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Allison Fassbender
Allison Fassbender is a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor who offers a compassionate, trauma-informed, and somatic approach to therapy. Her work is deeply shaped by personal experiences with grief, caregiving, cancer, and family substance use, giving her a grounded understanding of how pain and loss impact both individuals and the people around them. She believes therapy can be a space to slow down, feel supported, and process difficult experiences before reaching a breaking point. Clients can expect a gentle, collaborative environment focused on safety, nervous system awareness, and reconnecting with internal and external sources of support. Allison incorporates somatic practices that help clients stay connected to the present moment while exploring challenging emotions or experiences at their own pace. She views therapy as walking alongside clients through uncertainty and healing, helping them feel less alone while finding their own footing forward.
- Grief and loss in many forms.
- Death, illness, and losses that don't always get acknowledged.
- What it's like to grow up in a family affected by addiction.
- The experience of loving someone through cancer and losing them.
- What is means to need support, and how hard it can be to ask for it.
- The restorative power of nature and the body in the healing process.
- I was born in Saskatchewan.
- My ancestors are from Ukraine, Scotland, Ireland and East Friesia.
- Warm
- Grounded
- Honest
- Present
- Real
- Safe
Expertise
Areas of Focus
- People navigating grief or significant loss.
- Individuals living with cancer.
- Caregivers and family members of someone with cancer or a life limiting illness.
- People in the middle of a major life transition.
- Those who feel stuck, overwhelmed or disconnected.
- People who have tried therapy before and are looking to include a somatic approach.
- Those who are new to therapy and want a gentle, gradual start.
- Helping professionals who spend their days supporting others and need somewhere that's just for them.
- Somatic Experiencing (SE) students at all levels seeking personal sessions as part of their training and development.
- You are navigating grief, loss, or bereavement and want somewhere to process it honestly.
- You or someone you love has been affected by cancer, and you need support that understands that world.
- You are a caregiver who has been so focused on someone else that you haven't had space for your own experience.
- You have experienced traumatic loss and need somewhere that won't rush your grief.
- You want a therapist who follows your pace and never pushes you somewhere you're not ready to go, and somewhere you don't have to protect anyone else from how you actually feel.
- You want to work with someone who has also been there, not just someone who knows about it theoretically.
- You feel disconnected from yourself and are not sure who you are anymore after something life-changing.
- You are a helping professional, therapist, or Somatic Experiencing student looking for personal support or sessions.
Therapeutic Frameworks & Approach
- Safe enough to be honest, including about things you haven't said out loud before.
- Heard without judgment, free to move at your own pace, and without pressure to feel differently than you do.
- Like you don't have to protect anyone from how you actually feel.
- Like something that has been very heavy is a little lighter.
- More connected to your body and what it's been trying to tell you.
- Like there is space for all of it, the grief, the fear, the love, the confusion.
- Held, heard, and a little less alone.
- Respected as the expert of your own experience.
Populations Served
Practice Details
Service Offerings & Rates
- What's brought you here, and what kind of support you are looking for.
- Any questions you have about sessions or what to expect.
- Whether this feels like the right fit for both of us.
- Show up the same way every session as consistent, present and genuinely engaged.
- Walk beside you.
- Treat you as the expert of your own experience. I am not here to tell you how to feel or what to do.
- Follow your pace rather than have an agenda.
- Check in regularly so we can adjust our pace or direction together as needed.
- If it is comfortable with you, invite the body into our work.
Insurance & Benefits Coverage
Schedule
In Person Sessions
Virtual Sessions
More Info
Education
KCPC College of Professional Counselling
Diploma of Applied Psychology & Counselling
2023
Somatic Experiencing International
Somatic Experiencing Training Program
2022
Yoga Therapy International
Yoga Therapy Diploma
2019
Certifications
San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
Core ICS Mental Health
2023
grief.com - David Kessler
Certified Grief Educator
2023
Somatic Experiencing International
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP)
2022
Taking Flight International
Certified Grief Support Counsellor
2021
Taking Flight International
Suicide Intervention Certification
2021
InSight Institute
Celebrant
2020
International Association of Yoga Therapists
C-IAYT Certified Yoga Therapist
2019
Languages
Booking FAQ
First Session charges each session directly to your credit card. Once each session occurs, and your card is charged, you will receive a PDF receipt to your email with all of the details you will need to get reimbursed (therapist name, license/designation, license number, address, etc). You can then submit the receipt to your insurance company for reimbursement if you have coverage.
We always recommend you check with your insurance provider to confirm what coverage you have.
You are the expert when it comes to knowing who is the right fit. Ensure you’ve watched the therapist video at the top of their profile and see if you get a good feeling from the message and the energy they are putting out. If you feel drawn to speak with them, listen to your gut! Booking a free consultation is a great first step to asses fit.