Helping women improve their wellbeing.

HELPING WOMEN IMPROVE THEIR WELLBEING.

Stress, anxiety, and negative self-talk make it hard to live a healthy, fulfilling life. We get stuck in emotional, mental, and behavioural patterns that impact our wellbeing, and make us lose connection with the joyful, peaceful parts of ourself. Feminine Fortress Counselling helps women to get unstuck from difficult emotions, regulate their nervous system, and re-connect with their inner source of peace and strength.

Hi! I’m Kirstin McKinnon. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and a Registered Nurse (RN). I have a master’s degree in nursing, and trained as a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have over 20 years of experience in working one on one with clients. I have seen the complexities of life and relationships, and I strive to help clients form a place of empathy and understanding. My combined education and practice experience gives me a unique understanding of, and approach to, the interconnection of mind, body, and emotions. My knowledge and training in counselling and advanced practice nursing enables me to provide evidence-based, holistic care to support clients in creating greater well-being in their lives. I aim to help women get unstuck from emotional, mental, and behavioural patterns that are impacting their wellbeing so that they can live a healthier, more fulfilling life. I wholeheartedly believe in peoples’ capacity to heal, grow, and change. This ability within you, combined with evidence-based therapies, can  produce meaningful change in your wellbeing.

What has been getting in the way of your wellbeing?

  • Are you feeling stuck in anxiety, guilt, or self-doubt?
  • Does life feel too overwhelming to even put into words?
  • Does fear hold you back from doing the things you want to do?
  • Do you know what you “should be doing” to live a healthier life but “just aren’t doing it”?
  • Do you have areas where you self-sabotage?
  • Do you have a strong inner critic who tells you that you aren’t good enough or are unworthy?
  • Does emotional eating hinder your wellbeing, self-esteem, and body image?

These are all patterns that we can get stuck in that steal our joy and peace, and negatively impact our wellbeing. These patterns estrange us from who we really are, and the person we long to be. My approach to counselling is rooted in therapies that are designed to regulate the nervous system and difficult emotions, heal trauma, create new patterns, re-write old negative self-beliefs, promote greater self-acceptance, and to live with a greater sense of connection and meaning.

As we work together, you can take the steps towards identifying and challenging limiting beliefs and narratives, process and regulate difficult emotions, develop a more regulated nervous system, and rewrite a new chapter going forward in your life.

How we create meaningful change:

We all develop automatic patterns in our thoughts, emotions, and actions. They often become our “automatic pilot” mode. Some are helpful, but many are not helpful. These automatic patterns get activated when our nervous system reacts to a trigger.

The good news is, we can create new patterns by regulating our nervous system, re-writing our beliefs, and by re-connecting with our internal source of strength and wisdom.

My Three-Phase Model of Care:

Phase I: Create emotional balance & Identify unhelpful patterns.

Phase II:  Create new patterns & Connect with Inner Strength.

Phase III: Create meaning and purpose & Develop a greater sense of self.

A Little Bit About Me:

My name is Kirstin McKinnon, and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and a Registered Nurse (RN). Before becoming an RCC, I worked for 17 years in the nursing field, both as a Registered Nurse and as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

I offer a holistic approach to help women tend to their emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health.

Tending to the heart, mind, body and soul.

Dissolve unhelpful behavioural and emotional patterns, develop a stronger sense of self, and engage in life in a more meaningful way.