For · Truck drivers
Counselling for truck drivers in BC
The job is long hours alone, a schedule set somewhere else, and a body that sits for twelve of them. Counselling has never been built for that. This is.
6 min read · Updated September 11, 2026
Westpeak Wellness offers online counselling for long-haul and local truck drivers anywhere in British Columbia, in English or Punjabi, by video from a parked cab or from home between runs. Sessions are booked run by run rather than at a fixed weekly time, evenings are available, and pausing between blocks costs nothing. The first 30-minute consultation is free.
A great deal of the trucking workforce in the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and the Interior is Punjabi-speaking, and a great deal of it works on a schedule that no counselling office keeps: out for days, back for two, out again, with the dispatch deciding which. A standing Tuesday appointment does not survive that, and most drivers who try counselling stop after the second missed session, which is the point at which it looked like it was not for them.
It was the format that was not for them. This page is about what changes when the session comes to the cab.
What comes up
The things people actually say
Sleep that never resets
Irregular starts, sleeper-berth nights, and a body clock that has stopped expecting anything. The anxiety and low mood that come with chronic short sleep are real and they respond to work, once the sleep itself is being looked at alongside.
Being alone for most of the week
Hours of nobody, then a house full of people who have been managing without you. The switch is hard in both directions, and it is one of the most common things drivers bring.
The near-miss that stays
A jack-knife on the Coquihalla, a car that pulled out, a crash you drove past. These sit in the body and come back on the same stretch of road. This is trauma work, and it is done at your pace.
Money, the truck, the family
Owner-operators carry the payment, the fuel, the broker and the family in one head. The pressure has a shape, and naming it is the beginning of managing it.
Anger that arrives faster than it used to
On the road, at home, at dispatch. Usually exhaustion and something underneath it, rarely the person you actually are.
A free 30-minute consultation, from wherever you are stopped. No card, and no obligation. Book a free consultation.
How a session fits a run
- From the cab, A parked truck is a private room with a door. Sessions from a rest area, a yard or a customer lot are normal here, as long as the engine is off and you are stopped for the hour.
- Run by run, not weekly, Book when you know your next window. Two sessions in a home week and none in an out week is a pattern, not a failure, and nothing is charged for the gap.
- Evenings, Weekday evenings by request, which is when many drivers are actually stopped.
- Phone data is enough, A video call runs on a phone signal at most stops. If it drops, the first session sets out what happens: the call resumes, or it finishes by phone.
- Punjabi or English, Or both in one session, which is how most bilingual people think anyway. Nothing about family, izzat or what is owed needs explaining first.
What this is not
It is not a medical exam, and it does not touch your licence. A Registered Clinical Counsellor does not diagnose, does not report to ICBC or to an employer, and does not have any role in medical fitness to drive. Confidentiality is a legal duty and its limits are set out on the standards page; nothing goes to a carrier, a dispatcher or an insurer.
It is also not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, pull over and call 911; 9-8-8 by call or text is there at any hour.
Paying for it
Company drivers often have an extended health plan that reimburses a Registered Clinical Counsellor; the coverage page says how to check yours in two minutes. Owner-operators usually pay directly and can claim the receipt as a medical expense at tax time. Fees are on the fees page, in full.
After a crash on the job, WorkSafeBC may cover counselling for a psychological injury, and ICBC covers counselling after a collision in BC whoever was at fault. Both pages set out how.
Where to start
Services that tend to fit
Common questions
Can I really do a session from the truck?
Yes, parked, engine off, for the hour. Rest areas, yards and customer lots all work. What matters is that nobody can hear you for that hour and the signal holds; both are checked at the first call.
I never know my schedule more than a few days out.
Book a few days out, then. The calendar is not a weekly commitment; you take a time when you know your window, and there is no charge for the weeks you cannot.
Will this affect my licence or my medical?
No. Counselling is confidential and a counsellor does not assess or report fitness to drive. That is a physician's role, and it is separate from this.
Does my carrier find out?
No. Nothing is sent to an employer, a dispatcher or an insurer. If you claim it through a company extended health plan, the insurer sees a receipt for counselling and nothing about what was discussed.
Can the session be in Punjabi?
Yes, with Savneet Singh, RCC, who works in Punjabi and English and moves between them as the conversation needs.
Sources and further support
General information, not clinical advice, and not a diagnosis. If you are in crisis, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada, 24/7) or BC Mental Health Support at 310-6789. In immediate danger, call 911.
One conversation, no commitment.
A free 30-minute consultation over secure video, including an honest answer if something other than counselling would serve you better.
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