Dr. Earon Kavanagh, PhD, C.Psychol, AFBPsS, MPCC

New Horizon Counselling and Solution Systems

Master Practitioner of Clinical Counselling #4887

Individual, Family, Work-life, Creativity, First Responder and Military Mental Health

     Yes, we follow a strict code of confidentiality - please click on my Informed Consent under Articles page for more information.

What does "Master Practitioner of Clinical Counselling" (MPCC) mean?

     Please click above link for the answer

What year did you start in the clinical counselling field?

     In 1989, in Vancouver, Canada, as a student of the Counsellor Training Institute. By the time I started my Masters Degree clinical internship, I had already been in practice for 4 years. So I got hired.

What models of therapy do you practice?

     Please check my Certifications link

How much actual client face-to-face experience do you have?

     Somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 hours, plus a lot of related case work. Total experience of 37,000 hours, PLUS 5000 hours teaching Master counselling students. Plus two graduate degrees, one PhD, and several post-doctoral certificates. I gave up counting.

Why represent work experience in hours, rather than years?

     Counselling and psychology licensing credentials are earned and awarded based on hours of actual practice, case management, and hours of supervision, rather than years. Hours accurately represent one's actual experience, and are a required standard for credentialling.

What does "AFBPsS" mean?

     Please click above link for the answer

What does "C.Psychol" mean?

     Please click above link for the answer

What does Specialist in Test Use mean?

     Please click above link for the answer

What inspired you to become a clinical counsellor?

     The early-1980's economic recession forced me to return to college and find a new career. I found personal growth in the Men's self-help movement, discovered the teachings of psychiatrist Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, and found my new career path ... as a therapist. My dear father had some mental health challenges, so this also became an important part of my personal growth.

Do you currently treat men for mental health issues, burnout and loss of soul?

     Absolutely! And I continue to remain active in the men's movement and men's personal growth.

Have you provided much counselling to women?

     Yes. The field of family therapy addresses the health of women as family leaders, as well as men.

Are you familiar with mental health issues and diagnosis?

     Yes. 20% of my clients were also treated by psychiatrists, and I have read over 50 psychiatrist reports.

Have you ever worked with parent and teen conflicts?

     Yes. 50% of my full-time work for 13 years, was parent-and-teen conflict counselling. I worked with whole families, individual parents, and couples, and teenagers as well.

What about "individual" counselling?

     Yes. The other 50% of my full-time work for 13 years, was clinical counselling for parents (at risk to lose their children), as well as their children and partners.  

Have you ever worked in addictions?

     Yes. 5 1/2 years, full-time, using the harm reduction approach under the BC Fraser Health Authority. We also fully supported and integrated the 12-steps model.

How did you end up doing so much "family therapy" for the BC Child Protection Ministry?

     Growing up in "the blocks" in St. Johns, NL, I observed a lot of family upheaval. Family therapy later became a natural career pick, and I felt like I was back home in the neighborhood. My clients felt the vibe and trusted me.  

Have you also taught counsellors?

     Yes. Over forty courses taught to graduate students, and more psychology courses for business students.

Have you supervised counselling trainees?

     Yes, for two years in a clinic, and I additionally led 11 clinical counselling practicums. I also earned a clinical psychology supervision certificate.  

Were you licensed to practice in British Columbia?

     Yes, 12 years as a BC Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), and retired in good standing in December, 2020; plus 7 years previously registered with my current oversight body, the CPCA. And throughout most of the 1990's I was with the Canadian Guidance Counselling Association (now known as the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association).

Are you currently licensed?

     Yes, for Canada, as a Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling (CPCA #4887). I'm also a chartered psychologist (U.K.), as I did a lot of my training there - on the intersection of family psychology and occupational psychology (British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist member #305188).

Can you work with professional musicians and creativity?

     Yes. My work in this area is grounded in the well-researched Saville Work Performance Model, which incorporates many facets of talent, motivation, creativity, and the role of performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in producing desired results. Relatedly, I'm a life-long musician, took 5 college semesters in music theory and performance, and played with a large orchestra, and small bands. There is also an entrepreneurial component to being a musician, which must be mastered.

Can you work with professional artists and creativity?

     Yes. My work in this area is grounded in the well-researched Saville Work Performance Model, which incorporates many facets of talent, motivation, creativity, and the role of performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in producing desired results. I spent one year around the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and developed a long interest in conceptual art, in particular experimentation with "found objects", as espoused by French artist Marcel Duchamp. Many of my life-long friends are artists and there are several in the family. There is also an entrepreneurial component to being a artist, which must be mastered.

How about working with professional actors and writers?

Yes. My work in this area is grounded in the well-researched Saville Work Performance Model, which incorporates many facets of talent, motivation, creativity, and the role of performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in producing desired results. I took training in psychodrama as a therapist. I also took one year of training at the Vancouver Actor's Institute, and other related training, and I have a number of publications in books and journals. In both of these creative fields, acting and writing, there is also an entrepreneurial component, which must be mastered.

Do you have experience with the dance comunity?

     My early listening came from accompanying "contact improv" dancers on electrified violin, many of them associated with the EDAM dance collective. I did this at Vancover's Western Front for about six months in mid-1980's. The trick in playing an instrument was to be responding the the dancer's interactive movements, rather than lead. I also got into contact improv during those six months and ittaught me a lot also about connection which is ever evolving.  

How about film makers? Can you work with them?

Yes. I had an honorabe mention for my film at the Vancouver INternational Film Festival (2007), featurig "Varouj, the Dada Sreet Artist". Additionally, I wrote much of my PhD in the early hours at the SOMA C, a hangout for fo

     Yes. For several years I incorporated both music therapy, and sandtray therapy. I developed music therapy for geriatric psychiatric patients, young adults with mental handicaps, children and teens, and some veterans. I also developed sandtray work approaches for children, but I no longer do child-specifc therapy. I am currently experimenting with a labyrinth.

Can you work with professional trades and technical peole?

     Yes. My work in this area is grounded in the well-researched Saville Work Performance Model, which incorporates many facets of talent, motivation, creativity, and the role of performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in producing desired results. There is also an entrepreneurial component, which should be mastered. Trades strengthes include goal setting in the planning and construction process, and meeting such in a timely manner. I completed a 4-year carpentry apprenticehip in 1980, and later worked my way through university by doing carpentry. I have also experienced seasonal employment cycles, economic recessions, and related family issues.

Can you work with business and entrepreneurial professionals?

     Yes. My work in this area is grounded in the well-researched Saville Work Performance Model, which incorporates many facets of talent, motivation, creativity, and the role of performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in producing desired results. There is also an entrepreneurial component, which should be mastered. Any would-be entrepreneur must be sure they have the psychological talent traits to be successful.  I earned an MBA degree in 2015, and have had a lifelong interest in business. I'm also a Royal Roads University graduate certificate holder in Executive Coaching, and I passed the Chartered Human Resources test with a good score.

Do you use "mindfulness" concepts in your practice, and are you experienced in this?

     Yes. I have been a meditator since age 18, and practiced daily meditation for decades. I also lived in a monastic order based around intensive meditation, for almost 4 years.

How about career issues, troubles and distress with my boss, etc?

     Yes. That area is one of my specialties. As a former workplace union steward, I know the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to boss and employee interactions. In 2020, I passed the Chartered Human Resources exam with a high grade, just to test myself. I do love this aspect of my work. And I earned a workplace psychology specialty. The boss-and-employeee relationship plays a significant role in performance enhancement and performance inhibition.

What about areas of depth psychology, such as dream analysis, and benefitting from "active imagination"?

     Yes. These areas contribute to our capacity for creativity. I benefit immensely from writing down my dreams and doing active imagination exercises. I believe that our internal higher self is the benevolent dream creator, and active imagination exercises can ground us in inner strength. I also have many years experience doing shamanic journeying, another form of active imagination, and I am a longtime practitioner of alternative, transpersonal, states. My ideas in these areas are also grounded in Jungian psychiatrist therapy practice.

HOW MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INFORMS MY PRACTICE

Do you have personal experience with mental health issues?

     My father was diagnosed with schizophrenia after a psychosis episode. I was age 6, and have experienced the stigma of mental health issues in the family. I have also experienced high levels of anxiety, and practiced methods to alleviate these states. I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two.

Do you work with religious and spiritual issues?

     Yes, I was raised in a devout Catholic household, and have been a lifelong student of comparative religion, including folk shamanism, Hinduism, Sihkism, and the Bahai faith. Additionally, many of my men friends were Freemasons. I have provided clinical help to people of all faiths, and welcome all faiths to my practice.  

You also worked with refugees and torture survivors?

     Yes, from international war crime zones and dictatorships, pro bono service for over ten years, and two large (paid) United Nations funded refugee projects. For over a decade.

Have you experienced PTSD yourself?

     Yes, as a child, for many years. A first responder (RCMP) intervened in our family's burning house situation, saving two siblings and myself. God bless him!

How about your work with First Responders?

     I'm accredited with the Directory of Occupationally Aware Healthcare Providers. Please see https://www.warriorshealth.ca/

I've known several pre-retirement police sergeants, and two inspectors, as well as other first responders. In the child protection field, and the circles I have moved in, one meets many first responders, and I've testified as an expert withness in court. First responders work under a lot of pressure. I know the mindset and the stress challenges in the public safety sector.

Do you have experience with ADD and ADHD?

     Yes, these conditions were often noticed in school systems with children and teens, and ADD emerged in my own life as a teen. Decades of personal brain training such as meditation and dietary control greatly improved my coping. ADD, in adults, can also be managed with diet, focus-training, mindfulness, exercise, substance misuse harm reduction, group support, managing exposure to media, and other methods. A good book to read on this is "The Amen Solution" (by double board-certified psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist Dr. Daniel G. Amen).

Have you ever published significant articles on counselling or other significant areas of psychology?

Yes. Several articles. Coming soon.

     Check my certifications link Check my certifications link

What kinds of therapy do you practice?

Parent-and-teen Conflict Counselling

Couple therapy

Marriage prep counselling

Workplace-oriented Counselling for Stress

Trauma and Torture Survivor Therapist - I'm very experienced with international refugees

First Responder Burnout Reduction - accredited first responder therapist

WORKPLACE SERVICES

Workplace Individual Health and Wellness

Critical Incident Debriefing

Substance Misuse Harm Reduction Coaching

Team development

Career Transition Coaching

Conflict with others

WORKPLACE PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

Career deraillment potential

Career advancement potential

Development testing

Leadership preparation

Entrepreneural potential

Strengths and potential on teams