Writer - Counsellor - Teacher - Trauma Informed Specialist
DETERMINATION - "Determination is an arrow thrown into the future with the will and desire to follow its path to glory."
Alyson has been an adjunct professor at UBC School of Social work for a period of 7 years. Recently she has taught in the Faculty of Education Counselling Psychology in the Fall term of 2020 and in the Summer of 2022. She has been a counsellor for over 30 years specializing in Group therapy, Individual trauma therapy, and Conflict Resolution. She is a clinical counsellor with a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of British Columbia and a Diploma in Conflict Resolution from Royal Roads University.
Alyson has taught a Trauma informed practice approach to students in a Counselling class, a Group work class, in several Integrative Seminars and some courses on Interviewing skills. She is an author of 5 published books and a chapter in Holistic Engagement: Transformative Social Work Education in the 21st Century. Her textbook, Experiential Unity Theory and Model was first published in 2012 and a second edition published in 2022 Experiential Unity Theory and Model: Treating Trauma in Therapy is aligned with the principles of a Trauma Informed Practice. Alyson has taught her model at both International and Canadian conferences and at a variety of workshops on Trauma informed Practice. She founded and is the Director of the Trauma Informed Practice Institute established in May 2021.
Her self-help book Reclaim the soul your path to healing has now a new expanded version namely Heal Trauma: How to Feel it, Unlock Patterns and Release it, published in February 2023.
Alyson was born in Zimbabwe and trained as a social worker in South Africa. She launched her social work career in London, England and then emigrated to Vancouver, Canada. Her self-help book, Reclaim Your Soul: Your Path to Healing, published in 2014, also builds on trauma informed principles..