Danielle Buchanan
Registered Clinical Counsellor - RCC # 18298
About Danielle
Danielle is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who holds a Masters in Counselling Psychology from Adler University. Danielle is also a Certified Professional Life Coach through the Center for Coaching Certification, and she has coached for Sole Girls Empowerment Group. Danielle has specialized training in Grief, Suicide to Hope, Advanced Narrative Therapy, Life Span Integration Therapy, and Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Danielle focuses on individual therapy and also leads 6-week long grief and loss groups. She worked in sales and marketing for a recycled products company in Vancouver, Canada for over ten years. She had the opportunity to train with Soapbox Speakers and has experience with toastmasters. Danielle has also worked in Beijing, China where she led students who intended to study in Canada in discussions around culture shock and life transitions. She then lived in Rajasthan, India and worked for a women’s empowerment group where she was responsible for a start-up project working with women who had been diagnosed with cancer. She visited rural villages to share her story about being a cancer survivor and within a team, helped provide an environment for folks to build connections and access support and resources in their community.
When not engaged with clients or furthering her therapeutic knowledge, Danielle enjoys spending time with friends and family, and can often be found enjoying the local trails by foot or by bike with her beloved dog Faith.
What I specialize in
I have specialized training in Grief, Suicide to Hope, Advanced Narrative Therapy, Life Span Integration Therapy, and Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Many of those I work with are experiencing loss, such as loss of a loved one, loss of career, loss of relationship or loss of sense of self.
Grief and Loss
Anxiety
Depression
Life Transitions
Healing Trauma
Sharing my story
I focus on individual therapy and also lead 6-week long grief and loss groups. I feel my personal experience has helped me become the therapist I am today where I can hold space for folks on a much deeper level. In choosing to share my grief story, I recently gave a Tedx talk. My story, just as yours is constantly shifting and evolving.
My big why
My name is Danielle Buchanan and I also go by Dani. My pronouns are she/her/hers and it is a pleasure to meet you!
When I was 19, I was in an accident that almost took my life. Prior to the accident, I lived a carefree life and believed I was invincible. After the accident, I lived in a state of disconnection from my body. I wasn’t able to walk for months, my relationships suffered, and my whole world was turned upside down.
I had a constant fear that kept me up at night, that I wouldn’t get past this. I sought ways to distract myself from the uncomfortable negative thoughts and feelings of worry, guilt, and shame for what I’d been through. Eventually, I became tired of living in this story that made me feel so uncomfortable in my own skin.
One typical, wet Vancouver day, I saw an article about a 10 km race and in that moment, I felt a spark of hope. Everyone around me told me I shouldn’t do it because I would get hurt. Their negativity fuelled my desire to change and I began seeing a counsellor where I learned that it’s normal to not always be “okay” and that everyone needs help at some point in their life.
From our work together, I began to shift my thinking and re-evaluate what I wanted in my life. I learned that I was capable of so much more. My story began to change when I chose to not let my accident define who I am. As I shared my experience with others, my story began to take on the qualities of hope, optimism, and eventually I realized it had been a pivotal turning point in my life.
Exactly one year after the accident that nearly took my life, I ran my first ever 10 km race. I remember being at the starting line, tears rolling down my face, as I reflected on everything I’d been through in the past year.
A man approached me and said, “don’t worry, this isn’t a hard race!” Little did he know that just a few months ago, I worried that I would never get to live the life I’d dreamed of.
I was embarking on a new chapter in my life. I was shifting from playing small to feeling in control of my life and beginning to thrive in ways I didn’t know were possible.
Although my recovery hadn’t been a linear process, neither is life. The ups and downs along the way were part of my growth and have led me to where I am now.
At some point along my healing journey, I finally felt truly embraced by myself and others. I was able to release thoughts that were no longer serving me, end my negative self-talk, and form healthier relationships. My journey, just like yours, has been like the waves in the ocean. Sometimes they are so strong that we feel like we can’t breathe. And other times, the calmness allows us to come up for air.
There are people in my life who I choose to have close to me when the waves come, and others that I have let go of because of their tendency to pull me under.
I have created a community of people who I feel most safe and secure with, and therapy has been an important part of my journey. Life, my own and others, has become extremely precious to me and I strive to cherish every moment.
Now, I choose to dedicate myself to ensuring others have the same opportunity as I did to shift their perspective and their story (narratives) in a way that will honour their past experiences, while moving forward and developing healthy relationships with themselves and others.
The decision to connect with a therapist is a new and challenging step for many, and I honour whatever it is that has brought you here. I look forward to supporting you in your journey and connecting with you.