Janet Walker, MA, RCC, ExAT, BCRPT, CPRT Level 1 - OEATA Member Directory

The three foci of therapy, education, and the arts have been important for me throughout my life. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor, a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, a BC Registered Play Therapist, and an International Certified Child-Parent Relationship Therapist (Level 1).

My core counselling approach is Expressive Arts Therapy, which facilitates self-expression and personal growth in clients of all ages.  Expressive Arts is a dynamic, intermodal approach to mental health that integrates all art forms, allowing clients a large palette of non-verbal modes of symbolic expression to complement and enhance discussions in a therapy session. Expression through the arts allows adults to access information stored in the unconscious, to stimulate all parts of the brain through the use of all of the senses, unlock the powerful potential of the imagination, and to by-pass repetitive verbal discourse (“going in circles” about the same issue, over and over again).

I have provided therapeutic interventions to individuals courageously working on issues of childhood trauma and abuse, medical trauma, relationship issues, grief and bereavement, depression, anxiety, and difficult life transitions, and provided support to people exploring self-fulfillment, self-development, and optimal mental, physical, and emotional health.

I hold a master’s degree in Expressive Arts Therapy and Psychology from the European Graduate School in Switzerland, a Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy from Langara College, and intensive professional-development workshops on specialized themes at the Centre for Expressive Therapy (Parksville, BC).  In addition to Expressive Arts Therapy, I have done training and professional development with specialists in the fields of Dance/Movement Therapy, Music-Integrated Therapy, Poetry Therapy, and Art Therapy. These approaches add nuance and depth to my private practice work with adults, teens and tweens. Recently,  I have also started giving Expressive Arts Therapy workshops to the elderly residents of a full-time dementia care facility: work that is varied, exciting, and tremendously fulfilling. I am a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist with the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association (OEATA).

My second modality, Play Therapy, is an empirically proven approach to working with children aged 3-12.  Play Therapy helps children express traumatic, painful, or confusing life experiences and begin the healing journey.  Play is the natural, non-verbal language of children.  When children have a safe space in which to communicate their reality in an expressive and symbolic way, allowing themselves to be authentically heard and seen, they have an amazing capacity to grow and flourish. In my practice, I see children who are exhibiting difficult or disruptive behaviour at school or at home, have general anxiety, separation anxiety, or overwhelmed nervous systems due to neurodiversity, and children who are adjusting to divorce, separation, or death in the family.

I have a Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy from Concordia University in Montréal.  My main play therapy approaches are Child-Centered Play Therapy, Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, Expressive Play Therapy, Sand Play Therapy, and AutPlay Therapy (for neurodivergent children and their families).  In addition, I have studied with the Neufeld Institute on an attachment-based, developmental approach to understanding children;  have done training with the Creative Dance Center (Seattle, WA) on Brain-Compatible Dance Education; and training with Orff Canada and BC Orff: Music for Children.  I am a BC Registered Play Therapist with the BC Play Therapy Association (BCPTA), and an International Registered Child-Parent Relational Therapist, Level 1 (Center for Play Therapy, University of North Texas).

My family background in Jungian Psychotherapy – both of my grandparents and my mother worked in this field – has largely influenced my work and orientation with clients. I deeply believe in the therapeutic effects of movement and nature, so I am delighted that my Nanaimo-based private practice includes a large, creative indoor studio and beautiful, natural, confidential outdoor space where I conduct therapy with clients aged 3-70.

I am also a BC certified teacher and currently work as the school counsellor at L’Ecole Océane in Nanaimo (Francophone School Board), staying in touch with the pulse of children in an educational environment, and I am a professional member of the BC School Counsellor’s Association (BCSCA). I am also a member of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), with whom I attend workshops and conferences on a variety of themes pertaining to my counselling practice including neurodivergence and trauma.

Prior to teaching and starting a private practice, I worked in Environmental Education, trained extensively in Contemporary and historical dance, and worked as an performing artist.  I am an avid gardener and commuter cyclist. Most importantly, I am the mother of two teens, which gives me a personal understanding of parenting – an intense, humbling, and fulfilling experience.