maggi ho, forward & up counselling, portfolioyvr, helen siwak, vancouver, bc, entrepreneur, businesses, west coast business, vancouver, bc, yvr

After Two Decades in Sales, Maggi Ho Opens Forward & Up Counselling

Maggi Ho is a self-motivated professional who finds joy in what she does and draws energy from learning and growing. After spending more than half of her working life climbing the corporate ladder across sales, commerce, operations, and marketing, with a focus on people management and development, she has chosen to devote the second half of her career to work with a more soul-enriching and meaningful trajectory. Having done the work of healing herself, she now helps others through the meaningful practice of people work and talk therapy.

To her practice, Ho brings more than twenty years of leadership, customer service, and sales experience, alongside deep strengths in communication, organization, and time management. Her background includes hiring and retention, training and development, coaching, performance appraisals, onboarding, orientations, employee scheduling, succession planning, and goal planning.

That range shapes the way she meets clients today: as someone who has lived through corporate pressure, personal reinvention, and generational healing, and who is comfortable sitting with the complexity of all three.

maggi ho, forward & up counselling, portfolioyvr, helen siwak, vancouver, bc, entrepreneur, businesses, west coast business, vancouver, bc, yvr

Business Bio

Forward & Up Counselling is the private practice of Maggi Ho, a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor based in British Columbia. The practice is solutions-focused and works with individuals who are open to self-reflection and who want change, self-growth, and improvement. Clients do not need to have everything figured out to begin; the work starts where they are.

Ho supports clients through life transitions and big decisions, anxiety, overwhelm, and overthinking, grief and loss, self-worth, self-acceptance, and inner confidence, boundaries, communication, and people-pleasing, relationship stress and conflict patterns, family dynamics and generational trauma, burnout, stress, and emotional regulation, and past experiences that continue to show up in the present.

Her approach is warm, collaborative, and solutions-focused. She offers an honest, transparent, and non-judgmental space where clients can feel vulnerable, seen, heard, and understood. Ho draws from person-centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, rational emotive behaviour therapy, and family systems and parts work, blending these modalities to fit each individual rather than fitting each individual to a single method.

maggi ho, forward & up counselling, portfolioyvr, helen siwak, vancouver, bc, entrepreneur, businesses, west coast business, vancouver, bc, yvr

In Her Words

“I hit that point and age in my life where I began reflecting on my accomplishments and thinking about what to do for the rest of my life. What is my legacy? How will I know that my life has meaning when I sit back and look at it during my aging years? With no desire for children and no drive to marry, I wanted to pour my love and energy into something productive, a way I could still grow and nurture something on my own terms. I have always been a people person and connection driven, so I wanted to harness those traits as a way to give back to the community. All roads in my life led to the same place: by healing and helping myself mentally and emotionally first, I could turn around and do that work for others.

I have always been open and honest, friendly, and have been told that I am easy to talk to and open up with. A large part of that comes from the fact that I am so forthcoming with my own flaws and real life challenges, and so willing to show them candidly. I truly believe I have no right to judge anyone for their decisions or actions, and I am willing to share and self-deprecate if it can show someone that they are not alone.

A DAUGHTER’S DECISION

One of the most memorable early experiences on this path came through family counselling with my mother. She had difficulty finding value in the sessions, but she continued to show up for my sake. At the two-year mark, she said she did not want to continue. I respected her needs, but I wanted to keep working on my own healing and on forgiving myself and my parents for my childhood. That was when I decided to step away from my career in sales and operations to become a counsellor, to help myself and others who carry generational trauma, especially given how Asian cultures continue to disregard mental health and its benefits.

maggi ho, forward & up counselling, portfolioyvr, helen siwak, vancouver, bc, entrepreneur, businesses, west coast business, vancouver, bc, yvr

DUALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM

Right now I am working on the duality of who I am and what I do. I have always put myself out there and been honest about my fallible, far-from-perfect self. As an entrepreneur with my own private practice, I feel I need to step back and hide more of myself under the guise of professionalism, disclosing only if and when it helps the client. What has brought me so much success might now be considered a detriment. On the other hand, I want to keep building relationships with clients who want to open up to an honest and real person, and I believe my personality adds a lot to that.

Given my expertise and my former experience in business, my clients now tend to be high-functioning working individuals looking for support through life’s transitions, or individuals who want to heal generational trauma. I have more personal and professional experience with both.

THE MIND’S OFFICE

Counselling is about connection, and I am lucky that my pastimes allow me to meet so many different individuals. I describe counselling as having a secretary to help organize your mind’s office. Even though you know something exists in your mind, you might not know where you filed it. Speaking with a counsellor is like having someone arrange, file, and process thoughts and emotions you did not know you had, and can now use to benefit yourself.

I worked through years of personal issues and overcame what I needed to in a span of three or four months. I am so much more mindful and careful about who and what I let into my life, whether friend, partner, coworker, or family member. Knowing who you are and what you need to be happy allows you to not accept anything less. This is a lesson I wish I had learned in my youth.

WHEN IT FELT RIGHT

The pivotal moment was when it simply felt right. I would work hard, achieve my self-given goals, and yet never really feel accomplished. That drove multiple career changes, trying to find the next and right thing. With my private practice it feels natural, like I am in the right place, doing the right things. The timing lined up, and the feedback from people I know and have helped confirmed that I am doing meaningful work.

I am lucky to be surrounded by well-established individuals whom I trust wholeheartedly. Dennis Pang of Popcorn Media helped me flesh out my branding. Howie Yu is a talented photographer and trusted friend who did my headshots. Joyce Chiang was the catalyst that had me enrolling to get my counselling degree. Lisa Currier helped me get my website up and running. Diana Chan is an authority on marketing and media and is often the irrefutable resource I turn to. Sinem Akin is my counselling mentor and instructor, a trusted and guiding light.

maggi ho, forward & up counselling, portfolioyvr, helen siwak, vancouver, bc, entrepreneur, businesses, west coast business, vancouver, bc, yvr

LEADING WITHOUT EGO

My leadership style is to accept feedback humbly, embrace change, and admit when I am wrong. I operate with no ego and work to not take things personally. I also keep in mind everything I teach and work on with my clients, because change and action start with me.

My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is that things take time, and waiting is not failure. Sometimes the answer is not no, it is when. There is no point in worrying about what you cannot control, so focus on what you can do. Positive manifesting works. Live your life like a person you would want to work and interact with, and you can never be disappointed in yourself.

THE HEART OF THE WORK

Sometimes life feels like it is moving around you, without you. You might be keeping up on the outside while feeling behind on the inside. Counselling can help you slow things down, get clear, and start living the life you want. At Forward & Up Counselling, I support individuals who want to feel more grounded, improve their relationships, and move forward with greater self-acceptance and worth. You do not need to know what you want or where you want to go. Together we can find a path and a plan that suits you. This is time and space just for you, and we work together, for you.

THE ASK

What I need through 2026 and 2027 is exposure and platforms to showcase how I can help clients: articles, adverts, and publications like this one. Referrals are trusted, so healthy word of mouth matters, and I ask those who know me to help spread the word to people who need someone to talk to. More broadly, I want to see greater acceptance and more conversations about mental health, with the topic treated as a regular part of wellness. I want workplaces covering counselling fully and reimbursing enough for at least monthly sessions. The legacy I hope to leave is simple: we all have something to work on, and we all deserve support and a safe space to do it.”

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.