About Me
Hi There! I'm Virginia Purcell
I'm a Counsellor and Executive Coach, founder of the Counselling & Coaching business Counselling In Fernie.
I Love My Work!
I help professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders achieve success while reducing stress, anxiety and overthinking.
My clients are most often responsible, caring people who may overwork, overgive, overthink and find it difficult to find balance in their lives.
I work in partnership with clients to provide a safe confidential space to take inventory, get clear on your values, identify barriers and self limiting beliefs and heal internal wounds that prevent you from moving forward.
Together we develop and implement a plan to shift mindset, align with values, and create meaningful relationships that feel more fulfilled, on purpose and happy.
I use a special sauce of counselling and coaching frameworks to help you.
I serve the awesome people of Fernie but don't live in Fernie. This gives us social space for me to serve you better.
I love Fernie but.....I've never lived in Fernie, have no relatives in Fernie or any friendship connections in Fernie. I commute into Fernie just to provide counselling and coaching services.
Importantly, this allows me to keep our counselling and coaching relationship pure, without any dual relationships or secondary connections.
Many of my clients prefer a hybrid coaching and counselling model where we do some sessions online or by phone and we have the ADVANTAGE of being able to also meet in person for our sessions.
Corporate Experience
Before I became a counsellor, I worked in the oil & gas industry in Leadership Development and Human Resources roles.
Although I enjoyed my work, after several years of that exciting and very well paying experience, I wanted to find a way to give back to community and to help people more directly, rather than the corporate focus of increasing shareholder value.
I returned to university for a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology and obtained my certification (license) to practice as a clinical counsellor in most provinces in Canada.
I have approx 10 years counselling experience. I can give you the benefit of the secret sauce combo of coaching and counselling.
How this benefits you
Years of work experience in the corporate world prior becoming a counsellor position me to understand the realities of the workplace, especially the challenges professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders face. I understand what it is like to work for large and small corporations and have an excellent working knowledge of the responsibilities of engineers, accountants, health care workers, supervisors, managers and executives - and many other roles. I know what it's like.
Having worked extensively in leadership development and leadership coaching, I have extensive knowledge of capability development programs, coaching tools and how to navigate corporate systems and politics. I can help you plan your success.
As a result and importantly, I can help you align with your values, define and determine your own brand of success, and develop your own sense of life purpose.
And many times we will find internal barriers that can be healed and work on shifting limiting beliefs that are holding you back - helping you to feel better and to live life your way - feeling satisfied and empowered. We work on mindset to be sure you are not standing in your own way.
Life Experience Also Helps Me to Help You
Prior to becoming a counsellor I juggled work and family life as a parent working in the oil and gas industry with an equally busy professional spouse and young children. This means I have lived experience that informs my counselling practice in addition to the theory that was part of the counselling training. I have experienced many life challenges and their impact on relationships.
Your life and your experiences are unique and I listen and support you with the benefit of having travelled my own challenges as well. Your answers will be your own and I am there for you fully, with lived understanding that comes only from real life experience.
Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Leaders
Most of my clients tend to be professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders who want to define success their own way, seek life balance, strong fulfilling relationships and a sense of purpose and alignment.
(BTW - my clients are also artists, small business owners, haul truck drivers, retired persons, caregivers, shift supervisors and home makers and many other types of work.)
I commute into Fernie to provide counselling and coaching but do not live in Fernie, do not have friends or relatives in BC and deliberately choose to maintain that in order to serve you better by providing social space along with the benefit of the option to meet in person as well as online. You have the comfort of knowing that I am not related to anyone, friends with anyone or have any personal history with anyone.
Many Cool Tools for your toolbox
I have many tools and approaches to support you with - from attachment theory, to mindfulness, to narrative therapy, Gottman method, ACT, CBT, DBT, nature based therapy, and many other modalities.
All of these are like a toolkit that keeps growing, that I use along with professional coaching tools to help you with. We work together to remove barriers that hold you back, heal trauma, and shift your mindset to help you move forward to the life you want to live.
