Joy Steem
MDiv. RCC

About

There is something profoundly meaningful about being invited into people’s stories, especially those finding their way through life’s challenges. My work as a counsellor is shaped by deep respect for the dignity, complexity, and resilience of every person I meet.

With children and youth, I aim to create spaces that feel safe, curious, and alive with possibility. For younger kids, this might mean exploring feelings through play, imagination, and storytelling. With teens, it often means a mix of honesty, humour, and real conversation about what it means to be human in the middle of all the messiness.

I’m passionate about helping people discover who they are and live into that identity, even when life makes it hard to know or trust themselves. I believe my clients are the experts of their own stories. I’m here to help them find their voice, make meaning, and explore strategies that fit for them and their world. When working with families, I value partnering with parents and guardians in ways that respect both their care and the challenges they navigate, and I understand that families take many forms, all of which shape how young people experience the world.

My background in spiritual care, restorative justice, and writing have taught me the value of presence, peace, and the kind of listening that allows people to truly feel known, and therefore live more confidently into their true selves.

In the therapy room, I bring a warm, collaborative, and flexible presence. I work from a family systems perspective, recognizing that our relationships and environments shape how we see ourselves and others. My approach draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, Neuroscience and Satir in the Sand Tray (NSST), and Play Therapy.

I am drawn to working with people living with neurodiversity, anxiety, stress, emotional distress, life transitions, or challenges with identity and self-expression. I see emotions as information about what really matters, and I aim to help clients find ways of navigating these challenges that make sense for them. My hope for those I work with, young and old, is that they might come to feel truly seen, valued, and empowered to live in alignment with what matters most to them.

“We are not problems to be solved, but mysteries to be encountered.” — David G. Benner

Training | Education | Professional Affiliations
BC Association of Clinical Counsellors – Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)- member # 24704
Masters of Divinity in Clinical Counselling (MDiv) – Tyndale University

Additional Training:
Narrative Therapy Foundations
Neuroscience and the Satir Model in the Sand Tray (NSST) – Level One