About Andrew Sumner
Offering compassionate, practical counselling focused on meaningful change
Andrew Sumner is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology. He provides individual counselling for adults as well as therapy for couples, helping clients work through emotional difficulties, relationship concerns, major life changes, injury, illness, and other challenges affecting their well-being.
Andrew’s goal is not simply to help clients feel better in the moment. He works collaboratively with each person to develop greater understanding, practical skills, and long-term meaningful changes that can be sustained well beyond the end of the counselling experience.
A Warm and Collaborative Approach
A supportive space where you can speak openly and move forward with confidence
Beginning counselling can feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable, particularly when you are already dealing with stress, uncertainty, or emotional exhaustion. Andrew strives to create a calm, respectful, and non-judgmental environment where clients can speak openly about what they are experiencing. Counselling is approached as a collaborative process, with treatment shaped around each client’s circumstances, priorities, strengths, and goals.
Rather than applying the same method to every situation, Andrew takes the time to understand the whole person and develop an approach that feels practical, relevant, and manageable.
A bit more information
Established therapeutic approaches tailored to your individual needs
Andrew uses an integrative and evidence-based approach to counselling. Depending on the needs and goals of each client, therapy may draw from:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples (EFT)
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Positive Psychology
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy
These approaches can help clients better understand patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour while developing practical strategies for coping, communication, decision-making, and lasting personal change.
Counselling for emotional well-being, relationships, recovery, and life transitions
Andrew works with adults and couples experiencing a wide range of concerns, including:
- Anxiety and ongoing stress
- Depression and low mood
- Relationship and communication difficulties
- Grief and loss
- Chronic pain
- Injury or illness
- Difficult life transitions
- Emotional challenges affecting daily life or work
- Returning to regular activities or employment following a period of difficulty
Every client arrives with a different background and reason for seeking support. Counselling is therefore tailored to the needs of the individual rather than defined solely by a diagnosis or presenting concern.
More than 20 years of experience supporting people living with chronic pain
Alongside his counselling work, Andrew brings more than 20 years of clinical experience in chronic pain management.
This experience has given him a strong understanding of how physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, identity, daily function, and employment can affect one another. He has also worked collaboratively with professionals from other healthcare disciplines to support recovery and help clients return to meaningful activities following injury or illness.
This background allows Andrew to offer counselling that recognizes both the emotional and practical realities of recovery.
Support for individuals, partners, and relationships
Andrew provides counselling for adults aged 18 and older, as well as couples seeking support with communication, conflict, emotional connection, life changes, or recurring relationship patterns.
Whether you are addressing a specific concern or simply recognize that something in your life or relationship needs to change, counselling can provide an opportunity to gain clarity, develop new perspectives, and take constructive steps forward.
Counselling in Comox and throughout British Columbia
Andrew offers in-person appointments from the West Coast Collective in Comox.
Secure online counselling appointments are also available to adults and couples located throughout British Columbia, providing greater flexibility for clients who live outside the Comox Valley or prefer to attend sessions remotely.
