No drive down Highway 97
Evenings for seasonal and shift hours
Video or phone, anywhere in BC
Free 20-minute match call
Master’s-level Registered Clinical Counsellors
Master’s-level RCCs
Registered Clinical Counsellors, online across BC
Evenings
For agricultural, tourism and shift schedules
No waitlist
Free match call, usually within a day or two
40+ insurers
Direct billing where your plan allows it
The local reality
The Okanagan grew. Its counselling capacity didn’t keep up.
Kelowna is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, and the whole valley has grown with it — but counselling provision hasn’t kept pace. Lists at established Kelowna practices run long, Vernon and Penticton have fewer options still, and the counsellors taking new clients are rarely the ones you were hoping for.
And the valley has its own weight to carry: wildfire seasons that put whole neighbourhoods on evacuation alert are now a recurring fact of Okanagan life, not a one-off. That kind of strain doesn’t wait for a list to open. Online sessions mean the counsellor pool isn’t limited to the valley — and getting help doesn’t depend on a drive down Highway 97.
The Kelowna clinics quote longer waits every year
Vernon and Penticton have fewer options still
Your work is seasonal and your hours are chaos until October
Smoke season puts the whole house on edge
You’ve had the evacuation bag packed more than once
Daytime appointments simply don’t exist in your week
Wildfire season is a mental-health season now.
Living on evacuation alert, sleeping badly through smoke weeks, carrying what an actual evacuation left behind — in the Okanagan these are recurring facts of life, not one-off events, and they’re things counsellors work with directly.
That kind of strain doesn’t wait for a waitlist to open. Online sessions mean the counsellor pool isn’t limited to the valley — and getting help doesn’t depend on a drive down Highway 97.
What online sessions are like
A secure link, a private space, and fifty minutes — that’s the whole setup
At the scheduled time, your counsellor emails you a secure link. You open it on a laptop, or through a free app on your phone or tablet, and you’re in the session — no account to create, no software to buy.
A private space for the length of the session — that’s the only real requirement
Any phone, tablet or computer with a camera works
An ordinary connection is enough — or just a phone line, for full phone sessions
Standard sessions are 50 minutes
Video or phone is your choice, and it can change day to day
If the connection drops, your counsellor phones you and the session carries on
A SMALL SLICE OF OUR HANDPICKED TEAM
Counsellors taking new online clients
Master’s-level Registered Clinical Counsellors, online across BC.
Isabelle Hochban
MACP, RCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with adults by video and phone across BC.
Sarah Jetha
MACP, RCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with anxiety, by video and phone across BC.
Dixie Wong
MACP, RCC, CCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with individuals and couples, by video and phone across BC.
How to start
Start with a conversation, not a process.
Free 20-minute counsellor-match consultation
If you’d rather talk it through first — or you’re not sure who would be right — our counsellor-match team will help you decide. It’s free, by phone, and there’s no obligation to book anything after.
Step 01
Tell us what’s going on
A confidential 20-minute phone call with our counsellor-match team. Guided questions about what brought you here, what you’ve tried, what matters to you, and what a good fit would look like.
Step 02
We find your counsellor — and tell you why
Our coordinators interview every counsellor about their style, training, strengths and limits — the things that never make it onto a website. They stay neutral; no counsellor takes part in their own matching.
Step 03
Arrive without having to introduce yourself
You start your first session without repeating your story, already knowing your counsellor’s background and how they work. Afterwards we check in by email to confirm the choice was right — and if it wasn’t, we rematch you.
To be clear
What the match consultation is not.
Finding a counsellor is stressful enough without a process that makes it worse. So, to be clear:
Not a form. We’re real people, on the phone, here to support.
Not a paid service, or a step you have to pay for before you can continue.
Not an endless questionnaire you fill out alone, hoping something comes of it.
Not matching by photograph. Picking a face from a grid is not a clinical decision.
Not counsellors choosing their own clients. Our coordinators are a neutral third party.
Not a waitlist — and you will never be seen by anyone without a Master’s degree and professional registration.
Not a sales call. Nobody will pressure you to book a session.
We believe we have an ethical obligation to help you find the right counsellor, because we’re the ones with the clinical experience. The therapeutic relationship is the single biggest factor in whether therapy works. It’s too important to leave to a search page.
Cost and coverage
Paying for it in the Okanagan
Seasonal work and student plans shape how the valley pays for counselling.
UBCO students: student plans typically include counselling coverage
Agriculture, tourism and hospitality workers: evening appointments fit around seasonal hours, and many employer plans cover RCC sessions
Direct billing to 40+ insurers — you pay only your portion
$175
50 minutes · Online session
Standard session, video or phone.
Free
20 minutes · Match consultation
By phone, no obligation to book anything after.
Most extended health plans in BC cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and we bill more than 40 insurers directly where the plan allows it. Counselling with an RCC is generally tax-deductible as a medical expense. If you don’t have benefits, say so when you call and we’ll tell you exactly what you’d pay — no surprises.
Where we serve
Communities we serve across the valley
One valley, one page — wherever you are between Vernon and Penticton, the same match call books the same counsellors.
Kelowna
West Kelowna
Vernon
Penticton
Frequently asked questions.
Kelowna waitlists are months long. How is this different?
Online sessions draw on counsellors across the whole practice rather than one city’s clinics. The free match call is usually available within a day or two, and first sessions are normally available the same week.
I work harvest and tourist season — my hours are chaos until October. Can this still work?
Yes. Evening appointments exist for exactly this, and session times can move week to week with your schedule rather than forcing you into a fixed Tuesday-at-2 slot.
Last fire season still sits with me. Is that something counselling actually helps with?
Living on evacuation alert, losing sleep in smoke season, or carrying what an actual evacuation left behind are real strains that counsellors work with. The match call is where you say what’s going on and we match you with someone suited to it.
I’m at UBCO — will my student plan cover sessions?
UBCO student plans typically include counselling coverage for Registered Clinical Counsellors. Bring your plan details to the match call and we’ll confirm it before you book.
Do I have to come to anything in person?
No. Everything from match call to sessions happens by video or phone, anywhere in the valley.
My hours are chaos until the season ends. How does a weekly appointment survive that?
It doesn’t have to be weekly-same-time. Evening slots exist, and session times can move week to week with your roster — your counsellor plans around the season, not against it.
For partners and family
If you’re here looking for help for someone else.
Seeking counselling for someone you love isn’t interfering. It’s one of the most caring things you can do.
You’re not failing them by worrying — you’re paying attention. You can call us yourself and ask questions before anyone commits to anything; plenty of people do, especially where getting help has never been easy to arrange.
We are not a crisis line. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 9-8-8 — the Suicide Crisis Helpline, 24 hours a day — or 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) anywhere in BC. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 9-1-1.
Help that doesn’t depend on who’s free in Kelowna
Book the free 20-minute match call — video or phone, evenings included, no waitlist.
connect@skylarkclinic.ca
The match consultation is free. No cost, and no obligation to book anything after.
