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YOUTH, ADULT & FAMILY
Avalon Forrester
Reaching out for support isn’t always easy, and Avalon believes everyone deserves a space where they feel safe, heard, and accepted. Her goal is to build a genuine connection with each client while supporting them through life’s challenges with warmth, compassion, and curiosity.
For the past eight years, Avalon has worked in social services, including Victim Services, group homes, and supporting children, youth, and adults through some of life’s most difficult experiences. Her background includes supporting victims’ families and witnesses following homicides and suicides, survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, and children and youth who have experienced abuse, including those involved with MCFD and children/ youth in care. Having worked on the front lines alongside first responders, she has developed a strong understanding of the realities they face. She also has a deep passion for supporting bereaved mothers, parents, and families following pregnancy or infant loss, a passion that stems from her own lived experience with perinatal loss.
Avalon holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University, a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Royal Roads University, a Diploma in Youth Justice Studies, and is certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF CBT). Her approach is person-centred, strength-based, and trauma-informed, grounded in the belief that every individual has the capacity to heal, grow, and rediscover hope.
Outside of the counselling room, Avalon loves travelling, pilates, paddle boarding, and pickleball. She was a dancer for over 15 years and was raised by a strong single mother, experiences that shaped her appreciation for resilience, compassion, and connection. She treasures spending time with family and friends and loves coming home to her family and her beloved Ragdoll cat.
Avalon encourages all new clients to book a free consultation to see if she is the right fit for their counselling journey. A limited number of sliding scale spaces are available because Avalon believes finances should never be a barrier to accessing compassionate, quality counselling.
aforrester@thebuddingelm.com