Specialized counselling for underground miners, roughnecks, rig workers, heavy equipment operators, FIFO crews, and anyone whose job takes them away from their life and does things to them that are hard to name. Built by someone who actually worked underground -- not someone who read about it.
Book a Free 15-Min Call No obligation. Telehealth available — talk from site, from the truck, from anywhere in BC.Two or three weeks away, then you're supposed to just slot back in. Your partner's been running the house alone. Your kids stopped waiting up. You feel like a guest in your own home — and going back to site feels like a relief, which makes you feel like shit.
Drinking to sleep. Gambling to feel something. Whatever makes the rotation go faster. On site these strategies work well enough. Off rotation they're tearing your life apart and you don't have a name for it yet.
After enough critical incidents, near-misses, and things you had to walk away from — you learned not to feel too much. It kept you functional at work. Now it's following you home and the people you love are getting a version of you that's mostly not there.
When someone asks who you are, the first thing out of your mouth is what you do. The money, the danger, the crew — it structures everything. The idea of stopping terrifies you. What's left if you pull the job out of the equation?
Not dangerous. Just — hair-trigger. Small things set you off. At home, at the store, at anyone who seems soft or slow or complaining about nothing. The frustration has nowhere to go and no one around you gets why.
Or on the rig, or on the highway in, or to someone on your crew. Nobody talked about it and you were back on shift two days later. It didn't hit you right away. It's hitting you now.
"The industry is good at building men who can take a lot. Nobody teaches you what to do when you've taken too much and you still have to show up Monday."
— Nicholas van Sabben, RCC | Former Underground Shifter BossBefore I was an RCC, I worked underground — hard rock, soft rock, repair — as a Shifter Boss. Before that, oil and gas as a roughneck and floorhand. I know what production pressure looks like when it's 3am and you're behind and the contractor's pushing and the protocol is technically the slower option.
I came to clinical counselling through my own long road — a serious mental health diagnosis, psychiatric hospitalization, substance use, and raising a child on my own. My Master's degree came at 40. My path to this work was earned the long way.
I'm not going to hand you a worksheet. I'm not going to tell you to practice gratitude. I'm going to meet you where you actually are — with a clinical framework that can hold the complexity of what the job does to a person over years, and a genuine understanding of why you haven't talked to anyone about it until now.
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), sessions are covered by most extended health benefit plans — including those offered through union agreements, employer plans, and private coverage. If your employer or union has an EAP or extended health rider, this likely qualifies.
On Manulife, Sun Life, Great-West Life, or CLAC plans? Contact directly before booking and I'll confirm coverage. Direct billing available where the insurer permits. Self-pay options available. First consultation is always free.
Telehealth means you can do this from your truck, from camp, from home — anywhere in BC. Built around your rotation schedule, not a 9-to-5 office assumption.
A direct conversation to figure out if this is the right fit. No sales pitch. If I'm not the right clinician for what you're dealing with, I'll tell you clearly and point you somewhere better.
A thorough intake that builds a real picture — history, what's actually going on, what's already been tried, what matters most. This becomes the foundation of how we work together.
EMDR, DBT, and trauma-informed approaches adapted to FIFO scheduling. Sessions can be clustered during off-rotation. No rigid weekly commitment required.
The first call is free. 15 minutes. From your truck or from camp. If it's not the right fit, I'll tell you — and point you somewhere better.
Book Your Free Consult Telehealth available across BC · No referral required