Happy Anniversary, Sea to Tree!

On December 10th we are celebrating our 5th anniversary! Congratulations to Tara and all of the team for everything you have achieved, and for everything you have contributed.

Here is our story (so far):

Sea to Tree Health & Wellness was founded by Tara Munro in 2019 to provide counseling and mental health services in her hometown of Sooke. Initially she was working alone but appreciating her person-first, community minded approach, Sea to Tree soon attracted like minded practitioners. The team has grown significantly over the years and now comprises almost 30 people (including counselors, social workers, students, interns, body work practitioners, admin staff, and one fine dog named Spruce)! We are proud to say that the first four people who jumped onboard remain (thank you Janet, Andrea, Mike, and Jim).

After outgrowing our space several times, we currently offer our services online, in offices in Colwood and Sooke, and in a yurt in Shirley, BC.

Sea to Tree’s values continue to attract practitioners who share our vision of being in service to the community by offering accessible, low-barrier mental health and wellness care for all who want it. On average we are providing over 20,000 wellness and counseling sessions annually, with at least 10% of those being provided at very low cost, or free. If you are interested in sponsoring someone’s mental health journey, please see here for more information on how to help.

We have also offered free groups and programming on topics such as parenting and family dynamics, substance use/recovery, managing mental health conditions, communication skills, healthy sexuality, nature therapy, mindfulness, and more. Via Sea to Tree’s support, over 22 Master of Counseling students have completed practicums and graduated, with the ripple effect of providing $25 an hour counseling to community members in need and building capacity in our area.

We value our relationships in the community, and contribute what we can through volunteer work, donations, free programming, participating in community events, and through partnerships with T’Sou-ke Nation, local fire departments, and other Westshore service providers.

There is a lot to look back on, but even more to work on for the future:

In June this year we established the Sea to Tree Foundation as a way to further reduce barriers to care and expand low cost and free mental health services. To know about this or apply to be on the Board, please see here.

The other big project we are working on is to build a new health and wellness centre in the heart of Sooke. We want to hire more providers, offer more services and more sessions, and partner with more community groups. We have a beautiful vision and can’t wait to see it embodied!

Sign up for our newsletter if you want to stay connected; we will send you updates and health and wellness news about every two months.

Thank you for being on this journey with us. Here’s to the next 5 years and beyond!!