Cedar Bay Assessment and Therapy Ltd. is based in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo, British Columbia. We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work, play, and create on the ancestral, traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw, Snaw Naw As, and Stz’uminus First Nations.
WHAT WE DO
Cedar Bay offers a range of services for adults, adolescents, and children including psychotherapy and counselling, assessment, parent consultations, vocational counselling, clinical consultation and supervision, and training. We work from a strength-based, neurobiological and trauma informed attachment framework with connection, care, creativity and culture at the centre.
People often feel better when we are playing, yet playfulness and creativity is something that most people give up, often at an early age, because of early relationships, or school, or having to take on responsibilities that do not allow for it. However, affective neuroscience tells us that PLAY and joy is a core emotional system that is essential for learning, growth, problem solving, and creative living, and it is the system that is most underutilized in psychotherapy. Therapy can be difficult at times, so we try to create opportunities for laughter and joy by explicitly incorporate creativity and play in our work. With younger clients we use child centred play therapy, but we also invite our older clients to engage in “serious play” by exploring how playfulness, humour, expressive arts, sand tray, and creativity can lead to knowing and understanding ourselves and helping us feel more alive even as we engage in what can, at times, be difficult therapeutic work and problem solving.
WHO WE ARE
Barbara Smith, M.Ed., M.A., RCC-ACS is an award winning psychotherapist and Registered Clinical Counsellor who conducts assessments and psychotherapy with children, youth, and adults with mental health, trauma, learning, relationship, and career concerns. She has a particular interest in forms of neurodivergence and health concerns including ADHD, complex PTSD, anxiety, mood, and perimenopause/menopause. In addition to her M.A. in Counselling Psychology (UBC) and M.Ed. in Adult Learning and Global Change (UBC), she completed her clinical training for her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at The University of British Columbia. Barbara is currently investigating the neurobiology of play with adults in accessing core emotions using the sand tray intervention for her dissertation in order to complete her doctoral degree.
Barbara strives to walk with her clients, taking a strengths-based, anti-oppression perspective not just in her psychotherapy work, but also when she conducts psychological and psychoeducational assessments, provides clinical consultation and supervision, and teaches. All of her work comes from a trauma and neurobiologically informed, integrated attachment perspective. She uses AEDP, play, expressive, and sand tray therapies with youth, and invites her adults clients to play, when appropriate, as a means to holistically and creatively utilize multiple channels of emotional and somatic experiences more deeply incorporating body-focused interventions as well as mindful self compassion.
Barbara provides clinical consultation and supervision to counsellors, incorporating expressive modalities, including sand tray, into Bernard’s supervision model. Barbara was amongst the first in B.C. to earn the Approved Clinical Supervisor designation from the B.C. Association of Clinical Counsellors.
In terms of research, Barbara was awarded the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association award for her master’s thesis as well as several awards for her work in the career development field. She also received a Killam Award for teaching at UBC having been nominated by her previous students. She has co-authored several peer reviewed articles and book chapters.
Barbara believes play and creativity is essential for wellbeing. Her current interests include board and ttrpg gaming, knitting, painting, learning to garden, and camping in the summer.
Dr. Joanne Crandall, R. Psych. is the supervising psychologist for assessments. She is an infant mental health and trauma specialist, who has worked extensively with Child and Youth Mental Health throughout British Columbia as well as Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services. She also worked for Vancouver Island Health Authority and the VISCAN and VICAN Assessment Clinics. She is a former Elementary and Special Education Teacher.
Fergus Smith, C.A.T. joined the team in 2023 as a practice assistant. He specializes in receiving pets and snack acquisitions as well as bird and deer surveillance from the office window overlooking the garden. Fergus brings laid back orange cat energy to the practice, and he is excellent at modelling assertiveness (he will ask for treats, repeatedly) in addition to modelling napping in a chair. He sets his own hours but can be available upon request to assist age appropriate individuals experiencing anxiety or sadness with nervous system regulation.
Raven Smith, C.A.T. is the senior practice assistant. With his fluffy coat and loud, easy purr when petted, he has been a longtime favourite at Cedar Bay due to his outgoing and friendly nature. His specialization is asking for doors to be opened as a ploy for people to pay attention to him although his growing edge of late is laying down beside people on the sofa, approaching one of his life long learning goals. Like Fergus, he sets his own hours but he can be available upon request to assist individuals with emotional and nervous system regulation.
Phryne Smith, D.O.G., C.E.O. (pronounced fry-KNEE) is the practice CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer). Although she completed a considerable amount of training in hopes of becoming a therapy dog, her natural gift of enthusiasm and vocalizations to stimulate auditory processing (she barks a lot when she greets people) has lead to her “failing up” into the CEO position. Phryne is primarily engaged in back of the house operations, but she can be available upon request for adolescent and adult clients for brief periods of “puppy time” in the practice foyer.
