Carole McMillan

Hello! I’m Carole

About Me

I am originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba. While I love the prairies and the people there, I do not love the cold, long, dark winters! Eight years ago, my family decided to go on a “year long adventure” and try living on the West Coast. Before the year was up, we had made the decision to make Victoria our home.  It is by far the best decision we made!

I have always loved working with children and youth. From my first job as a camp counsellor, I knew that whatever my future held, it needed to be working with children and youth. I started my career as a Kindergarten Teacher and taught for several years before deciding to further my education in the field of Counselling and work towards my Master’s Degree. While I loved being a teacher, I felt strongly that my passion for helping and the skills I was learning in my program, were leading me to work with youth in a more therapeutic setting.

Upon earning my Masters, I started working as a School Counsellor. I had the privilege of being part of several diverse communities. These experiences served me well when I started working in private practice and working with children, youth and adults who were looking for someone to help them understand the world and how to navigate themselves in it.

I work from a strengths-based perspective – I believe that each of us has everything we need inside of us.  It is my job, as a therapist to help my clients find the answers they are looking for. Through talk therapy, expressive arts and relationship building, I work hard to develop a safe space that makes learning and growing possible. I am also a passionate advocate for my clients and work with them to navigate challenging situations at home, at school, and at work.

In addition to my professional experience, I am deeply committed to ongoing learning and development. I regularly engage in continuing education and stay on top of the latest research and therapeutic modalities to ensure that I am providing the best possible support to my clients.

In my free time, you can find me exploring nature trails with my family, practicing mindfulness through yoga and meditation, or immersing myself in a good book at one of Victoria's charming coffee shops. I believe in the importance of self-care and strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance, so that I can show up as the best possible support for my clients.

I love working with children in middle school and high schoolers. Adolescence is a difficult time to navigate and having a trusted adult to talk to can make all the difference. I also love working with parents to help support the mental health of their children and to work towards creating happy and healthy families.

I am looking forward to continuing learning and growing as I start working with this talented group of professionals at Vancouver Island Child, Youth and Family Counselling Services.