When the Church Is Where You Got Hurt
Church hurt is real, and it has names. What spiritual abuse, moral injury, and religious struggle do to you, and how to...
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July 10, 2026
Spiritual & Existential Exploration
Questions about meaning, purpose, and what matters when everything else falls away. These are not side issues, and they will not be treated like symptoms to be cured.
A short 15-minute call to discuss your goals, no commitment.
Lived Experience
- 8 years ministry and counselling
- Infantry veteran
- Trades business owner
Academic Training
- Master's, Counselling Psychology
- Master's, Divinity
- Diploma, Professional Counselling
Professional Status
- Canadian Certified Counsellor
- Extended health insurance accepted
- CCPA member #11252849
What is spiritual and existential exploration therapy?
Spiritual and existential exploration is therapy for questions about meaning, purpose, doubt and mortality, taken seriously as questions rather than treated as symptoms. It draws on existential therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, narrative therapy and mindfulness-based work. You do not need to be religious, and you will not be told what to believe. Introspectus Counselling offers it with Sean Lewis, a Canadian Certified Counsellor, in Colwood, BC and online across BC.
Who would you be working with?
My name is Sean Lewis. I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor, and before I sat in the therapist's chair I spent years as a pastor.
I hold a master's in counselling psychology and a master's in divinity. The clinical side keeps this real therapy; the theological side means the hard questions of faith do not end the conversation.
- MDiv
- MACP
- DPC
- CCC
My approach: the head and the heart
A no-apologetics zone
We make room for the questions you have been afraid to say out loud. There is no pressure to reach certainty, to perform belief, or to defend your doubts. This is a place for wrestling rather than performing.
Common questions →Integration work
Where there is a gap between what you believe and how you live, we work on the bridge: how your worldview actually informs conflict, money, parenting and anxiety, which practices genuinely connect you to something larger, and what gets in the way, whether that is shame, busyness, or old religious injury.
How CBT works →Deepening and holding tension
We look at what growth means for you rather than what it is supposed to look like on someone else's map. That can mean examining questions about suffering, prayer or doubt with both rigour and honesty, learning contemplative practice, and building the capacity to hold paradox without collapsing it.
Who I work with →
Ready to explore what matters most?
Your questions deserve serious attention. Booking a first session commits you to nothing except an honest conversation about what you are carrying and whether this is the right fit.
- Existential & Meaning-Centred
- Canadian Certified Counsellor
- No Pressure To Believe
A short 15-minute call to discuss your goals, no commitment.
Where are you located?
132-328 Wale Rd, Colwood, BC V9B 0J8
Phone: 250-556-4623
Email: sean@introspectuscounselling.ca
Signs you are wrestling with something bigger
-
The integrity gap
What you believe and how you live have come apart.
You hold real convictions, but they sit separately from daily life. You want what you believe to shape decisions, money and relationships rather than exist as an abstract theory alongside them.
-
Spiritual homesickness
You are looking for something the usual paths have not given you.
You are longing for connection with something larger, but the paths you have tried feel empty, performative or unsafe. You know there is more and cannot seem to reach it.
-
The meaning crisis
Success arrived and did not deliver what it promised.
Comfort and achievement are not producing what you expected. You keep asking whether this is it, and the standard answers of career advancement and checking boxes feel hollow.
-
Questions that will not settle
Suffering, mortality and purpose keep surfacing.
Big questions keep returning. You cannot ignore them, and you do not know how to engage them without spiralling. They tend to arrive during transitions: a new child, midlife, retirement, illness, or grief that breaks the frame you had.
-
The loneliness of depth
There is nowhere to say any of this out loud.
Most people have no space to voice doubt or wrestle with complexity without being managed, corrected or reassured. The questions themselves start to feel isolating.
Is counselling covered?
Yes, anywhere Canadian Certified Counsellors are covered.
Extended Health Insurance
Canada Life
Co-operators
Coughlin & Associates
CVAP
Dialogue
Empire Life
Equitable Life
UV Insurance
GMS
Green Shield Canada
iA Financial Group
ICBC
Johnston Group
Manulife
Pacific Blue Cross
Sun Life
TELUS Health
Medavie Blue Cross
People Corporation
ProviderConnect
RWAM
Simply Benefits
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be religious to benefit from this?
No. This work is for anyone carrying questions about meaning, purpose, doubt or mortality, whether or not those questions sit inside a religious tradition. You will not be told what to believe, and you will not be asked to adopt a framework to be here.
What is existential anxiety, and how can therapy help?
Existential anxiety is the unease that comes from facing freedom, isolation, mortality and the absence of guaranteed meaning. It is not a malfunction. Therapy helps by giving the questions somewhere to go, and by building the capacity to act on what you value while the uncertainty is still there.
What happens in the first session?
Mostly listening. You tell me what brought you, I ask questions, and we work out together whether this is a fit. Nothing is decided that day, and you are not committing to anything by showing up.
How many sessions does this usually take?
It depends on what you are working on. Some people come for a focused stretch of six to twelve sessions around a specific question or transition; others stay longer because the work keeps opening. We review it together rather than assuming.
Can you help if I am in a faith crisis or wrestling with doubt?
Yes, and doubt is treated as a serious intellectual and emotional experience rather than a problem to be corrected. There is no agenda about where you land. If your questions are specifically Christian and you want the work to draw on that tradition, the Christian counselling page describes that path.
Can I bring my faith into the work if I want to?
Yes, entirely at your discretion. Some people want their tradition in the room and some never mention it. Both are normal. If you want faith to be an active part of the work rather than simply welcome in it, the Christian counselling page is the better starting point.
What does a session cost?
Sessions are $150 for 50 minutes. Fees and payment options are listed in full on the fees page, and a free 15-minute consultation comes first so you can decide without committing.
Is this covered by extended health insurance?
Yes, anywhere Canadian Certified Counsellors are covered. Coverage varies by plan, so check yours for the CCC designation.
Is online as effective as in person?
Research consistently finds online counselling as effective as in-person work for this kind of therapy when the connection is stable and private. Sessions run in person in Colwood and by secure video anywhere in British Columbia.
What are your qualifications?
Sean Lewis is a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, holding a master's in counselling psychology and a master's in divinity.
The Long Look
Longer reads from the blog, written and clinically reviewed by Sean.
Do You Have to Forgive to Heal?
Somebody hurt you. And at some point, somebody else, a friend, a sermon, the voice in your own head, handed you the...
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July 7, 2026
When Faith and Healing Meet: A Guide to Pastoral Counselling in BC
When life becomes overwhelming, many people of faith long for a space where their spiritual beliefs are not just accepted, but deeply...
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June 4, 2026
Would you rather ask a question first?
Related pages
Christian Counselling
If you want the work to draw on your Christian faith directly, with prayer, Scripture and lament as part of it.
→
Pastoral Counselling
Care that works from within a tradition, offered by someone trained in both theology and clinical practice.
→
Counselling for people of faith
For those carrying questions that came out of a church, a congregation, or a role in one.
→