We all face barriers to health services, whether we are queer or not. As queer folk, we experience a higher level of mental and physical illness than the general population as well as a greater number of barriers to service. With this page, the hope is that those who have managed to find services and service providers that are affirming and accessible will be able to share that knowledge and help others find those services and providers more easily. If you are aware of a service or service provider who is queer and trans competent, please contact us with their name and location so we can help others access the resources they need.

If you are in crisis, please contact a crisis support worker.

Family Doctor

Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of Family Doctors in BC, particularly on the island, with not enough GPs to serve the current (growing) population. There are a select few GPs in various locations on the island that will accept new patients if they are transgender. If you are trans or gender variant and in need of a GP who will be affirming and will be able to help you on your transition, please contact us with a bit about your current GP situation and where you’re located on the islands. We will do our best to help you find a GP, but make no guarantees.
The specific information, while shared on-the-ground within the communities, will be kept off this site to prevent these already overburdened GPs from being inundated with new patients. We hope that, in time, more GPs will take advantage of the education being offered by TransCareBC and other organizations to become more queer and trans knowlegable in their practice.

If you have a GP who is decent, but could be more trans and queer competent, please direct them to TransCareBC for materials, forms, and educational resources including a hotline they can call and get immediate answers to immediate questions.

Walk-in Clinics

Victoria
Foundry Victoria: They offer a range of wellness services for young people ages 12-24, including physical and mental health care, substance use supports, social services and peer support. Not sure what service or support you need? Just go in and talk with someone! They’ll work with you to determine what might be most helpful for your wellness needs.

Sexual Health Services

Whole Island
OPT: Options for Sexual Health: They offer a variety of services relating to sexual health including STI screenings, birth control, and pregnancy services.

Victoria
Island Sexual Health: They offer a variety of gender-affirming sexual and reproductive health services on an appointment only basis. (Some emergency appointments available.) Services include (not limited to): genital exams, breast exams, hormone readiness/access, STI testing/treatment/vaccination, and birth control. Services are confidential and sliding scale (free for those who cannot afford it).

Counselling

Victoria
Camosun College Counselling Center: Open to all students currently attending Camoson College with counsellors on both campuses. In the event that you are in crisis, a same-day appointment may be available.

University of Victoria Counselling Services: Open to all students currently attending University of Victoria for 1-on-1 sessions as well as groups and workshops. Same day appointments may be available in the event of a crisis. UVic Mental Health offers other services to address other student needs including student life, ADHD, Additions, and Eating Disorders.

Level Living Counselling & Consulting: As a queer-identified master level therapist Sylvia Raju offers one to one counselling sessions and small group experiential-based workshops, including Gumboot Parenting. Her focus is to offer you a safe and inclusive space in which to strengthen and improve the relationship you have with yourself. For almost 20 years now, she has provided counselling to adults, children/youth, and families with a strong focus on mental health/wellness. Her office/playroom also allows for folks to engage in expressive-play therapies (ex. Sandtray), which creates another level of safety, especially for children/youth who may be less comfortable starting off with traditional talk therapy.

Spectra Consulting: Corey Keith is a trans and a Holistic Counselor who focuses on supporting sexual and gender diverse clients. Per provides sliding scale and other options depending on the need with a first intro session for free.

Bodymind Counselling: Sarah Pullman is wonderfully respectful and caring. Her office is not wheelchair accessible. She provides trauma-sensitive individual counselling to individuals over 18. She will be on maternity leave for much of 2019, see her website for updates.

Geoff Plint: Geoff Plint is a Queer, POC counsellor offering specialized Sex & Couple’s therapy, trauma & somatic counselling, and gender-affirming care for individuals, families, couples, & teens.

Cherish Dorrington: She is very queer and poly friendly, offering sex and intimacy counselling.

Outside the Box Counselling: Danelle Barnard is a queer counsellor who specializes in working with LGBTQ+ folks, their partners and families, as well as with people in creative or unconventional relationships who may or may not identify as LGBTQ+.

Human Nature Counselling: This team of counsellors specializes in working with children, youth, and families through an experiential and nature-based therputic practice.

Cordea Counselling: Carmen Anderson is queer positive, kink and poly friendly counsellor in the Victoria area. She offers individual or couples sessions, as well as subsidized rates for students. Contact: info@cordeacounselling.ca

Torchlight Counselling: Wade Hirschfield is queer positive registered clinical counsellor. He works with individuals, couples, and families in many areas.

Heartwood Counselling: Elena Angus provides individual, couples, and family counselling, and caregiver support.

Synergia Counselling: Sarah Flynn is compassionate and respectful, especially around names and pronouns.

Tia Larkin: Tia is a queer counsellor and has tailored their practice to folks who identify with or wish to explore gender relationship and sexual diversity.

Nanaimo
In Balance Counselling: Rebeccaa Scott is a registerred clinical counsellor who has worked with, and helped many individuals that are in various stages of their transitions, as well as many people in the LGTBQI community.

Alice Curitz: This queer owned counselling practice specializes in working with the LGBTQ+ community. They are located in Nanaimo, but offer online sessions for those who prefer to meet online or who cannot come to the Nanaimo office.

Psychiatry

Endocrinology

Physical Therapy

Rehab

Audiology

Optomotry

Specialists

Massage
Victoria
Otis Bell: Otis Bell is transgender, and inspired to hold safe supportive healing space for the GLBTQI community. His style integrates deep tissue Swedish massage, injury treatment techniques, myofascial release and trigger point therapy, with TCM meridian therapy and acupressure.

Gynecology
Victoria
Dr. Kristi Ziola: Dr. Ziola is trans competent and affirming. She does not make assumptions about the body an individual has. Her staff are also supportive and affirming including providing forms that ask for preferred pronoun and don’t specify if the name provided is legal or preferred. Contact: 250-656-6023

Speech Therapy
Comox Valley
Comox Valley Speech Therapy: They strive to be inclusive and a safe place for all queer people. They offer Speech-Language Pathology services to the Comox Valley and Vancouver Island including Transgender Voice Therapy for both masculinization and feminization of voice. This company is owned and operated by Dex McNally who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Sex Therapists
Victoria
CorVida Wellness: Rhiannon Webb is a Somatic Sex Therapist and Educator. This private practice offers an holistic approach to health and well-being in all aspects of sexuality and relationships. This trauma-informed practice includes offering bodywork such as pelvic myofascial release and scar tissue remediation anywhere on the body. Rhiannon, who self-identifies as lesbian, works with all bodies and orientations. She specializes in general women’s sexual health and the perinatal window.

Meditation
Victoria
Sarah Wilson: She is a queer hypnotherapist and is able to offer some sliding scale appointments to folks. She also runs some monthly pay what you can meditation groups.