Sam Welsh, MA, RCC, PMH-C
You love your baby, you love your partner, and somehow you still feel like you're losing yourself, or each other, or both. That's the space I work in.
I'm a Registered Clinical Counsellor specializing in the perinatal period: the months and years surrounding pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. I work with individuals navigating the identity upheaval that comes with becoming a mother, and with couples who are trying to stay connected through one of the most destabilizing transitions a relationship can face.
What brings most people to me isn't a crisis, exactly. Maybe you’re feeling a growing sense that something between you has changed and you're not sure how to get back to it. Or a quiet erosion of self that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't been through it. These things are real, they're worth taking seriously, and they don't tend to resolve on their own.
I work with clients over the long term. The kind of change I'm interested in helping people make (like how we understand ourselves, how we move through conflict, how we show up for each other across seasons) takes time to settle into the bones. I'm not a good fit if you're looking for a short, structured program. I am a good fit if you want someone who will know you, really know you, and work alongside you for the long haul.
My Approach
Clinically, I draw on EFT, attachment theory, and family systems. In practice, that means we don’t rush, you set the pace, and we aim to get underneath the surface patterns. We’ll try to figure out what's actually happening (where did this come from, where did we learn this?). I bring both clinical training and lived experience as a parent to this work, which shapes how I hold the complexity of this season without flinching.
Beyond my private practice, I'm an emerging voice in the perinatal mental health space. I’m part of the Perinatal Collective, and I present at conferences on couples navigating PMADs, relational rupture, and the intersection of psychological and physical change in the postpartum period.
I hold a Master's in Counselling Psychology (MA) and a background in fine arts (BFA). I hold the Perinatal Mental Health Certificate (PMH-C) from Postpartum International. I'm based in Tofino, BC, and work virtually with clients across British Columbia.
I practice on the unceded territory of the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, the peoples of Clayoquot Sound, who have stewarded this land since time immemorial.
If something here landed for you, I'd love to connect.
Honest truth…
Starting therapy takes courage, and sometimes a fair bit of blind trust. You're looking for someone you can actually talk to, not just nod along to, but who will also cut through the noise when it matters and work with you toward something that lasts.
Off the clock…
Make no mistake: outside of this space, my life can feel like complete chaos. Two kids, two dogs, and all the glorious mayhem that comes with living on the wild west coast. I rarely have it all figured out, and I know firsthand how relentless and beautiful and overwhelming this season of life actually is.