Allison Winik
RSW MSW BSW
Registered Social Worker
I’m a Registered Social Worker with the BC College of Social Workers (Registration #16305), currently temporarily living in New Zealand. I hold an Advanced Master of Social Work degree from the University of British Columbia, with a specialization in Health and Social Care.
​
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of deepening my work in perinatal mental health here in New Zealand, gaining hands-on experience in perinatal counselling, postpartum support, and family-centered care. This time has broadened my perspective and reaffirmed my commitment to offering culturally safe, trauma-informed, and person-centered support to individuals and couples navigating the perinatal period.
​
I’m the founder of Clearwater Counselling & Perinatal Services, a practice dedicated to supporting people across British Columbia through the many transitions of the perinatal period. My counselling approach is rooted in evidence-based practices such as attachment theory, Internal Family Systems (Parts Work), and person-centered frameworks. I alway aim to meet people where they are with compassion, empathy, and without judgment. I bring both clinical knowledge and holistic perspectives to my work with birthing individuals and their families.
​
At this time, I am offering counselling services exclusively online to residents of British Columbia, Canada and am currently accepting new clients.
​
I continue to practice in alignment with the scope and ethical standards set by the BC College of Social Workers and remain in good standing with the College, committed to upholding the highest standards of professional care.
​
You can verify my registration with the BCCSW by inserting my name and registration number #16305 into the search engine with the following link: https://bccsw.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/
Registered social workers are recognized as ‘medical practitioners’ under the Income Tax Act. This means you can claim your counselling or your family counselling on your income tax return.
For more information on this, please see: https://bccsw.ca/for-the-public/announcement/
​
Perinatal Mental Health
My journey into perinatal mental health has been both professional and deeply personal. Living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) has shaped how I relate to my own body, mental health, and reproductive experience. Over the years, I’ve navigated challenges related to hormonal imbalance, fertility uncertainty, and the disconnect that can come from not feeling fully understood in a healthcare system that often separates mental and physical health. This experience led me to explore how reproductive health and mental health are intimately connected, not just in theory but in the day-to-day realities of those affected.
​During my Master of Social Work degree, I had the opportunity to combine my passion for reproductive mental health with a clinical practicum in Taranaki, New Zealand, where I worked with the Perinatal Mental Health team at Taranaki Base Hospital. There, I provided both individual and couples counselling to clients experiencing antenatal and postpartum anxiety, depression, substance use challenges, and grief and loss. I also offered abortion choice counselling and supported individuals to make informed, empowered decisions in a safe and nonjudgmental space. In this role, I witnessed firsthand the strength of New Zealand’s community-based, wraparound approach to perinatal care. This holistic model centers the birthing person within a supportive network that prioritizes dignity, cultural safety, and collaborative care.
​
This experience deeply influenced my vision for perinatal mental health services in British Columbia, particularly in rural and under-resourced communities. I’m committed to bringing what I’ve learned in Aotearoa back home: care that is warm, accessible, trauma-informed, and rooted in genuine partnership with birthing people and their families. My goal is to create spaces where people feel heard, supported, and empowered through every stage of their reproductive journey.
Credentials & Education
-
I hold an Advanced Master's of Social Work from the University of British Columbia with a specialization in Health & Social Care.
​
-
I am registered with the BC College of Social Workers (ID#16305)
​
-
I am currently completing my Certification in Perinatal Mental Health from the Postpartum International Society
​
-
Abortion Choice Counselling Training
​
-
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Foundations
​
-
Working with Youth & Trauma Advanced Training
​
-
Motivational Interviewing Foundations
​
-
Internal Family Systems Foundations
​​
-
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Foundations ​​​
​
-
Pregnancy, Early Parenthood, and Infant (PÄ’PI) Training
​
Behind the name
A love letter to Clearwater…
Every summer, our family of 5 would drive 19 hours to a small town in rural northwestern Ontario to visit aunties, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. My earliest memories are from these roadtrips: narrow pine trees, feet dangling off my booster seat, singing to dad’s playlists (John Denver, A-ha, Gordon Lightfoot, U2 tunes burned into cd’s), waking up as we arrived at Grandma’s house, being greeted with the smell of comfort (fresh bread).
Every summer we would make the journey here, to Clearwater Lake.
Every summer when we returned there was always newness and nostalgia, both ritual and offering, both creating and revisiting, both birth and death. As a family, our visits to Clearwater remained consistent throughout some of our most challenging years, it was a presence that always brought clarity, calm, and joy.
The last summer I spent at Clearwater was the summer before I started my Bachelor of Social Work degree, that same summer we buried my father at Clearwater, laying him to rest in his favourite place amongst the pine trees and water that raised both us both.
When thinking of a name for a counselling practice that aims to support families through some of life’s most transitional periods, choosing the name Clearwater was the perfect fit. It was at Clearwater where I set my intentions towards pursuing a career in social work, and it feels full circle to get to honour this place that has been my place of grounding throughout my life.
It is my hope that Clearwater Counselling & Perinatal Services brings the same peace, steadiness and hope into the lives of individuals and families seeking support.