Drop the Mom Guilt. Build Self-Trust.
You don’t have a patience problem, you have a capacity problem, and capacity can be built.
Welcome to breath-informed therapeutic counselling for moms. If you’re running on empty and done proving yourself, then it’s time to BE the calm connection you crave.
Your nervous system is trying to protect you.
What you're experiencing isn't a flaw. It isn't a weakness. It's your nervous system doing what it is designed to do: survive. When you regulate and restore with breath-informed, supported therapeutic counselling, you change the stress chemistry in your body and build an internal reference of safety so ease and connection become your baseline.
Insight matters. Feeling different matters more.
You've probably tried to think your way through it. And understanding yourself matters. But there's a gap between insight and actually feeling different, and that gap lives in the body, not the mind. It lives in the chemistry that keeps you stuck. This is where we start. In breath. In balance. In body.
Visit Tara’s private home office at Linley Valley Drive, Nanaimo, Canada or connect securely online from anywhere in BC.
You know you're doing your best. It's the gap between knowing it and feeling it that's breaking you.
The Pattern
Maybe it shows up as snapping at the people you love most, then getting swallowed up in guilt and wondering if you'll ever figure this out. Maybe it's a life that looks successful from the outside while feeling unforgivably hollow on the inside. Most likely it's both. Cycling between trying harder, being better, and then unravelling or completely shutting down, with no sense of steadiness anywhere in between.
The Reality
What you're experiencing isn't a flaw. It isn't a weakness. It's your nervous system doing what it is designed to do: survive. When you regulate and restore with breath-supported counselling, you build an internal reference of safety so ease and connection become your baseline.
The Shift
You've probably tried to think your way through it. And understanding yourself matters. But there's a gap between insight and actually feeling different, and that gap lives in the body, not the mind. This is where we start. In breath. In balance. In body.
Not sure if counselling is the right next step?
Start with a simple conversation. Meet Tara, share a little about what you’re navigating, and explore whether working together feels like the right fit.
If any of this sounds like you, you're in the right place.
The good parent who feels bad.
You love your kids fiercely and you lose it more than you want to admit. The guilt cycle is relentless: you snap, you apologise, you spiral, you over-compensate and you promise yourself it won't happen again. You know better. That's the part that hurts most. Underneath the reactivity is a person who has been giving more than they actually have, with no real space to fall apart or figure out who they are outside of everyone else's needs.
The high-achiever who feels empty.
You've done everything you were supposed to do. The career, the credentials, the life that looks successful from every angle. And yet there's a persistent flatness you can't explain, a sense that you're performing your life more than living it. You're functional. Highly functional. Which makes it harder, somehow, because you can't point to anything obviously wrong.
The dedicated provider who is missing the mark.
You work hard. You show up. By most measures you're a good partner, a good parent, a good provider. But there's a recurring theme: you shut down when things get emotional, you can't reach your partner, your kids feel far away even when you're in the same room. You're not indifferent. You just don't have a map for this territory.
This work may be right for you if you're navigating:
You don't have to know exactly what you need yet.
Start with a free 20-minute consultation with Tara. Share what you've been navigating, ask questions, and see whether working together feels like the right next step.
No pressure. Just a conversation to see if it feels like a fit.Your counselling may already be partially covered.
Tara is a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, which means sessions may be reimbursable through extended health plans that include counselling coverage.
Use the benefits you already have.
If your extended health plan includes Registered Therapeutic Counselling, you may be able to submit your WithinBreath sessions for reimbursement.
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor
Sessions are provided by Tara Rinke, RTC.
Receipt Provided
After payment, you'll receive a receipt that you can submit directly to your extended health provider.
In-Person or Online
Meet with Tara in Nanaimo or securely online from anywhere in British Columbia.
Check Your Individual Plan
Coverage varies by provider and plan, so we recommend confirming Registered Therapeutic Counselling coverage before your first session.
Extended health reimbursement depends on your individual insurance provider and plan. Payment is made directly to WithinBreath and receipts are provided for you to submit for reimbursement.
Your breath is your remote control to your nervous system.
It is the only part of your physiology you can consciously access in real time — which means it is the fastest, most direct path to actually feeling different, not just thinking differently.
That's why breath is woven into every session and integrated with the Neuro Affective Relational Model (NARM) — a framework designed to support complex trauma and the relational patterns that shape how you move through the world. Within each session we move fluidly between conversation and breath, following what your system needs in that moment.
Between sessions, conscious breath awareness keeps the work alive. Because change isn't a single insight — it's a nervous system that has practised something often enough that it becomes steady and dependable. That's self-trust. The kind that holds you through the hard moments and opens you to the ones worth living for.
What actually happens — from consult to ongoing sessions
Extended Health Eligible*
As a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, Tara's sessions are covered under most extended health plans.
Free 20-minute consultation
A relaxed conversation about what's been going on, what you're looking for, and whether working together feels like a good fit.
Complete your intake
Before your first session you'll receive intake documents through Jane. The more honestly you engage here, the better our first session will be.
First 75-minute assessment
A full assessment exploring your breath patterns and your story to build a foundation for our work together.
Ongoing sessions
Collaborative sessions moving between talk therapy and breath integration, followed by support for your own practice between sessions.
Two ongoing session formats
Counselling
- Focus: Talk therapy, NARM-informed
- Best For: Relational work
Counselling + Breath
- Focus: Talk therapy + breath integration
- Best For: Nervous system regulation
Tara Rinke, RTC
- Registered Therapeutic Counsellor
- Practicing in British Columbia
- NARM Practitioner
- Certified Soma Breath Instructor
- 7 years clinical practice
- Extended health eligible
I became a therapist because I understood people. Applying that understanding to myself was the hard part.
I could see people's patterns, name their dynamics, hold space for their pain. Which inevitably compounded my shame and frustration when I struggled to apply it to my own life.
I was co-dependent, resentful, and running on empty. Giving more than I had and calling it love. Managing everything around me and calling it responsibility. Seething quietly underneath it all, and then feeling ashamed of the seething, because what did I have to complain about?
I had the insight. The training. The tools. I understood my patterns at every intellectual level. And I was still looping. Still people-pleasing my way into burnout. Still completely disconnected from myself, without knowing that I actually needed me.
Everything changed when I found breathwork. Not because it gave me new information. But because it gave me access to what I already knew AND to what I was capable of being. When I brought balance to my physiology, the knowledge I had carried for years finally became embodied action. I stopped just understanding my patterns. I started living with intention and choice in every moment.
That's what I bring into the room with you. Seven years as a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor. A NARM practitioner working specifically with complex trauma and relational patterns. A certified Soma Breath instructor integrating breathwork into therapeutic practice.
But more than any credential, I'm someone who knows what it is to be capable, caring, and completely disconnected from yourself. And I know what becomes possible when your body finally feels safe enough to trust.
Questions you might have
Do I need experience with breathwork?
None at all. We start exactly where you are. The breath assessment at the beginning of our work together gives us a clear picture of your baseline, and your home practice builds gradually from there. You don't need to know anything coming in except that you're ready to show up.
I'm not a therapy person, is this still for me?
Yes. And honestly, this work might reach you in ways traditional therapy never has. Breath is practical and physiological. It is something you do, not just something you talk about. You don't have to be a therapy person to want to feel better, sleep better, or stop running on empty.
I'm dealing with anxiety, sleep issues, or burnout, is this relevant?
Absolutely. These are some of the most common reasons people find their way here. Many people do not realize that anxiety, disrupted sleep, relationship tension, and burnout are often symptoms of the same thing, a nervous system that has been running on survival for too long. This work addresses the root, not just the symptom.
Can I claim this on my extended health benefits?
Yes. As a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, my sessions are covered under most extended health plans that include counselling benefits. Payment is required upfront and you will receive a receipt to submit directly to your provider for reimbursement. Check with your plan to confirm your specific coverage before booking.
Is this available online?
Yes. Sessions are available both online and in-person in Nanaimo. Wherever you are most comfortable showing up is where we work.
I'm already seeing a therapist or doctor, can I still work with you?
Yes. This work complements other forms of support well. If you are working alongside a physician, psychiatrist, or other healthcare provider, we can work collaboratively within that context. Every situation is different and we will discuss what is most appropriate for you during your intake.
Is my situation serious enough for this kind of support?
If you are reading this page and something is resonating, that is enough. You don't need to be in crisis to deserve support, and you don't need to have it all figured out before you begin. That said, if your symptoms require a higher level of care, I will always be honest with you about that and help you find the right resource.
How do I prepare for a session?
Come as you are. There is nothing to prepare, perform, or get right. If it helps, give yourself a few quiet minutes before we connect, step away from your screen, take a few slow breaths, and arrive with a loose sense of what has been most present for you lately. That is enough.
Is this only for women?
No. While some of WithinBreath's programs are designed specifically for women, individual counselling sessions welcome everyone. About half of my clients are men, many of whom arrive not through the language of therapy but through the very real experience of stress, sleep disruption, relationship strain, or a quiet sense that something is off.