Family Therapy
Meet Our Family Counsellors
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Derek Wilson, MC, RCC, CCC
Derek is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor.
Accepting new clients.
Meet Derek.
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Tory Vitaly, MSW, RSW
What is Family Therapy and How Can It Help?
Family Therapy is based on the belief in the healing power of families.
It gives caregivers the tools to help understand emotion basics so that emotions are no longer feared by loved ones, or caregivers.
Family members learn that emotions are simply the body's alarm bell.
Loved ones learn to cope with their emotions in a more manageable way and maladaptive coping behaviours are reduced.
It offers caregivers ways to process their own blocks or fears that get in the way of doing something different.
Additionally, family therapy provides caregivers ways to heal emotional ruptures within their relationship with loved ones.
Family Therapy: Effective, Evidence-Based Support
Family therapy has proven to be exceptionally effective—studies show that 70–80% of families report significant improvement in communication, conflict resolution, and emotional functioning after engaging in therapy.
According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), over 98% of clients rated their therapy experience as “good” or “excellent,” while around 93% shared that they gained more effective tools to manage family issues, and 90% reported better overall emotional well‑being.
These improvements underscore the impact of family therapy on strengthening relational bonds across diverse situations—from adolescent behavioural challenges to coping with grief or divorce and more.
You do not have to do this alone.
Meet Derek Wilson (he/him), MC, RCC, CCC
My approach to therapy with families is deeply rooted in the science of attachment and interpersonal neurobiology.
I use these approaches to organize, make sense of, and validate the many ways members of families seek out a need for connection or autonomy from each other.
I then support families to get unstuck from problematic interaction patterns by supporting the processing and communication of very reasonable, yet often vulnerable, fears and needs frequently underlying ongoing conflict.
My work with families in community-based settings, such as non-profit organizations and secondary schools, has given me a deep appreciation in private practice for the wide variety of family cultures, structures, and bonds that make up each family's unique history, norms, and goals.
I enjoy working with families with loved ones consisting of teens, young-adults, and adult-children from a variety of backgrounds and family structures including, but not limited to:
Single-Parent Families;
Blended Families;
Kinship & Grandparent Caregiver Families;
Families of Diverse Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities;
Polyamorous Families;
Nuclear Heterosexual Families;
Families Experiencing the Impacts of Historical Trauma
I support families experiencing a variety of issues such as, but not limited to:
Attachment Ruptures & Insecurity
Anxiety & Depression
Power Struggles & Role Clarification
Communication Issues
Grief & Loss
Relationship Issues
School-Related Concerns
Transitions in Life, Family Structure & Developmental Stages
Sexuality & Gender Identity Development
My own family history and challenges have given me a personally meaningful appreciation for the repair and healing that family therapy can offer. From this appreciation, I also carry a deep admiration for the courage and dedication that each family displays in seeking support for creating the family connections and harmony you're yearning for.
Feel free to book in, as a family, for a complimentary 15-minute consultation to discuss if we might be a fit for working together towards your goals.
I am available for family sessions in-person at Oak Bay Psychology and online via Jane App: Sunday's from 11 am - 5 pm, and Monday's from 3 pm - 9 pm.
I look forward to meeting you!
Meet Derek or book online.
Meet Tory Vitaly, EFFT Therapist
(Emotion-Focused Family Therapy)
Written by Tory Vitaly, MSW, RSW:
“One theme has been common in almost every family I have worked with: Parents/caregivers desperately want to help their loved one to heal. To feel better. To live.”
I am an Advanced Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer in Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT).
I have been a social worker for 21 years and a counsellor for the past 12 years.
In that time, I have been fortunate to gain experience in various different therapy and treatment modalities in mental health.
I am also a mother of two adult children, and I have personally experienced the benefits of EFFT.
As a mother, I have felt more confident in my ability to support my daughters.
You'd think that as a counsellor, with all the tools in my toolkit, I would be able to implement those easily.
Well, it is very different when it is your own child.
When feeling at my wit’s end, and frustration was at an all time high, and I could not understand why my daughter wouldn't just do this or that to make her life easier or suffering less.
I was stuck.
Flooded with my own emotions because of X, Y, and Z. I couldn't think.
But then I would take a few deep breaths and remember to use the emotion coaching script I learned
I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of families in various settings from community-based organizations to inpatient hospital settings to private practice.
I have worked with families with loved ones of all ages struggling with:
depression
anxiety
emotion dysregulation
self-harm
suicidal ideation
substance use and
eating disorders.
Meet Tory or book online.