Donald Straub

Don Straub holds a conviction that good counselling works itself out of a job — that real progress means a client eventually walks away equipped to manage their own life, not dependent on a therapist. Working from his private practice, Bridges to Freedom, in Kelowna, British Columbia, he brings that philosophy to individuals, couples, families, and people navigating the kind of professional exhaustion that makes it hard to leave work behind even when the phone is finally face-down on the nightstand.

Don is a Registered Clinical Counsellor registered with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, and he is recognized by the BC Crime Victims Assistance Program. His primary framework is cognitive behavioural therapy, chosen for its track record, and he holds Advanced Gottman Certification for marriage and couples work alongside specialized training in EMDR — one of the most rigorously supported treatments for trauma and PTSD.

He works with teenagers, adults, and older adults facing anxiety, depression, addiction, abuse recovery, grief, and life transitions. Don draws openly on his own experience of profound loss and on what decades of family life — including raising ten children and supporting grandchildren with disabilities — have taught him about resilience. His approach is adapted to each client’s cultural and spiritual background.