Chris Walker

Background!

It is one of the basic elements of counselling that the client needs to be able to relate well to the counsellor.  This page provides a brief description of who I am and how I got to be where I am in life. This may provide a sense of how I operate and whether you could work with me.

Brief Biography

I was raised in South Langley, BC in a rural setting and through this have a profound connection with nature and the land.  My upbringing was also influenced by my family that was deeply connected with psychology for two generations. This environment has  provided me  a broad spectrum of life philosophies.  I have been active physically all my life and enjoy all physical outdoor sports and recreation, from mountaineering to scuba diving.  It as been said of me that I would have made a good explorer in the early part of this century. Given this explorers bent, my first career, which lasted 25 years, was as a forester.  This provided a solid grounding in the real world which I bring to all counselling sessions.  I have also traveled extensively in many cultures, which has afforded me the opportunity to challenge my own beliefs about living.  As a counterpoint I have also enjoyed creative expression through painting, sculpting, and music.  My explorational bent has provided motivation for both internal discovery as well as world travel and the perspectives that it provides.

I am now married with a step child and a child from my former marriage.  My family is very important to me and has challenged my self growth more than any other aspect of life.

Education and Training

My education has been an interesting mix of science and philosophy.  I began college with the idea of becomming a geologist.  This shifted slightly and I transferred to the British Columbia Institute of Technology where I finished a diploma in Forest Technology.  I worked in forestry for many years before going back to the UBC for a Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources.   After roughly twenty years of forestry I recognized that I was also well suited to working with people and their concerns and decided to change careers.  I finished my Masters Degree in Psychology from California Southern University for distance education in 2010.  This program is accredited federally in the US and has been endorsed by the BCACC (BC Association of Clinical Counsellors) and the CCPA (Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.)  At this time I am also a service provider for the federal government employment assistance program, victim services of British Columbia, First Nations Health Authority and volunteer counsellor for the BC ALS society.

Work

I have had the opportunity to work in many professions:  forester, wildland firefighter, carpenter, farmer, sales clerk, instructor, surveyor, lumber yard worker, arborist and finally, a counsellor.   The work in these professions, trades and skills have provided the opportunity to work with a wide diversity of people of many cultures and beliefs.   This has aided my understanding of the human condition from a wide diversity of perspectives.