Psychology

Psychology Practitioners at The Healing Oak

• Jen Larush, Registered Psychologist Psychology Chilliwack, BC Specializes in: Anger Management, Anxiety, Conflict Resolution, Depression

  I love helping people, which is why I chose to go into counselling. Everyone goes through times of struggles and challenges. It takes strength to face challenges and to actively work toward doing thin…

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a referral to see a psychologist?

No referral needed. You can book directly online or call the Chilliwack clinic. Some insurance plans require a referral for coverage, so confirm with your insurer before booking.

What is the difference between a psychologist and a counsellor?

A Registered Psychologist (Jen Larush) holds a doctoral or master's degree in psychology, is regulated by the College of Psychologists of BC, and can perform formal psychological assessments and issue diagnoses using the DSM-5. Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) hold master's degrees and provide therapy but cannot perform assessments or issue formal diagnoses. Both provide effective evidence-based therapy. The difference is scope, not quality.

Does Jen do couples therapy?

Yes. Jen works with couples using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method (Level 1 and Level 2 trained). Both partners attend from the first session. Couples therapy addresses communication breakdown, recurring conflict, emotional distance, and trust repair.

Does Jen work with families?

Yes. Jen provides family therapy for parent-child conflict, blended family adjustment, and supporting a family member through mental health challenges. She may begin with parents alone before including children, depending on the presenting issue.

Is psychology covered by insurance?

Most extended health plans include a psychology benefit. Per-session maximums for psychology are often higher than for counselling. Check your plan under "psychologist" or "registered psychologist." Direct billing is available for some insurers.

What is EMDR and is it effective?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trauma-processing therapy that uses bilateral stimulation while briefly activating a traumatic memory. It does not require detailed verbal retelling of the traumatic event. EMDR has strong research support for PTSD, single-incident trauma, childhood trauma, and accident recovery.

How many sessions will I need?

It depends on what you're working on. Focused issues (a specific life transition, a grief response, workplace conflict) may resolve in 8-12 sessions. Longer-standing patterns (chronic anxiety, complex trauma, couples dynamics) often benefit from 15-25+ sessions. Jen discusses expected timelines openly.

Can I see both a psychologist and a counsellor at Healing Oak?

Yes, and some clients do. For example, you might see Jen for formal assessment and complex presentations, and a Registered Clinical Counsellor for ongoing maintenance therapy, using separate psychology and counselling benefits strategically.

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What Is a Registered Psychologist?

A Registered Psychologist in British Columbia holds a doctoral or master's degree in psychology and is regulated by the College of Psychologists of BC. This regulation means standardized training, supervised clinical hours, competency examinations, and ongoing professional development requirements.

What sets psychologists apart from other mental health professionals is scope. Registered Psychologists can perform psychological assessments using standardized testing to evaluate cognitive function, personality, learning disabilities, ADHD, and other conditions. These assessments produce formal diagnostic reports that can be used for school accommodations, workplace disability claims, and treatment planning. They can also provide formal diagnoses of mental health conditions (anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, PTSD, personality disorders, ADHD) using the DSM-5, which is relevant for insurance claims, disability applications, and treatment coordination with physicians. And they deliver the same evidence-based therapeutic modalities offered by counsellors (CBT, EMDR, DBT), with the added capacity to integrate assessment findings into the treatment plan.

Psychologists do not prescribe medication in British Columbia. If medication is indicated, Jen coordinates with the patient's family physician or psychiatrist. This distinguishes them from psychiatrists, who are medical doctors with prescribing authority.

This also distinguishes them from Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs), who hold master's degrees and provide therapy but are not authorized to perform psychological assessments or issue formal diagnoses.

Psychology vs. Counselling

The Healing Oak has both a Registered Psychologist (Jen Larush) and a team of Registered Clinical Counsellors. The question of which to see depends on what you need.

See a psychologist if you need a formal psychological assessment or diagnosis (ADHD, learning disability, cognitive evaluation), if your insurance covers psychologist sessions at a higher rate than counselling (many plans do), if you want a practitioner who can integrate standardized assessment tools into your treatment, or if you are dealing with complex presentations that benefit from diagnostic clarity.

See a counsellor if you know what you are working on and want to get into therapy quickly, if you want more flexibility in practitioner availability (the clinic has 7+ counsellors vs. 1 psychologist), if your insurance has a counselling benefit and you want to use it, or if you prefer a specific therapeutic modality offered by a particular counsellor.

Both provide effective therapy. Both are regulated. The difference is scope (assessment and diagnosis) and training depth, not quality of care.

Therapy Modalities

Jen uses multiple evidence-based approaches and matches the modality to the client and the presenting issue. This is not a one-size-fits-all practice.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Structured, goal-oriented therapy that identifies and restructures thought patterns driving anxiety, depression, and avoidance. Strong evidence base for anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, and insomnia. Involves practice between sessions.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Trauma processing using bilateral stimulation. Effective for PTSD, single-incident trauma, childhood trauma, and accident recovery. Does not require detailed verbal retelling of the traumatic event.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Teaches distress tolerance, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. Originally developed for borderline personality disorder, now widely used for emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and relationship instability.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Builds psychological flexibility. You learn to observe difficult thoughts without being controlled by them and take action aligned with your values. Effective for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and substance misuse.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

A structured approach to couples therapy that focuses on attachment patterns and emotional bonds. Helps couples understand the cycles of conflict they get stuck in and rebuild secure connection. Backed by extensive research on relationship outcomes.

Gottman Method

Jen has Level 1 and Level 2 Gottman training. The Gottman method uses research-based interventions to help couples strengthen friendship, manage conflict constructively, and build shared meaning. Assessment tools identify specific relationship strengths and areas for growth.

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

Integrated into treatment for stress, burnout, self-criticism, and chronic pain. Mindfulness-based approaches build awareness of internal patterns without judgment. Self-compassion work addresses the inner critic that sustains anxiety, depression, and low self-worth.

What Jen Treats

Anxiety and stress

Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, health anxiety, and chronic worry. Jen uses CBT to identify and restructure anxiety-maintaining thought patterns, ACT to build tolerance for uncertainty, and EMDR when anxiety is rooted in past traumatic experiences.

Depression

Persistent low mood, loss of motivation, withdrawal, and hopelessness. Treatment targets the behavioural withdrawal and cognitive patterns that maintain depression. For clients whose depression has a trauma origin, EMDR can process the underlying events.

Trauma and PTSD

Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, sudden loss), complex trauma (childhood abuse, neglect, domestic violence), and PTSD. EMDR is Jen's primary modality for trauma processing. It can be combined with CBT for managing trauma-related avoidance and hypervigilance.

Couples therapy

Communication breakdown, recurring conflict, emotional distance, trust repair, and relationship dissatisfaction. Jen uses EFT and the Gottman method to help couples identify destructive interaction cycles and rebuild connection. Couples therapy is available for married, common-law, and dating relationships.

Family therapy

Parent-child conflict, blended family adjustment, communication difficulties, and supporting a family member through mental health challenges. Jen works with families to improve communication patterns and reduce conflict.

Grief and loss

Bereavement, anticipatory grief, complicated grief, and loss of identity (career, relationship, health). Therapy provides a space to process grief without being told to move on or adhere to stages.

Anger management

Understanding the triggers and patterns behind anger, developing regulation strategies, and addressing the underlying emotions (often fear, hurt, or frustration) that anger masks.

Substance misuse

Alcohol, cannabis, and other substance concerns. Jen takes a non-judgmental, harm-reduction-informed approach. Treatment addresses the function the substance serves (numbing, coping, social lubrication) and builds alternative strategies.

Self-esteem and self-worth

Persistent self-criticism, people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, and imposter syndrome. CBT and self-compassion work address the cognitive and emotional patterns maintaining low self-worth.

Life transitions

Career change, retirement, parenthood, separation, relocation, and identity shifts. Therapy provides structure and support during periods of significant change.

Insurance and Coverage

Psychology is covered under most extended health benefit plans in BC. Coverage typically falls under "psychologist" or "registered psychologist" as a separate category from counselling. Many plans offer higher per-session maximums for psychology than for counselling.

Annual limits vary by plan and employer. Check your benefits booklet or call your insurer to confirm your psychology coverage.

Direct billing is available for some insurers. If your plan is not set up for direct billing, you pay at the time of your appointment and submit the receipt for reimbursement.

For clients with both psychology and counselling benefits, the two can be used strategically. For example, use psychology sessions for assessment and complex presentations, and counselling sessions for ongoing maintenance therapy with one of the clinic's Registered Clinical Counsellors.

What to Expect

Before your first session: No referral needed. Book directly online or call the Chilliwack clinic. You will complete an intake form covering your history, current concerns, and what you are hoping to work on.

First session (50-60 minutes): Jen listens to what brought you in, asks about your history and current functioning, and begins forming a picture of what is happening. For some clients, she may recommend formal assessment tools. The first session is exploratory - there is no pressure to disclose everything at once.

Building a treatment plan: By the second or third session, Jen has a sense of what is driving the difficulty and which modality fits. This is discussed openly. If couples therapy is the path, both partners attend from the first session. For family therapy, Jen may start with parents alone before including children.

Session frequency: Weekly is standard to start. As things stabilize, sessions move to biweekly or monthly. Some clients work through a specific issue in 8-12 sessions. Trauma processing and couples work often run longer. There is no minimum commitment.

Confidentiality: Everything discussed is confidential, with legally mandated exceptions: imminent risk of harm to self or others, disclosure of child abuse or neglect, and court orders. Jen explains these limits during intake.

Related Services

Psychology at The Healing Oak sits within a multidisciplinary clinic. Mental health conditions frequently intersect with physical health, and having multiple disciplines under one roof allows for coordinated care:

• Registered Clinical Counselling - for clients who want more practitioner options or whose insurance covers counselling
• Naturopathic Medicine - for nutritional and physiological contributors to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fatigue
• Acupuncture - for nervous system regulation, stress reduction, and chronic pain that intersects with mental health
• Registered Massage Therapy - for somatic tension, stress-related pain, and nervous system downregulation
• Manual Osteopathic Therapy - for chronic pain with psychological overlay

No referral needed for any service. Book directly.