About Counselling & Health Advocacy by Jenna Reed-Côté

Hello! I'm Jenna Reed-Côté, MSW, RSW.

I’m going to be honest with you, I became a therapist because I wanted to be one of the helping professionals I desperately needed growing up with a physical disability.

Like many people living with disabilities, I learned how to adapt from the first breath with the goal of fitting in. I learned how to problem-solve, push through challenges, and focus on what I could do rather than what I couldn't.

What I didn't learn until much later was how much that cost me and my mental health.

If you're living with a physical disability, chronic illness, or complex health condition, you may have spent years adapting, too.

Trying to stay positive. Trying not to complain. Trying to focus on what you can do instead of what you can't. Trying to prove—to yourself and to others—that you're capable.

And maybe you're exhausted.

Maybe you've started wondering why your usual ways of coping aren't working anymore. Maybe you're frustrated with yourself for struggling when you've always found a way to keep going before.

What if the problem isn't that you're not adapting well enough? What if you've been adapting all along?

The truth is that constantly navigating barriers, advocating for your needs, managing uncertainty, and adjusting to a world that wasn't designed with you in mind takes energy. A lot of energy.

Sometimes the anxiety, self-doubt, burnout, grief, frustration, or overwhelm you're experiencing aren't signs that you're failing to cope. They may be understandable responses to what you've been carrying for a very long time. You don't have to earn support by reaching a breaking point first.

And you don't have to keep convincing yourself that if you were stronger, more positive, or tried harder, things would feel easier.

I understand that sometimes the hardest part isn't your diagnosis—it's navigating healthcare systems, accessibility barriers, other people's assumptions, and the pressure to keep adapting while pretending you're okay.

You shouldn't have to spend your counselling sessions educating your therapist about why these experiences are difficult.

My clients tell me they appreciate having a space where they don't have to justify, explain, or defend their experiences before they can begin working on what matters most to them.

Together, we'll explore what's weighing on you, how your experiences may have shaped the way you see yourself, and what may be getting in the way of living the life you want. We'll identify what's already helping, build on your strengths, and develop strategies that actually fit your life, your needs, and your goals.

Because if a strategy only works in theory, it's not much use on a Tuesday afternoon.

As a Registered Social Worker and therapist, I specialize in supporting adults living with physical disabilities, chronic illness, chronic pain, medical trauma, advocacy fatigue, self-worth concerns, relationship challenges, and major life changes related to health.

Outside the therapy room, I've spent years advocating for accessibility and inclusion. I've been an ambassador with the Rick Hansen Foundation since 2017, and in 2021 I led the Vancouver team participating in AccessNow's accessibility mapping project, which contributed to the largest accessibility survey ever conducted in Canada.

Most importantly, I want you to know that you don't have to prove that you're struggling enough before you deserve support.

If something is affecting you, it matters.

And if you're wondering whether therapy could help, I'd be honoured to walk alongside you.