Tomiris Altayeva
Perinatal Intern Counsellor
A mom who’s been through it herself, and a counsellor who’s lived between cultures.
Tomiris offers counselling for every stage, from trying to conceive to pregnancy and early parenthood. She sees clients in Greater Victoria, and by video or phone across Vancouver Island. In English or in Russian.
She left a Toronto business career to do this work. What was the turning point? A counsellor who changed her life when Tomiris was struggling as a new parent. Now she’s paying that forward.
You Knew It Would Be Hard. But You Didn’t Expect To Feel So Far From Yourself.
Maybe you’re still carrying this baby. Maybe you’re holding them. Maybe things didn’t go the way they were supposed to. Wherever you are in your reproductive journey, something has shifted that you weren’t ready for.
Some of it is everything you hoped for. Some of it drains you in ways nobody said: a body that isn’t quite yours, sleep in fragments, days that pass in a fog. And at 2 a.m., when the house finally gets quiet, you’re wide awake, replaying mistakes made in the day. And scanning tomorrow for dangers that maybe — probably — aren’t there.
You’d do anything for a child. For your child. But you feel off. Flat perhaps, or on high alert. Just not yourself.
And maybe the bond with this little one came quickly; maybe it’s still finding its way, something more common than most people let on. Whatever the struggle, saying it out loud can feel like an admission of weakness. Of falling short. But the strain is real, and the struggle is common. And when you say it to someone who understands, you start to feel less alone, and to move out from under it.
One in five mothers experiences significant mental distress in the perinatal period, as does one in ten partners (Postpartum Support International). But it’s treatable. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through the strong emotions, the fatigue, or the overwhelm.
Call the number below to learn more, or to book a first counselling session with Tomiris Altayeva. As an intern counsellor practising under clinical supervision, Tomiris offers sessions at an intern rate of $80 + GST — specialized perinatal care, made accessible.
The kinds of struggles you’re facing
Once the excitement fades, visitors stop coming and the daily workload lands on you alone, without anyone really noticing. Perhaps you’re also a long way from the people who would normally help, or parenting between two cultures, where the advice from afar clashes with your situation here. Some call it a kind of no man’s land: no longer your old self, not yet grounded in your new self.
The support you seek
You want someone who gets it without a long explanation. Someone who knows the pull between who you were and who you’re becoming: as a parent, a partner, a professional, and maybe as a newcomer. You want practical tools that work at 10 p.m. when you’re having a hard night, not ideas that sound good in a counselling session. And you want more than symptom relief: a return to your body, your mind, and the person you know yourself to be. Some call it the quest back to yourself.
Meet Tomiris: A mom who’s been through it too
I grew up in Kazakhstan and came to Canada at sixteen: a new country, a new language, and a new self to develop. I earned a commerce degree in Toronto, then spent eight years in corporate client-facing roles. I was good at the work. But the part of it I truly loved — listening closely, understanding what a person actually needs, and earning their trust — was the part the work itself treated as a footnote.
Then I became a mom. My son was born during COVID. The borders were closed, and my parents couldn’t come. My support network was on the other side of the world.
A year into round-the-clock parenting with almost no help, I came to realize I was depressed, so I reached out for counselling. My therapist helped me feel human again. More than that, she helped me change my life. I saw what skilled, compassionate counselling can do for a struggling parent. Because it did that for me.
This is why I sought out the Island Perinatal Counselling Network. I wanted to work where perinatal care is the whole focus, and to give other parents what was given to me. Now, as a Clinical Intern Counsellor supervised by Traci McGee, I support parents through:
- Perinatal anxiety and depression: pregnancy worry, postpartum mood changes, intrusive thoughts, and adjustment struggles
- The working-parent squeeze: the pressure to perform flawlessly at work and at home, and the identity shifts that come with both
- Parenting across cultures: immigrant, newcomer, and third-culture parents navigating family expectations, distance from home, and belonging
- Grief and loss: including loss at any stage of the journey to parenthood, and grief for the birth experience or life you imagined but didn’t get
- Isolation and low support: parenting far from family or without a support network — and building real, workable support around you
- Growing as a parent: practical support with parenting skills and the evolving complexities of raising children
I welcome parents of all identities, and I offer counselling in English or Russian.
How we’ll work together
The way back to yourself is rarely one big breakthrough. It’s a series of small, deliberate steps, and you won’t have to figure them out on your own.
You’ll lead by naming what matters to you, and where you want to get to. I’ll bring what I notice, and what tends to help parents get there. In a collaborative, trauma-informed, non-judgmental space we will:
- Get your nervous system some relief: practical grounding and regulation skills you can use between sessions.
- Understand what’s actually going on: your context, your strengths, your values, and the pressures pulling at you, without reducing you to a diagnosis.
- Re-author the story you’re living in: motherhood rewrites your identity fast, and rarely in the words you’d choose. Together we’ll untangle the “shoulds” you’ve inherited — from family, culture, work, and the internet — from the parent and person you actually want to be.
- Build your own toolkit: solution-focused, strengths-based strategies fitted to your real life, so progress continues when I’m not in the room.
All sessions take place under the ongoing clinical supervision of Traci McGee, so you get two sets of trained eyes on your well-being, at an intern rate of $80 + GST per session.
What life can look like
With perinatal counselling, parents often experience:
- More confidence in their ability to handle what life throws at them
- Knowing what to do — and doing it — when panic or low mood hits
- Less guilt, more genuine moments of connection with baby and others
- Clearer boundaries with work, family, and in-laws that fit their culture and values
- Feeling like themselves again, in their body, mind, and life
The fog lifts. What felt like no man’s land starts to feel like solid ground.
Why start now
Perinatal struggles addressed early tend to resolve faster. For you, your relationships, and your little one. You don’t need to be at breaking point to reach out.
This time of life, as hard as it is, doesn’t come back around. Affordable intern counselling exists so cost doesn’t keep you waiting.
Help Begins With a Call
Dial the number for the Care Coordinator. Get answers to questions, or book a first session with Tomiris.
More About Tomiris Altayeva
Availability
New clients are welcome:
- Tuesdays (daytime)
- Wednesdays (early evening)
- Fridays (daytime)
- Saturdays (daytime)
- Click here to view Tomiris’s availability
Fees
Clinical Intern:
- $80 + GST for a 50 minute session
- Fees cover the cost of rent, operations, and supervision
Affordable Therapy Options:
- Lower intern rates are available through the Clinic’s Affordable Therapy Plan
- Call the Care Coordinator to get a rate you can afford
- Depending on circumstances, many people agree to $80, and many pick something lower: $70, $60, $50, or $40 (with GST applicable to all pre-registered counselling).
Focus Areas
Tomiris helps parents with:
- Perinatal anxiety & depression
- Postpartum adjustment
- Working-parent stress & burnout
- Grief and loss, including loss at any stage of the journey to parenthood
- Processing a traumatic birth
- Cross-cultural and newcomer parenting challenges
- Parenting skills and the evolving complexities of raising children
- Identity and life transitions
Clients
Who Tomiris helps:
- Adults
- Individuals
- Parents of all identities
- Immigrant, newcomer, and third-culture parents
Counselling
Formats
- In office
- By video
- By phone
Education
Degrees:
- Master of Counselling candidate, City University, Victoria (graduation expected summer 2027)
- Bachelor of Commerce (Business Technology Management), Toronto Metropolitan University, 2019
Specialized Training:
- Responding to Disclosure of Sexual Violence: Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children, Western University
- Trauma-Informed Practice: Women’s Support Network of York Region volunteer training
- Online Training Initiative to Address Human Trafficking: MCIS Language Solutions
- Beyond Colonization! (Dr. Darien Thira): City University in Canada
Related Experience:
- Crisis line volunteer supporting survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence
- Co-host of a Russian-language perinatal mental health podcast
- Peer support group facilitator
Affiliations
Professional Memberships:
- Student Member #S02863, BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC)
- Student Member, Postpartum Support International (PSI)
Clinical Superviser
Supervision by Traci McGee:
- On-site supervision at the McGee Therapy Clinic
- Traci McGee holds multiple counselling registrations and certifications including Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) and Certified Perinatal Mental Health professional (PMH-C)
- Additional, off-site supervision by counselling faculty at City University during her practicum placement
Personal Pronouns
- She/Her
Languages
- English
- Russian
Take The First Step Today.
Call the Care Coordinator to book a first session with Tomiris Altayeva.
Looking To Book Online?
Click below to book a session with Tomiris.
McGee Therapy Clinic
Located in the
Centre for Counselling & Therapy (in the Yarrow Building)
Tomiris Altayeva
Perinatal Intern Counsellor
111 – 645 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, V8W 1G2
Office: 250-885-6760
Web: tracimcgee.ca
Email Clinic Office
Service Times
Tomiris provides counselling in person, by video, and by phone during the day on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and on Wednesday evenings.
Getting to The Office
Directions
Nearest Parkade
- Broughton Square Parkade
- 635 Broughton St.
- 2 minute walk to 645 Fort St.
- Google Maps to parkade
Street Parking Options
- Broughton Street / Gordon Street
- Fort Street
Inside The Yarrow Building
- Enter the Yarrow building from Fort Street near Broad, directly across from the Bay Centre.
- Take the stairs or elevator up one level to the first floor.
- Turn right and follow the hallway to Suite 111.
- You’ll see the door marked “Centre for Counselling & Therapy.”
Enter and please make yourself comfortable in the waiting room. Tomiris will greet you there when your session is scheduled to begin.
