Human-Nature Counselling Society (HNCS) is a registered Canadian Charity (#757663133RR0001) based in Victoria, BC that provides both individual and group nature-based therapy and programs for children, youth, adults and families living within our service area. HNCS is a grassroots organization grounded by the synergy between Nature, Connection and Healing.

[Service Area: Victoria/Capital Regional District, Duncan/Cowichan Valley, and Squamish/Sea-to-Sky Corridor]



OUR MISSION is to enhance the mental health and well-being of children, youth, and families, through the delivery of effective, innovative and low barrier mental health counselling services and programs, through the approaches of Nature-Based Therapy.

OUR VISION is that everyone living within the HNCS service area who strives for mental health and wellness has access to counselling services and programs they can afford, that foster their senses of belonging within family, community and the non-human natural world.

Our 2022 Impact Report

We are pleased to announce that HNCS is now a registered charity! That means your donation in support of our mission is now tax deductible. HNCS is on a quest to make mental health and wellness counselling and programs accessible, affordable, and available to everyone in need. Do YOU want to be a part of our mission’s success, and help improve the mental well-being of hundreds of individuals and families in our communities? If so, kindly click the button below to make a donation TODAY to support this vital work. Thank-you!

David Segal & Katy Rose
Co-Founders

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Gorgeside Tea and Chat with Dr. Sue Johnson

The video recording of our inaugural Speaker Series fundraiser is now available to purchase! Watch a conversation with Dr Sue Johnson and Sheryl MacKay as they illuminate what it means to be Human-Beings: Social Bonding mammals with a deep need for belonging.

It was an honour to have Sue share so authentically in an intimate conversation and for a limited time. This recording is available to the community for $9.99, with all proceeds going to help children, youth, adults and families in Victoria, BC to access mental health counselling services through a nature-based and attachment lens.

Check out our event page for more details about Dr. Johnson and Sheryl MacKay.

To purchase this engaging and dynamic recorded conversation click here!

More About HNCS


Our counselling services and programs provide an engaging alternative to traditional office-based talk therapy – turning instead to the Natural World as both our ‘office’, and our co-therapist. Rather than viewing an individual’s problems in isolation, we aim to strengthen our clients’ sense of belonging and relationship with the web of life as an integral part of the process of healing and growth. We view change through a systemic lens, acknowledging the importance of family, community and environment on a person’s sense of well-being. We view each individual as holding inherent value, strengths, wisdom and wholeness – and work creatively to shine a light on the passions and vitality within each person’s story.

We are driven to ensure our services are as accessible and barrier-free as possible by providing sliding-scale fees, and meeting with clients in nearby nature locations across a wide geographic region to accommodate the needs of families/individuals (including throughout the Greater Victoria Area, Cowichan Valley, and the Sea to Sky regions of BC).

In order to meet the growing need for those in our communities who rely on HNCS’s fee-subsidized sliding scale to access mental health counselling, HNCS needs to continuously raise funds to meet the growing demand. In 2022 we were able to offer our counselling services to over 600 individuals and families, impacting over 1500 people (40% of whom are between the ages of 6-12). In total, 5,650 service hours were provided across our group and individual/family counselling programs.  Mental Health & Wellness should be available to everyone, not just for those who can pay for the supports they require to get back and stay on track. A monthly donation of just $75 per month is enough to subsidize a family to access Nature-based therapy services who otherwise would have no support when they need it most.  Making a charitable, tax deductible donation to Human-Nature Counselling Society makes the difference for hundreds of people in our communities.

We are grateful to be able to continue providing in-person counselling services outside throughout the pandemic as health guidelines allow. Sessions are also available online as needed.

For more information on the current provincial COVID protocols, please click here.

Download Our 2021 Impact Report
Download Our Brochure


Our Services

Counselling

Our team is dedicated to providing you with accessible (affordable) and effective mental health counselling services. With a growing and talented team of clinicians, we will do our best to get you connected with the support you need.

Learn More

Nature-based Programs

We are passionate about creating accessible, and meaningful group counselling opportunities that bring people together in community and reduce the stigma of mental health – click below to find out our latest offerings!

Learn More

Workshops

As leaders and authors in the field of Nature-Based Therapy, we are dedicated to inspiring other helping professionals to step beyond the office walls (or computer screen) and into the outdoors with their clients. Check out our upcoming workshops and publications!

Learn More

A few words from our clients:

It has been a godsend.

My teenage daughter has been doing counselling with Human Nature for a year and a half. The improvements to her mental health and well-being are very evident. She has learned to cope with challenges big and small in a much healthier way. I feel that Human Nature (Natasha) has helped save her. I could not be happier or more grateful to Natasha and Human Nature for their help and support in her journey and healing. Her improvement has helped our whole family.

- Parent of Income-Based Counselling Client

I’ve recommended the service to anyone who will listen.

I’ve tried a number of times to find a suitable therapist but instead bounced around from one tiny, uncomfortable room to another, never really finding what I was looking for.  Human Nature Counselling allowed me to literally and figuratively bust out of the cage and really actually start doing the most important work.  The outdoor sessions provide me with an extra bit of grounding and peace so that the explorations into traumatic events don’t completely bowl me over.  Excellently, since Human Nature Counselling has a sliding pricing scale, I’m not sitting in my sessions feeling distracted that I’m spending a considerable amount of money doing this work.  

Since being a part of the Human Nature experience, my relationships feel much more solid and I feel much more in control of my emotional states.  Family issues, which I’ve always struggled with, now have solutions that seem to be within my grasp.  I’m not there yet, but I’m starting to see the bigger picture.

- Income-Based Counselling Client

We are truly grateful.

After a year of remote learning due to the pandemic, we were highly concerned about what the transition back to the classroom could mean for his anxiety.  In an effort to prepare for that transition and offer as much support as possible, our pediatrician referred us to Human Nature Counselling and after a time on the waitlist, we were paired with a highly skilled, compassionate, and kind new graduate. We have now been able to access weekly support for our son for over 7 months. We are relieved and elated, but most of all grateful, that our child managed this transition with ease and confidence. He is able to process his experiences and learn new skills to handle the challenges and obstacles he is navigating through help from Human Nature Counselling.  The gift of counselling has had a positive impact, not only on our son, but on our entire family.

- Parent of Income-Based Counselling Client