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Hazyl Jonas

Hidden Gems: Meet Hazyl of Hazyl J Counselling

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazyl.

Hi Hazyl, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey to becoming an Eating Disorder Therapist wasn’t something I had completely mapped out from the beginning and it definitely was not linear. I started out studying psychology at UBC, with really no plan as to where I was going to take this as a career post grad. In my last year of this degree, I had made a plan to follow the path of becoming a teacher. With this in mind, I signed up to volunteer at an after school homework group for kids living in low income housing. This was the experience that really changed my career path because through this I realized what I loved most was not teaching the kids but being there for the kids in often really challenging situations. So I thought, okay maybe not teaching, maybe counselling.

At this point I really still had no ideas or plans to venture into the eating disorder world. All I knew was, I liked helping people and being a counsellor could be a good career path for me. That eventually led me to pursue my Master of Counselling Psychology at Adler University.

During my graduate training, I found my way into eating disorder work through practicum sites and personal interest in researching this topic. It then quickly became an area that I felt deeply connected to as I was having more and more realizations of all the impacts of diet culture and disordered eating around me. I then had the opportunity to work with the Looking Glass Foundation, an established not-for-profit organization in Vancouver, BC, where I supported young adults navigating eating disorders and recovery as as therapist. That experience really shaped the kind of therapist I wanted to become. I saw how much space food, exercise, body image, and the pursuit of being “healthy” can take up in someone’s life and how recovery is about so much more than simply changing eating behaviours. It’s about helping someone get their life back.

After graduating, I continued working in eating disorder care in private practice while also joining a public health eating disorder program. Working in both settings has given me the opportunity to support people at different points in their recovery and has continued to deepen my understanding of how complex and individual this work can be.

Along the way, I realized that I wanted to create a private practice that felt very intentional and aligned with the way I practice. That led me to start Hazyl J Counselling, where I work primarily with women of all ages struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image distress. My goal is to create a space where people don’t feel judged, pressured to change their bodies, or reduced to a diagnosis. Instead, I want therapy to help people move beyond the constant mental noise around food and their bodies so they can have more energy and space for the things that actually matter to them.

Today, I’m balancing my private practice with my work in public health, and I’m continuing to grow Hazyl J Counselling into something that reflects both my professional experience and the kind of therapist I’ve always wanted to be. Looking back, the path feels less like one big decision and more like a series of experiences that gradually showed me where I was meant to be.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would looovee to say it has been a smooth road, however like most things in life, it most definitely was not. There have been many rewarding moments, but getting to where I am today has involved plenty of uncertainty and figuring things out as I go, often with big feelings of imposture, worry, and sometimes hopelessness.

One of the biggest challenges has been learning that a career doesn’t always unfold in a straight line. I’ve changed roles, tried different settings, and had to make decisions without always knowing exactly where they would lead. In the world of counselling there are so many different career paths you can take and sometimes those different options are overwhelming instead of helpful. There were times when I questioned whether I was doing enough or whether I was progressing quickly enough, especially while building my own private practice alongside other work.

Starting my own practice has been the biggest learning curve by far. Because it is not only using my clinical skills as a therapist, it is actually learning to become a business owner and run a successful business. I’ve had to learn everything from marketing and finances to setting boundaries and figuring out what I actually want my practice to look like, and I never really know if I am making the right decisions! It can be easy to compare yourself to people who seem further ahead, particularly with social media, but I’ve had to remind myself that building something meaningful takes time.

I’ve also had to become more comfortable with the uncertainty that comes with doing work that is deeply personal and meaningful to me. I care a lot about the people I work with and about doing this work well, so there have definitely been moments of self-doubt. Over time, though, I’ve learned that those moments don’t necessarily mean I’m on the wrong path. Sometimes they’re simply part of growing.

I think one of the biggest lessons has been that success doesn’t have to look like having everything figured out. For me, it has looked more like continuing to learn, staying curious, being willing to change direction when something no longer fits, and gradually building a career that feels genuinely aligned with who I am.

We’ve been impressed with Hazyl J Counselling, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Hazyl J Counselling is my private practice focused on helping women heal their relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves. I primarily support people navigating eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image distress, particularly those who feel like food and body thoughts have taken up far too much space in their lives.

A lot of the people I work with are high-achieving, thoughtful, and incredibly hard on themselves. From the outside, they may seem like they have everything together, but internally they can be exhausted by constantly thinking about what they ate, whether they ate “well enough,” how their body looks, or whether they are doing recovery “right.” I want therapy to be a space where they can step out of that cycle without feeling judged or pressured to change their bodies.

My approach is grounded in evidence-based therapy, including cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness-based approaches, and somatic practices, while also being trauma-informed, weight-inclusive, and neuro-affirming. But beyond specific modalities, I think what matters most is the relationship I create with my clients. I want people to feel that they can show up as they are, without having to prove that they are “sick enough” or have the perfect recovery story.

What sets my practice apart is that I don’t see eating disorder recovery as simply getting someone to eat differently or stop certain behaviours. Those things can be important, but I’m much more interested in what becomes possible when food and body preoccupation no longer dominate someone’s life. Recovery can mean going out for dinner without anxiety, wearing clothes without constantly thinking about your body, being able to enjoy food without guilt, or simply having enough mental space to focus on relationships, work, creativity, adventure, and the things that make life feel meaningful.

I’m particularly proud of the brand I’ve built around that idea. I wanted Hazyl J Counselling to feel warm, approachable, and modern rather than clinical or intimidating. Mental health care can already feel overwhelming, and I wanted my practice to feel like a place where someone could immediately feel understood.

Ultimately, I want people to know that they don’t have to spend the rest of their lives organizing everything around food and their bodies. My goal is to help clients build a fuller life, one where they’re able to experience, pursue, and enjoy again.

What are your plans for the future?
I have some pretty big goals for the future, and I’m excited about the possibility of Hazyl J Counselling growing into something much bigger than my own private practice.

In the short term, I want to continue building a strong eating disorder-focused practice that serves people across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, both virtually and in person. Over time, I would love to grow that into a collaborative group practice with other clinicians who share the same values and approach to eating disorder care. My hope is to create something that feels accessible, warm, and genuinely specialized, while also being a place where clinicians can do meaningful work and feel supported themselves.

Another part of my long-term vision is making sure eating disorder care reaches communities that have historically been underserved or overlooked. I’m particularly interested in learning more about and developing culturally responsive approaches to eating disorder treatment with Indigenous communities and other marginalized populations. I would love to eventually explore creating a nonprofit or community-based organization that could provide education, resources, and support beyond what is possible through a traditional private practice model.

Education is another area I’m really passionate about. One of the things that stood out to me throughout my own training was how little dedicated education there was around eating disorders, despite how common and complex they are. A lot of what I know now came from seeking out specialized training, supervision, and experience outside of my formal graduate education. I’d love to eventually offer workshops and training for therapists, counselling students, and other healthcare professionals so that they feel more confident recognizing and supporting eating disorders.

Ultimately, I’d love to build something that has an impact beyond the individual clients I see. I want to contribute to creating a stronger network of eating disorder care in BC through clinical services, education, collaboration, and eventually community initiatives. I’m still figuring out exactly what that will look like, but that bigger vision is what really excites me about the future.

Pricing:

  • Individual counselling sessions: $170 CAD for a 50-minute session. .
  • I offer a free consultation for prospective clients to ask questions, learn more about my approach, and determine whether working together feels like a good fit.
  • I currently offer both in-person sessions in Vancouver and virtual counselling throughout British Columbia

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Hazyl Jonas, RCC

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