Crime Victim Assistance
Program Counselling

CVAP is a provincial program administered by Victim Services & Crime Prevention Division in British Columbia. It provides financial benefits — including counselling — to victims of violent crime, their immediate family members, and witnesses to certain offences.

Eligible individuals may receive funding for counselling sessions as part of their recovery, allowing them to access professional therapeutic support without out-of-pocket cost, subject to program approval and eligibility requirements.

Accessing CVAP generally requires an application submitted through Victim Services. Clients who are unsure about their eligibility or the application process are encouraged to contact their local Victim Services office.

Experiencing or witnessing violent crime can have lasting psychological effects. Common responses include acute stress reactions, post-traumatic stress, heightened anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and changes in how safe the world feels.

Counselling provides structured support for processing what happened, managing ongoing symptoms, and rebuilding a sense of safety and stability. The goal is not to minimize what occurred, but to reduce its ongoing impact on daily life.

Many people find that having a confidential, professionally supported space to work through what happened is an important part of recovery — and that meaningful change is possible even when experiences feel overwhelming.

John approaches CVAP counselling with the same trauma-informed framework he applies to all trauma-related work. Sessions are tailored to the individual — their specific experience, goals, and what is most clinically appropriate for them.

For clients who have experienced crime-related trauma, John may draw on EMDR, somatic approaches, Emotionally Focused Therapy, or other evidence-informed methods. Many clients working under CVAP benefit from trauma-focused approaches that directly address the impact of what happened.

John works at a pace that is manageable for the client. Effective trauma therapy does not require revisiting events in detail, and the clinical approach is always guided by what is helpful rather than what is expedient.