Jay Hails

Sharing what feels unbearable is where Jay Hails begins. A Canadian Certified Counsellor based in Vancouver, Jay works with people of all ages who are overwhelmed, stuck, or grieving something they can’t quite name — and with those who have lost touch with what they’re feeling altogether. His practice spans individual counselling, family and parenting challenges, trauma recovery, anxiety, school and learning difficulties, abuse, and the full spectrum of 2SLGBTQ+ identities.

Jay brings empathy, honesty, and genuine curiosity to every session. He doesn’t arrive at your story with a script; he listens because he’s actually interested. His particular gift is helping people recognize strengths they’ve overlooked in themselves. That orientation — toward what’s already working, toward small and sustainable change — shapes everything he does. He also seeks counselling in his own life, which means he understands the therapeutic relationship from the inside out.

His background is wide: decades in schools as a special education teacher and school counsellor, trauma-informed work with Indigenous community schools in Saskatchewan, and certification through both the CCPA and BACP. Online sessions are available. Direction, not perfection, is the idea.