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Biography
Richard is Practitioner-Instructor, Clinical Supervisor, and PhD student at 間眅埶AV, Faculty of Education, near Vancouver, BC; Founder of a group practice, Relationship Experts Vancouver; President of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) BC Chapter; Speaker, and Consultant to organizations, professionals, and the public.
A key focus in his work with 間眅埶AV is as SAFE Clinical Professor in Counselling Psychology, where, in collaboration with 12 other agencies in Surrey, he supervises a practicum site for Graduate students who deliver individual, family, and group counselling; develops and evaluates programs that work to help systems and their professionals better collaborate and intervene in the pathways towards gang violence. Richard maintains a special heart for "youth-at-promise," often young men with entrepreneurial and leadership potential haunted by complex trauma and Western society's poor ability to help them transition into adulthood and a sense of healthy masculinity.
Richard is a community-builder and connector, current research includes implementation evaluation and expansion to Indigenous and other vulnerable populations across Canada of a train-the-trainer program created by fellow Faculty Masahiro Minami [masahiro_minami@sfu.ca] as part of the training front-line workers and paraprofessionals in counselling skills, mental health literacy, crisis management and de-escalation, and collaborative care.
Dissertation (Working Title): Leaders in Care are Leaders Who Care: Examining Perceptions and Practices of Youth Residential Care Staff in a Counselling and Residential Care Competencies Training Program in a Community Service Agency in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Qualitative Evaluation of CORE community complex care residential resources staff training model).
Richard is one of approximately 100 therapists in Canada to have received advanced training in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy designed by Therapsil, an organization committed to the safe, legal, and equitable access to medical psilocybin and psilocybin therapy and the first organization in Canada to receive federal exemptions for the use of Psilocybin to treat end-of-life distress.
Richard is excited to speak and consult on a variety of topics related to mental health and program development and evaluation, with current top interests including innovations and access to trauma treatments that connect technology, non-pharmacological solutions and special populations and issues, such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic therapies intersecting with Psychedelics, Neurofeedback, and Virtual-Reality; Trauma-Informed Supervision of mental health professionals counsellors; Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT) to improve therapist development and client outcomes, such as studying the skills and dispositions that make-up the "magick" of master therapists.
Richard runs a group practice, Relationship Experts Vancouver, where he and his colleagues specialize in trauma and relationship therapies, as well as supervision/consultation/training to professionals and organizations.
Contact Richard
Clients, Media, and Speaking engagements:
Private Practice: or relationshipexpertsvancouver@gmail.com
間眅埶AV: /sfunews/media/issues-experts/2022/11/sfu-experts-on-curbing-gang-violence.html
Socials
IG: @relationshipexpertsvancouver
LinkedIn:
Psychology Today:
Research Interests
Experience in leadership/supervision and quality improvement of a graduate student community counselling practicum site, part of a multi-million dollar federally funded multi-partner early intervention mental health, violence-and-crime-risk-reduction, anti-gang initiative & situation table (Surrey SAFE program - 間眅埶AV/City of Surrey/Public Safety Canada).
Knowledge mobilization and education to Organizations, Academia, Professionals, Public, and the Media on the following subject areas:
- Trauma and Resilience: Trauma Informed Practice for Organizations/Systems/Staff in Health and Community Services; Trauma Therapies/Trauma-Focused Counselling-Therapy; Trauma-Informed Supervision; Prevention and Intervention of Compassion Fatigue, Burnout; Post-Traumatic Growth, Trauma-Informed Communities of Practice
- Technology & Innovations in Counselling-Therapy: consulting re development of Virtual Reality for Internal Family Systems trauma therapy (Entheotech Canada)
- Relationship Therapy: Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: Post-graduate training and expertise in Psilocybin-assisted individual, and group therapy, Safety & Efficacy, Psychedelic Integration
- Gathering Groups (Facilitator), Abbotsford, BC
- Therapsil (Trained), Victoria, BC
Mental health service research program development and consulting experience in key aspects (staffing, barriers to implementation, fidelity, performance assessment, quality improvement) of setting up Community residential care facilities/homes, community counselling programs, counselling theories and skills.
Courses
Fall 2024
This instructor is currently not teaching any courses.
Academic Positions
Practitioner Instructor, SAFE program (Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment), Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education 間眅埶AV, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (2019 - Present)
Educational Background
PhD Student Educational Psychology, 間眅埶AV, Burnaby, BC Note: Coursework Requirements completed, Comprehensive Exams and Dissertation remaining. Dissertation (Working Title): Leaders in Care are Leaders Who Care: Examining Perceptions and Practices of Youth Residential Care Staff in a Counselling and Residential Care Competencies Training Program in a Community Service Agency in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Qualitative Evaluation of CORE community complex care residential resources staff training model) (2018 - Present)
Counselling Psychology, MA, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC (2013)
Psychology, BA, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC (2010)
Association Memberships
Professional Member, Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC #4610), Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association, BC chapter member, Counsellor-Educator-Supervisor chapter member (2012 - Present)
Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) Registered Service Provider (Level 3) (Feb 2015 - Present)
Awards and Honours
Community Impact Award Recipient: SAFE Program Kwantlen Polytechnic University (June 20, 2022)
The intent of the Community Impact Award is to recognize individuals and organizations who are strong partners of KPU and making a difference in regional communities of relevance to KPU. Since its launch in 2019, the SAFE program has supported 3,037 Surrey children and youth and 411 caregivers. (Collective award shared among all 11 partner agencies in the multi-agency initiative. Plaque located in SAFE Centre, Civic Plaza, Surrey).
Research
Research and Development Projects
Funding Received
SAFE Clinical Professor/SAFE Clinician (Practitioner-Instructor), SAFE Community Clinical Counselling program. Position and related program costs funded by Public Safety Canada/City of Surrey SAFE grant, $100,000 per year. (2019 - Present)
Continuous Work on Funded Research/Development Projects
SAFE Clinical Professor in Counselling Psychology (Principal Investigator), SAFE Community Clinical Counselling program. Position and related program costs supported by Public Safety Canada/City of Surrey SAFE funding, $100,000 per year. (2019 - Present)
Funding Requested, Under Review
Program Lead (Principal Investigator), Healing Pathways - Trauma-Informed Systems Implementation, Transformation & Mobilization Initiative (TI.SIT.MI) (A Community Mental Health Research & Service Collaboration). Position(s) / program supported by Public Safety Canada/City of Surrey BSCF (Building Safer Communities Fund), $195,500 per year. (2023 May - 2026 April)
Publications
Planned Submissions to Refereed Journals
Tatomir, R. (2022). COVID-19 Burnout and BeyondA Binary Logistic Regression Analysis to Predict Depression from Factors Related to Burnout in a National Sample of Healthcare Workers in Canada: Data from Statistics Canada 2021 Survey on Health Care Workers Experiences During the Pandemic (SHCWEP) [Unpublished manuscript]. Faculty of Education, 間眅埶AV.
Additional Scholarship (aka non-traditional scholarship)
2022, November to Present (Upcoming) | Conference Planning: Part of an advisory and planning team to carry out a Community Mental Health Service Research Symposium (Panel, Poster Session, Community Services and Careers Fair) on May 5, 2023 | Upcoming: CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) Culturally Adapted CBT project |
2021, May to 2021, July (Submitted) | Evaluation Project (incl. Proposal, Report w/ Recommendations, Logic Model, Presentation): Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support WHO Pacific Islands Joint Incident Management Team Strategy during COVID-19 Pandemic. Evaluation Team (間眅埶AV HSCI 826): Archibald, R., Ladack, A., Tatomir, R., White, G., Zapernick, A. (Alphabetical order). | Submitted to Joint Incident Management Team (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Cell) for the 21 Pacific Island Countries via Jennifer Hall, World Health Organization, Joint Incident Management Team Lead, Pacific Islands (July 4, 2021). |
Invited Professional Presentations
2022, November 5 | Keynote: Trauma informed counselling therapy | Annual General Meeting of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, Ottawa, ON (Virtual) |
2022, April 25 | Presentation: Trauma informed practice: Intro to trauma counselling therapy | DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society, Surrey, BC (Virtual) |
2022, April 1 | Presentation: Trauma informed practice: Intro to trauma counselling therapy | Paramount Pediatrics, Surrey, BC |
2022, March 30 | Presentation: Trauma informed practice: Intro to trauma counselling therapy | Multi-agency meeting of SAFE (Surrey Anti-Gang) Family Empowerment, and CHART (Children and Youth At-Risk Table), Surrey, BC (Virtual) |
Media Engagement
2022, November 17 | Interview: Anna Burns, Journalist |
Surrey Now Leader (Black Press) |
2022, November 3 | Newspaper article: 間眅埶AV experts tackle gang violence in two projects https://canadatoday.news/bc/sfu-experts-combat-gang-violence-in-two-projects-70567/ https://voiceonline.com/sfu-experts-tackle-gang-violence-in-two-projects/ 間眅埶AV experts on curbing gang violence /sfunews/media/issues-experts/2022/11/sfu-experts-on-curbing-gang-violence.html | Canada Today News The Indo-Canadian Voice 間眅埶AV Issues and Experts (Faculty of Education) |
2022, October 25 | News article: Stopping gang violence well before it starts /education/news-events/2022/october-2022/stopping-gang-violence-before-it-starts.html | 間眅埶AV Faculty of Educations News & Events Re: Oct 21 Federal Government meeting |
2022, October 21 | Meeting and Official Announcement: Building Safer Communities Fund and Bill C-21 Gun control bill. SAFE multi-partner meeting. | Prime Minister of Canada, Right Hon. Justin Trudeau Hon. Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness |
Additional Contributions
Government/Community Building
2022, October 21 | Roundtable: SAFE. Progress on interventions against Gang Violence. | Hon. Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness M.P. Randeep Sarai (Lib.) (Surrey Central) M.P. Sukh Dhaliwal (Lib.) (Surrey-Newton) M.P. John Aldage (Lib.) (Surrey-Langley City) Mayor Doug McCallum, Surrey SAFE Centre, Civic Plaza, Surrey |
2022, Apr 29 | Podcast (Guest): Meet Richard, a counselling therapist, who is part of the multi-agency Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment (SAFE) Program and is also a relationship counsellor. | FACTBC (Federation of Associations for Counselling Therapists in British Columbia) podcast, Take Care, explores mental health topics and the profession of counselling therapist in British Columbia as it relates to the pursuit of regulating counselling therapists to protect the public and ensure accountability across the profession. Interviewer: Elaine Unger, FACTBC |
2021, October 7 | Roundtable: Surrey Police Service - Focus Group / Consultation w/ SAFE Agencies on Development of SPS. | S/Sgt. Kathy J. Furgason, Surrey Police Service, NCO i/c District Support Team Curt Taylor Griffiths, Ph.D., Professor and Coordinator, Police Studies Program, School of Criminology, 間眅埶AV |
2021, July 30 | Roundtable: SAFE. Progress on interventions against Gang Violence. | Hon. Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness M.P. Randeep Sarai (Lib.) (Surrey Central) M.P. Sukh Dhaliwal (Lib.) (Surrey-Newton) M.P. John Aldage (Lib.) (Surrey-Langley City) M.P. Ken Hardie (Lib.) (Fleetwood-Port Kells) Mayor Doug McCallum, Surrey SAFE Centre, Civic Plaza, Surrey |
2021, May 18 | Roundtable: SAFE. Steadfast: In conversation with Lower Mainland Gang Crime Prevention Resource Providers. | Hon. Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness M.P. Randeep Sarai (Lib.) (Surrey Central) The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan (Lib.), Vancouver South, Minister of National Defence Virtual |
Teaching
Teaching/Research Assignments in 2021 and 2022
2021-2022: Practicum Site/Clinical Supervisor for Students in EDUC 801/802 & Other University-equivalent: Adler School of Professional Psychology: Vancouver, City University Canada
2021-2022: Backup Instructor for Clinic 799/800 (Covered multiple times when primary instructor(s) ill).
Program Development
SAFE Practicum Site program development. Expansion from individual clinician to multiple practicum students at multiple universities delivering not only individual therapy, but workshops and groups to public and professionals.
Professional Development and Learning
Additional Courses Taken Beyond Current Degree (PhD Student) Requirements:
Attended Hub Model/Situation Table training. Collaborative Risk-Driven Intervention: A Refresher Session for Hub-Situation Tables; Improving Confidence and Skill at Filter 4 Planning and Intervention Deployment Dr. Chad Nilson, Consultant, Inaugural Research Fellow, The Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and Justice Studies, University of Saskatchewan / Founder: Living Skies Centre for Social Inquiry. Host: SAFE / City of Surrey. Sep 21-22, 2022.
CCPA (Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy) Conference. Theme: Revitalize Your Practice / Managing the Echo Pandemic of Mental Health Issues, May 20-22, 2022 (Virtual)
Contributor: An Update on the Regulation of Counsellors and Psychotherapists across Canada Drs. Blythe Shepard, Glenn Shepard
Attended Sessions:
- Managing the Unmanageable: Growing Through Adversity (Applying resiliency training for Canadian military to increase resilience for health professionals) Dr. Amir Georges Sabongui
- The Utilization of Action Research Approach to Re-energize Counselling Education and Teaching - Chao-Mei Chiang - Assistant Professor, National Taiwan Normal University, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling
- Building Resilience to the Effects of Vicarious Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout through Self-care Planning: An Ethical Imperative - Michael Sorsdahl, Psychologist/Educator, Juvenation Wellness
- Sex Therapy: Are you Helping or Hurting? - Constance Lynn Hummel
Psychotherapist, Constance Lynn Counselling, Coaching & Consulting; Dr. Teesha Morgan, Westland Academy of Clinical Sex Therapy - Multicultural and Diversity Courses: A Comparison of Online and Site-Based Education Formats for Counsellors-in-Training Melanie Person, Associate Professor, Gonzaga University; Nikki Roy, Certified Canadian Counsellor, Stillar Psychological Services
SHIFTBC 4th Annual Symposium, Surrey Civic Hotel on November 9, 2021 from 9:00 AM 4:30 PM PST and November 10 from 9:00 AM 2:30 PM PST. Sessions attended included Dr. Garth Davies of 間眅埶AV, The Organization for the Prevention of Violence, and a variety of others covering topics related to CRV/VE, Hate-Motivated Violence, related Intelligence, prevention, and early intervention programs.
Shift is a risk-reduction and individual resiliency program led by the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.Shift is led by the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General specifically focused on providing support to individuals that are vulnerable to the process of radicalization to violence. SHIFT refers and supports community hubs to meet client needsfor multi-sectoral interventions/Integrated Case Management and disengagement, such as SAFE/CHART initiative in Surrey.
HSCI 826: Program Planning and Evaluation. Instructor: Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Snow. 2021 Summer. Submitted report to WHO see section: Additional Scholarship (aka non-traditional scholarship)
Attendee: Safer Schools Together Gangs & Guns Training Symposium. The Gangs & Guns Training Symposium Is a Special Two-day Event Focusing on Prevention and Enforcement Strategies That Are Applicable to All Communities. Leading Experts from Across North America Come Together to Address the Emerging Trends of Gang and Gun Violence. (Feb 11-12, 2021).
Therapsil Training Program in Psychedelic (Psilocybin)-Assisted Psychotherapy. (Canadian Psychological Association approved, Health Canada-informed training).
Modules:
1. The TheraPsil Mission: Advocacy, Assessment & Referral
2. History of Clinical Research in Psychedelic Therapy
3. Neurobiology, Neuropharmacology, Drug Disposition, and Drug Interactions
4. Current Models of Consciousness
5. Preparation and Integration Sessions
6. The Medicine Session
7. Therapeutic Relationship
8. Psychedelic Therapy in Palliative Care
9. Observing Psychedelic Sessions
10. Complementary Therapeutic Modalities in Psychedelic Psychotherapy
11. Trainee Psychedelic Experience (total 60 hours)
12. Clinical Supervision (minimum 10 hours)
Other Teaching Focused Activities
Invited Speaker, Research Hub Writing Retreat: The Grit-y Road of Fierce Self-Compassion: Building Resilience Capacity During Our Thesis/Dissertation Writing Journey. Host: Tania Bakas, Research Hub, Faculty of Education, 間眅埶AV, Surrey. March 16, 2021
Guest Lecturer, EDUC 870: Family Counselling, Instructor: Masahiro Minami
Topic: Emotionally Focused Therapy and Gottman Method for Couples and Family: Structure and Techniques. July 28, 2022.
Guest Lecturer, EDUC 862: Individual Assessment in Counselling, Instructor: Masahiro Minami. Nov 25, 2021.
Topic: Understanding/Formulating systems: On child abuse/neglect (Duty to Report).
Supervision of Graduate Students
M.Ed. Completed: Clinical Supervisor
Student Name | Degree | Program | Capstone Activity |
Sahota, Harjeet | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Sharma, Krishna | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Rehal, Ikjyot | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Rikert, Nikolina | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Current Supervision (Clinical): M.A. or M.Ed.
Student Name | Degree | Program | Capstone Activity |
Sidhu, Evan | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Broderick, Cynthia | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Bakas, Tania | M.A. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam |
Thesis Examiner
Student Name | Degree | Program | Thesis/Dissertation Title/Capstone Activity |
Petrovic, Ljudmila | M.A. | Counselling Psychology | Balkanization of identity: Rebuilding fragmented identities through narratives (2021, May 11) |
Comprehensive Exam Reader (not as senior supervisor)
Student Name | Degree | Program | Capstone Activity |
Hazlett, Lisa | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam (2022, September 26) |
Joensuu, Eleonora | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam (2021, April 9) |
Naji, Mai | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam (2021, April 9) |
Sharma, Krishna | M.Ed. | Counselling Psychology | Comprehensive Exam (2021, April 9) |
Supervision of Research Assistants
Student Name | Project | Dates of employment |
Hubble, Michelle | 間眅埶AV SAFE Community Clinical Counselling Program | Oct 4, 2021 - Present |
Magyari, Linda | 間眅埶AV SAFE Community Clinical Counselling Program | November 23, 2020 - Aug 31, 2021 |
Service
Service to Faculty of Education
Committee/Cognate member: Faculty of Education Counselling Psychology program review (2021-Present) ((In Progress) with Drs. Sharalynn Jordan, Gillian Smith, Patricia Nitkin, Alanaise Ferguson, Masahiro Minami, Krista Socholotiuk. (2021-Present)
Service to Professional Community
Agency representative, Leadership Group, Systemic Barriers subcommittee: SAFE (Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment) / CHART (Children and youth At-Risk Table), Surrey, BC. (2019, July Present)
Representative / Alternative Representative: FACTBC (Federation of Associations for Counselling Therapists in British Columbia) multi-association advocacy organization to provincial government for regulation of counselling in BC since 2014 (formerly Task Group for Counsellor Regulation (Task Group, 1997). (2021, Sep - Present)
Past President (Sep 2022-2023), President (Sep 2020-2022), Director - Secretary (April 2019-2021), Director (May 2015-2019): CCPA (Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association), BC Chapter. (2015, May - Present)