Affordable Counselling for Young Athletes in Vancouver and Across BC
The Pressures of Sport
Ask any young athlete what their week looks like and you’ll hear about early morning practices, late-night bus rides from competitions, and long hours spent juggling school with training. Sport offers excitement, achievement, and a sense of belonging. At the same time, it brings a weight of pressure and performance that can be hard to carry.
Training schedules often stretch into early mornings and late evenings. Competitions bring constant evaluation and pressure. The risk of injury is also always in the background. In addition, many athletes deal with financial stress, overall uncertainty about the future, and the challenge of balancing school, part-time jobs, and a personal life. Whether competing at the university level, local clubs, or community teams, young athletes across Vancouver and British Columbia face demands that can take a toll on mental health.
How Counselling Helps
Counselling gives athletes a space to step back from competition and reflect on what they need outside of sport. It can ease immediate stress and also support long-term growth. Some of the most common areas where counselling helps include:
Performance anxiety: learning ways to handle nerves before competitions or tryouts.
Self-doubt and identity: separating personal worth from wins, losses, or rankings.
Stress and burnout: managing heavy training schedules alongside school or work.
Focus and resilience: staying motivated and recovering after setbacks or injuries.
This support is not only about getting through a tough week. Counselling helps athletes build confidence, emotional stability, and resilience that carry through future challenges.
Balancing Identity and Sport
One of the biggest hurdles for athletes is that sport can feel like their whole identity. When an injury, missed goal, or transition out of competition happens, it may feel like personal failure instead of part of the natural ups and downs of sport. Counselling offers a safe space to untangle performance from self-worth and build a broader sense of identity.
When athletes can hold both their passion for sport and a healthy perspective on who they are outside of it, they protect their mental health. This balance makes it easier to stay motivated, focused, and engaged without burning out.
Accessible and Affordable Support
Counselling needs to be practical for young athletes and students who often manage tight schedules and budgets. That is why we provide affordable, sliding scale counselling, usually ranging from $70 to $110 per session.
We also offer sessions both in person at our Kitsilano office and online across BC, making it easier to access support no matter where you live or train. We also offer daytime, evening, and weekend appointments to fit around training and competition schedules.
Building Long-Term Resilience
Counselling is not just about reducing today’s stress. It is also about developing tools that last well into the future. For athletes, this means learning strategies to handle inevitable setbacks, recover from injuries, and adapt when goals or circumstances change.
The ability to manage stress, keep perspective, and build resilience does not only improve athletic performance. These skills are just as valuable in school, work, and relationships. In this way, affordable counselling becomes a resource for both immediate support and lifelong growth.
Our Commitment to Supporting Athletes
At Vancouver Therapy Collective, we recognize the unique challenges faced by young athletes in Vancouver and across BC. We are committed to offering counselling that is accessible, supportive, and practical.
Affordable counselling can provide the support you need. Our goal is to help young athletes build confidence, maintain resilience, and pursue their goals with both strength and balance.
Practical Tips for Supporting Mental Health in Sport
Alongside counselling, small day-to-day habits can help protect mental health:
Get consistent sleep. A routine is one of the best ways to support recovery and focus.
Use slow breathing before games or practices to calm nerves and sharpen concentration.
Keep perspective on results. One win or loss does not define your worth as an athlete.
Stay connected outside of sport with friends, hobbies, or school activities.
Share stress instead of holding it in. Talking with teammates, coaches, or family helps.
Set realistic goals and celebrate progress rather than perfection.
Allow time for recovery. Short breaks from training benefit both body and mind.
Affordable counselling for young athletes is part of our larger mission to reduce barriers and create access to mental health care. By offering a supportive environment, flexible pricing, and practical therapeutic tools, we help clients address pressure in a way that is sustainable.
We offer all new clients a free 15 minute introduction call where we can answer your questions, address any concerns, and better understand how counselling can support you.
If you’re looking for affordable therapy options in BC, we encourage you to reach out.
