Hi everyone,

I’m Chandler, and I’m reaching out for support to continue my journey in providing accessible therapy and healing to those who need it most. For the past year, I’ve volunteered at Citizens’ Counselling Centre, offering low-barrier counselling for people who otherwise couldn’t access mental health support. I also teach yoga to senior citizens in various settings, including short-term stabilization hospitals, long-term care homes, and dementia care facilities, using gentle movement, mindfulness, and shared moments of presence to enhance their quality of life. Additionally, I’ve recently contracted with Saanich to lead a unique yoga program that reflects my lived experience with disability and CPTSD, creating a more accessible space for people from diverse backgrounds and nervous system complexities. I love this work deeply, and I currently have a waitlist of people waiting for the support I can offer.

I am close to completing a counselling diploma through the ORCA Institute, which will qualify me as a registered counselling therapist. Yet, as I build a private practice, I recognize that specializing in therapeutic modalities like somatic therapy and internal family systems will be essential. These approaches are highly effective for trauma, especially relational trauma, and resonate strongly with clients who are neuro-divergent or highly sensitive, which are the folks I primarily work with due to my own lived experience. I also bring somatic therapy and deep presence to my movement work, particularly in dementia and memory care, mental health and my classes in the Rec Centers.

Recently, I took an introductory somatic therapy workshop, which was a life-changing experience. Within three days of the work, my nervous system stilled, and some of the ongoing health issues I’ve had for ten years steadied. After this short time, I was able to provide deeper support for the folks I work with; I also saw immediate results in a chronic health condition in a few of my clients, and also a quick increase in confidence and a sense of safety for folks while they moved through their lives. My background in Functional Health has shown me how chronic stress fuels numerous health conditions, including those I’ve faced in autoimmunity and adrenal/thyroid. Through somatics, I’m learning how to heal my nervous system, processing trauma at a level that is profoundly healing that I want to share with others. I’m already using some of these techniques in my current work. I am ready to deepen this journey through a year-long somatic therapy training with Mariah Moser, a somatic experiencing and attachment theory leader. This course will empower me to offer comprehensive, trauma-informed care to my community, especially for those who struggle to find affordable mental health resources.

The training costs $5,300, and I must attend in Courtenay, BC, four times a year.

One reason I chose somatics is my realization, after years in functional health, that many of my clients (and myself) were reliant on supplements to get functional health benefits. Through working with clients and my own complex health journey, I saw that unresolved trauma often keeps people’s nervous systems locked in cycles of hypervigilance or shutdown. For those dealing with chronic stress-related illnesses—from autoimmune disorders and mental health challenges to diabetes and chronic unresolved burnout, and those unnamed diseases that involve loss of organ function—addressing the root trauma within the nervous system is essential for lasting healing.

I’m seeking support because this work is deeply needed in our community and because I need help on my own health journey and to reach sustainable financial stability. My wellness journey has required significant investment over the past decade, and health issues have impacted my ability to continue to invest in my education and have also made my learning process longer than the average person. Reaching this goal will be the final step in a decade-long process, allowing me to sustainably support others and make a lifelong impact in my community —something I couldn’t achieve alone.

Your contribution will help me learn about myself and then bring therapeutic support to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. With this training, I can expand my offerings, making mental health care even more accessible. I can also bring this work to rec centers at an affordable cost and to long-term and memory care, improving their physical and emotional well-being.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. Any support you can provide means the world to me and those I serve. Together, we can make healing accessible and bring hope to the lives of many who need it most. You will also be changing my life, allowing me access to what I’ve experienced as a long-term solution to my own health conditions.

With gratitude,

Chandler

Timeline

If I can finish raising the funds before April 9th, the price of the full program is $5000. A full $700 saved in being able to pay up front.

On top of this, I may have organized a trade for $1000 of work that will be deliverable.

All this to say, I need to raise $2000 in the next three weeks!

I cannot do this without your support, be it from funds or from sharing with people you may know who would want to support this initiative.

Offerings in Return for Donations:

To show my gratitude for your support, I’d love to offer something back to you:

$10: Personalized thank you email with an update on how your support is making an impact.

$25: Signed copy of the chapbook I published last year called Pieces Of (only ten copies )

$50: Access to a special online somatic therapy yoga or meditation class that I will host to support all my donors.

$75: Hand-made wild, crafted face serum made by yours truly that is my number one top seller

$100: A personalized 30-minute yoga or somatic session (virtual or in person) tailored to your needs (or as a gift)

$250: A spot in an exclusive virtual group somatics session incorporating nourishing nervous system support, where I will share insights from my training and answer questions/ Or a 1.5 h yoga therapy session / Or a herbal consultation and individualized small dose energetics capsules

$400: I have created four limited edition herbal essence kits with 12 herbal essences made on the summer solstice and a hand-made leather case made by me (designed and supported by Rad Juli)

$500+: 4 private yoga classes/ Or a herbal somatics session/ Or 2 Yoga therapy sessions.

$1000+: 10 prepaid counselling Sessions in April 2025 ($1400 value)

These are available for yourself or as a gift, and I can send a gift certificate if you want!

****If you can’t help with funds, please help in other ways:

Share with friends and people you think this work might directly impact, as well as your community at large.

Another way to support this is by purchasing a Rec Centre Yoga Pass for yourself or a friend for one of my class series. I received 60% of all funds, which is very helpful.