Meet Christina Friesen

About

My name is Christina Friesen (she/her). I am of Western European Ancestry and have been a grateful uninvited visitor on the beautiful lands of the Coast and Straits Salish for most of my life. I am proud to be part of the Student Wellness Team and an Embedded Counsellor in the Faculty of Law. I have been at UVIC since 2015. I have worked in diverse roles in the community as well.

Fun for me is being with my two legged and four legged family doing almost anything. I am always grateful to be in the Forest or on the Beach with the people I love.

Counselling approach

To me, counselling is a safe place to be curious about our lives and wellbeing. I believe each person is an expert on their lives and that my role is to create a space of support and curiosity where they can explore and ask questions about their lives.

Counselling is a collaborative process that involves both counsellor and student and is created together. My job is to provide support, information, skills, perspective, and feedback.

When looking at our lives I believe that our physical, psychological, spiritual, parts of ourselves need to be considered. Sitting with another human being is always a privilege and I look forward to working with students to make their experience of university as meaningful and satisfying as possible.

Some areas I can be of help with:

• Stress and anxiety
• Relationships
• Depression
• Grief and Loss
• Alcohol and drug use
• Life transitions
• Support to those concerned for someone else