Bailey Murphy
MACP | RCC | CCC
You're Not Failing Your Family—
You're Carrying Too Much Alone.
I'm Bailey, a therapist in Abbotsford who works with families, parents, and youth navigating trauma, chronic illness, and the invisible weight of parenting stress. Maybe you're wondering if you're doing enough for your child with a disability or chronic illness. Maybe you're a parent drowning in guilt, trying to break cycles you were raised in while managing the mental load of your entire household. Maybe you're a young person feeling lost, struggling to figure out who you are while carrying wounds that no one else seems to understand.
My Approach?
You're not falling. You're navigating new challenges.
Here's what I know: if you're a young person, you're not broken—you're navigating impossible pressures while carrying pain that feels invisible. If you're a parent, you're not failing—you're doing the hardest work while managing your own unhealed trauma. And when we bring these experiences together—when parents understand their patterns and youth feel genuinely heard—families can actually heal. This work isn't about perfection. It's about understanding how your past shapes your present, building regulation skills, and creating a family system where everyone feels safe, seen, and valued.
$140.00
INDIVIDUAL
RCC
#24786
6+
AGES
$160.00
FAMILY/COUPLES
MAYBE YOU'RE HERE BECAUSE...
1
You're a Young Person Trying to Figure Out Who You Are—And It Feels Impossible
This includes youth ages 6-14, possibly neurodivergent (ADHD, autism, learning differences), struggling with anxiety, depression, or the lingering effects of trauma.
You might be in school, dealing with peer pressure, academic stress, and the painful awareness that you're "different" in ways you can't always name.
Key Specialty Areas:
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Building emotional regulation skills and learning how to process big feelings safely
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Exploring identity, self-worth, and belonging in a world that can feel overwhelming
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Understanding how trauma (past or present) affects your thoughts, behaviours, and relationships
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Navigating peer relationships, school stress, and family dynamics
You Might be Experiencing:
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Big emotions—rage, sadness, numbness—and not knowing how to process them
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Feeling like you don't fit in anywhere, and the loneliness is crushing
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Struggling with identity—who am I? What do I like? How do I navigate friendships, relationships, and my future?
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Parents or teachers who don't understand what you're going through, making you feel even more isolated
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Trauma (past or present) that affects how you see yourself and the world
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Fear of being judged or misunderstood, so you keep things inside
2
You're a Parent of a Child with a Disability or Chronic Illness—And You're Running on Empty
This includes parents (single, partnered, or co-parenting) of children with disabilities, developmental differences, chronic health conditions, or medical complexity.
Your age range is 25-55, and your life revolves around caregiving, advocating, and navigating systems that were never designed with your family in mind.
Key Specialty Areas:
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Processing the grief of a diagnosis—both for your child and for the life you thought you'd have
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Managing caregiver burnout and building sustainable self-care practices
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Navigating complex medical, educational, and social systems while advocating for your child
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Strengthening your relationship with your partner or co-parent under the strain of caregiving
You Might be Experiencing:
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Chronic caregiver burnout and guilt for being tired or resentful
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Grieving the "normal" life you thought you'd have while simultaneously loving your child fiercely
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Isolation—other parents don't understand your reality, and you've lost friendships because your life is "too complicated"
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Strain in your relationship with your partner because of stress, different coping styles, or blame
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Constant worry about your child's future—who will care for them when you're gone?
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Loss of your own identity—you don't remember what you enjoy outside of caregiving
3
You're a Couple or Family Stuck in the Same Painful Cycle—And You Don't Know How to Break It
This includes couples (married, common-law, or co-parenting), ages 25-55, who keep hitting the same walls. Maybe you're parents struggling to stay connected while raising kids.
Maybe you're navigating separation or divorce while trying to protect your children. You want to do better, but the same conflicts keep surfacing, and you can't figure out why.
Key Specialty Areas:
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Understanding your attachment style and how it shows up in your relationship
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Identifying the deeper roots of recurring conflicts (they're rarely about the dishes or the kids' bedtime)
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Learning how to communicate needs, boundaries, and emotions without defensiveness or shutdown
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Rebuilding emotional and physical intimacy when connection feels distant
You Might be Experiencing:
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Being stuck in the same arguments that never get resolved
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Feeling misunderstood, unheard, or dismissed by your partner
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Parenting disagreements that create tension and resentment
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Both carrying trauma from your own upbringings, and it's showing up in your relationship
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Worry about the impact of your relationship struggles on your children
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Wanting to break the cycles you were raised in, but not knowing how
WHO I WORK WITH
Youth 6+ Navigating Identity, Trauma, and Finding Their Place
You're ages 6-18, trying to figure out who you are in a world that feels overwhelming. Maybe you're neurodivergent, dealing with anxiety or depression, or carrying trauma that makes you feel different from your peers. Your parents might not fully understand what you're going through. You're looking for someone who won't judge you—someone who gets that growing up is hard, and that your struggles are real.
Parents of Children with Disabilities or Chronic Illness
You're juggling medical appointments, therapy schedules, school meetings, and navigating complex systems while trying to be everything your child needs. You're exhausted, overwhelmed, and questioning whether you're doing enough. You carry guilt about your child's diagnosis, worry about their future, and grieve the life you thought you'd have—all while showing up every single day.
Families and Couples Stuck in Painful Patterns
You're hitting the same walls over and over—arguments that go nowhere, disconnection that feels insurmountable, parenting conflicts that create tension. Maybe you're a couple struggling to stay connected while raising kids. Maybe you're co-parents trying to navigate separation while protecting your children. You want to do better, but you don't know where the patterns started or how to break them.
WHAT WE'LL WORK ON TOGETHER:
Unpacking Intergenerational Trauma and Family Patterns
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Understanding how your lived experiences shape your parenting, relationships, & self-perception
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Identifying patterns passed down through generations (attachment styles, communication dynamics, emotional regulation)
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Breaking cycles of dysfunction, shame, or neglect that you don't want to pass to your children
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Building awareness of how trauma shows up in your body, your relationships, and your daily life
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Creating new patterns rooted in safety, connection, and emotional honesty
Parenting with Chronic Illness or Disability in the Family
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Processing the grief of a diagnosis—both for your child and for the life you thought you'd have
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Managing caregiver burnout and building sustainable self-care practices
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Navigating complex medical, educational, and social systems while advocating for your child
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Strengthening your relationship with your partner or co-parent under the strain of caregiving
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Finding your identity outside of being a caregiver & reconnecting with what brings you joy
Supporting Youth Through Identity, Anxiety, and Trauma
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Building emotional regulation skills and learning how to process big feelings safely
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Exploring identity, self-worth, and belonging in a world that can feel overwhelming
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Understanding how trauma (past or present) affects your thoughts, behaviors, and relationships
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Navigating peer relationships, school stress, and family dynamics
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Developing coping strategies that actually work for your unique brain and life circumstances
Relationship Dynamics and Communication Patterns
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Understanding your attachment style and how it shows up in your relationship
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Identifying the deeper roots of recurring conflicts (they're rarely about the dishes or the kids' bedtime)
-
Learning how to communicate needs, boundaries, and emotions without defensiveness or shutdown
-
Rebuilding emotional and physical intimacy when connection feels distant
-
Co-parenting effectively, whether together or separated, while prioritizing your children's health.
Reproductive Mental Health
and Perinatal Support
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Processing infertility, pregnancy loss, or medical trauma related to reproduction
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Managing perinatal and postpartum anxiety, depression, or guilt
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Navigating the identity shift of becoming a parent and the grief of losing who you were before
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Building connection with your baby when postpartum depression makes bonding feel impossible
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Addressing maternal/parental guilt and the pressure to be "perfect" while healing
Substance Use, Addiction,
and Family Impact
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Supporting family members and loved ones affected by someone else's substance use
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Unpacking trauma related to growing up in a home with addiction
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Building boundaries, processing grief, and managing the emotional toll of loving someone with addiction
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For individuals in recovery: addressing the underlying trauma and patterns that contributed to substance use
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Creating a recovery plan rooted in self-compassion, not shame
THINGS I WON'T DO WHEN YOU WORK WITH ME:
I won't dismiss your grief. Parents of kids with disabilities or chronic illness: you're allowed to grieve the life you thought you'd have while still loving your child fiercely. Both things can be true, and I won't make you choose.
I won't treat you like a problem. If you're a parent experiencing burnout, a young person struggling to fit in, or a couple stuck in painful patterns—you're not broken. You're human, navigating impossibly hard things. This is a shame-free, judgment-free space.
I won't blame you for inherited patterns. If you're repeating cycles from your childhood, struggling with attachment wounds, or parenting in ways you swore you never would—that's not your fault. But together, we can change it. Healing is your responsibility, but the shame isn't yours to carry.
My Approach?
IT'S NOT ABOUT HAVING IT ALL FIGURED OUT!
No one has everything figured out. Therapy is uniquely personal, and finding the right therapist is a lot like dating—you need to find someone you click with, and that doesn't always happen right away. Clients have told me that therapy hasn't worked for them in the past, and that's okay. Maybe the person they were working with just wasn't the right fit.
I approach this work as an observer first and foremost. I went to school, and I have the practical knowledge and skills for this work, but I always remind myself that my clients are the experts of their own lives. My job is to be here for you—to guide you and help you understand pieces of yourself that maybe you've struggled to look at in the past.
I don't have all the answers, but I don't expect you to either. We're all just people looking to learn and grow, and I'm always amazed at how much my clients teach me in our sessions together. I never consider myself "the expert" or someone who can hand you the "right" answers—those are unique to each of us. My goal is to help you do this work and come out of it happier and more empowered on the other side.
I DRAW FROM SEVERAL APPROACHES
Attachment Theory
Understanding how your early relationships shape your attachment style and influence how you connect with others today, whether in romantic relationships, parenting, or friendships
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Working with the different "parts" of yourself (the inner critic, the protector, the wounded child) to build internal harmony & self-compassion
Psychodynamic Therapy
Exploring how unconscious patterns, unresolved conflicts from the past, and defense mechanisms show up in your current life and relationships
Person-Centred Therapy
Creating a safe, non-judgmental space where you feel seen, heard, and valued—because healing happens in relationship
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Recognizing that trauma impacts the brain, body, and nervous system, and using approaches that prioritize safety, empowerment, and regulation
Gottman Method (Level 1 trained)
Helping couples understand their conflict patterns, build emotional connection, and strengthen their "friendship" within the relationship
WHO I AM—BACKGROUND
DEGREES & EDUCATION
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology
YORKVILLE UNIVERSITY
Bachelor's Degree in Psychology
Simon Fraser University
PROFFESIONAL REGISTRATIONS
Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC)
#
Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)
# 24786
SPECIALIZED TRAININGS
Gottman Method Level 1 Certification
Addiction Care & Treatment Cert.
Perinatal Mental Health Training
Complex Trauma Certification
I became a therapist because I witnessed firsthand how trauma, chronic illness, & family dysfunction ripples through generations—& I also witnessed how healing one person can change an entire family system. I watched people I loved struggle because they didn't have the language, the tools & resources, or the safe space to unpack what they were carrying.
I wanted to create that space. I wanted to be the person who says, "Your pain makes sense. You're not broken. Let's figure this out together."
Before becoming a therapist, I spent time immersed in understanding social justice, structural inequality, & how systems fail the people they're supposed to serve. I've always been drawn to the question of why some people get the support they need while others fall through the cracks. That lens shapes how I work today. their lives.
I have lived experience with chronic illness and disability in my family. When I became a first time mom in 2020, my daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy at only 2 months old. I know what it's like to love someone fiercely while feeling overwhelmed by the weight of their care. I understand the invisible grief—the grief of lost plans, lost normalcy, lost versions of yourself. I know what it means to advocate within systems that weren't designed with your family in mind, and to feel exhausted by the fight even as you keep fighting.
I've navigated the transition from being someone who thought they had to fix everything for everyone to someone who understands that healing is collaborative, not transactional. I've learned that you can't save people—but you can walk with them, hold space for them, and help them find their own strength.
Through my work, I've witnessed how powerful it is when someone realizes, "This isn't my fault." I've seen parents break cycles of abuse and neglect, choosing to parent with compassion even though that's not what they experienced.
I've seen young people go from feeling invisible to discovering their voice. I've seen couples on the brink of separation rebuild intimacy by finally understanding the wounds each person was carrying.
I've learned that healing isn't linear. It's messy, uncomfortable, and it can be frustrating. But it's also the most meaningful work you'll ever do—for yourself, for your family, and for the generations that come after you.
When you work with me, you'll find someone who genuinely cares about your story, remembers the details of your life, and won't let you disappear into shame or self-criticism.
BAILEY MURPHY