ABOUT KAYLA
The parts of ourselves we’re quickest to criticize are often the parts most deserving of our curiosity.
Hi, I’m Kayla
I've always been curious about people. What makes us tick, why we respond the way we do, and why we sometimes show up as completely different versions of ourselves depending on who we're with.
For much of my life, that curiosity also helped me read the room. I became really good at understanding what others needed and adapting myself to fit. Becoming a mom as a teenager meant growing up quickly, and over the years I took on many different roles, both personally and professionally. I built a successful 17-year career, raised a family, and became very capable at being who I thought I needed to be.
Eventually, though, my curiosity started turning inward.
I wanted to understand myself with the same depth I had spent years trying to understand everyone else. I wanted to know why certain patterns kept showing up, what parts of me were truly mine, and what it might look like to grow into a version of myself that felt more authentic.
That curiosity eventually led me back to school, this time to study counselling.
What started as a personal journey became something that felt incredibly natural. The things I had always done instinctively, noticing what was happening beneath the surface, connecting deeply with people, asking questions, and wanting to understand rather than judge, suddenly had somewhere to belong.
At the same time, the contrast made it harder to ignore the places in my own life where I wasn't fully showing up as myself. Eventually, I reached a point where trying harder to make things fit just wasn’t working anymore.
That experience taught me something I carry into my work today: sometimes the parts of our lives that aren't working aren't asking us to try harder. They're asking us to get curious about what isn't fitting anymore.
Today, I get to bring that same curiosity alongside others, exploring the patterns they've developed, the roles they've learned to play, the parts of themselves they've tucked away, and what might become possible as they understand and trust themselves more deeply.
I feel incredibly lucky to do work that lets me show up as myself while helping others find their way back to themselves.
Kayla Stocking
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor
WHAT COUNSELLING WITH ME FEELS LIKE
I don’t believe counselling needs to feel clinical or like you’re sitting across from someone who has you all figured out. You are the expert on your own life. My role is to bring my training, perspective, and curiosity alongside you as we make sense of what’s happening together.
Our work is client-led. You set the pace, the goals, and what feels important to focus on. I may notice things, ask questions, offer a different perspective, or gently challenge you, but ultimately, our work is guided by what matters to you.
You can expect me to be curious, especially about what’s happening underneath the surface. I might wonder what you felt in a particular moment, what you needed, what patterns keep showing up, or ask one of my favourite questions: “What did you make that mean?” Often, the meaning we make from our experiences can tell us something important about how we’ve learned to see ourselves, other people, and the world around us.
You can also expect me to be human. I’ll ask questions, share what I’m noticing, gently challenge you when it feels helpful, and probably laugh with you sometimes too. There’s room for hard conversations and big emotions, but counselling doesn’t have to feel heavy every minute to be meaningful.
Some sessions might take us somewhere we didn’t expect. Others might be practical and focused on what’s happening in your life right now. We’ll follow what feels most useful to you, while staying connected to what you came to counselling hoping to understand, change, or experience differently.
ABOUT CENTERED WELLNESS
Being centered means being connected to yourself.
It’s knowing yourself beneath the roles you play and the expectations you carry, while building awareness of your emotions, needs, values, strengths, and inner voice.
Our nervous systems are constantly responding to the world around us. Stress, relationships, past experiences, and everyday demands can pull us away from ourselves. Being centered is having a place within yourself that you know how to return to. It’s noticing when you feel overwhelmed or disconnected, when an old pattern has taken over, or when something no longer feels aligned, and learning what helps you come back to yourself.
To me, that’s where regulation and self-trust meet. The more we understand ourselves, the more we can recognize what we need, respond with intention, and make choices that feel aligned with who we are.
Centered Wellness was created around that belief. Counselling gives us space to slow things down, understand the experiences and patterns that have shaped us, strengthen our connection with ourselves, and build the tools to return to our center again and again.
That’s what Empowered From Within means to me.
Knowing yourself. Trusting yourself. And finding your way back to yourself.
Education and Ongoing Growth
Curiosity shapes my learning just as much as it shapes my counselling. I continue to explore new ideas, deepen my training, and expand the ways I can understand and support the people I work with.
IFS Therapy Core Skills Certificate from PESI | In Progress
Adults ADHD Specialist Certificate from PESI | In Progress
Solution Focused Brief Therapy Certification from PESI | In Progress
Life Transitions Specialist Certificate from PESI | In Progress
Counselling Session Notes from Dawn Psychological Services | 2026
Intro to ADHD from The Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance | 2026
Somatic Anxiety Therapy Certificate from The Embody Lab | 2025
Transpersonal Counselling Diploma from Clearmind International | 2023
Solution Focused Coaching Training from Erickson Coaching International | 2022
Think we might be a good fit?
Finding the right counsellor matters.
If something you’ve read here resonates with you, I’d love to connect. A free 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to meet, talk a little about what’s bringing you to counselling, and see how it feels to connect.