I haven’t always been a psychologist. I came into this field later in life compared to my colleagues. As a lad in my early 20’s I pursued a career with the RCMP and thus because a RCMP Auxiliary member in Richmond, BC. In those days, the early mid-seventies, auxiliary members did most things a regular general duty member does including carrying a side-arm, driving police cars, attending autopsies and issuing tickets for moving violations. We also would attend court in support of the regular member with whom we rode with and if the file necessitated us attending by Crown.

During this time, I was also a paramedic with BC Ambulance or Emergency Health Services (EHS). I did this for a little over seven years. I spent the majority of my “on car time” stationed in and around Vancouver’s east side. We worked four on and four off. In my last year with EHS, I went to dispatch. In those early years, we worked in pairs and dispatched all of the lower mainland via incoming 911 calls as well as arranging and dispatching transfers from hospital to hospital and care homes.

I started back at UBC in 1981 having picked up a few credits from Douglas College ending up with a degree and diploma in elementary school education (B.Ed & Dip). I taught grade seven at Rocky Mountain elementary for four years in Elkford, BC prior to coming back to UBC to complete a MA in psychology. I then spend five years as an elementary/secondary school counsellor with the Surrey School District mostly in the inner-city schools for Surrey.

I then returned to UBC and started the PhD program. My father was a pilot during WWII flying Lancaster bombers. After 28 missions, he was shot down with two of his crew being killed in the process. My father bailed out and was subsequently hid by the French Underground in eastern Franch. He was sent home several months later after the US Army liberated that area. Sadly, however, one of the killed crew member’s family blamed my father for his death. My father suffered with PTSD and died early because of it.

My dissertation was based on my father’s experiences and its effects largely on me. My dissertation addressed the impacts of war trauma on the father’s sons and subsequently, on the family. After graduating, I worked as an institutional psychologist with the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) at Kent and Mountain Institutions. Our main job was to interview inmates and write reports to the National Parole Board address recidivism threats when inmates became eligible for parole. We also conducted suicide risk and mental health assessments when inmates were placed in segregation.

I then went from CSC into private practice in Abbotsford. I was fortunate to have made connections with both Abbotsford Police and Fire Department as well as connecting with members of the RCMP who started referring other members to me. Several years into my practice, my wife obtained a position with the RCMP and we were transferred to Ottawa. My wife had made a connection with the then Human Resource Officer (HRO) of E Division. When the HRO was told what profession I was in, she asked if I would take the Division Psychologist position at Green Timbers, RCMP E Division Head Quarters. In 2015, I moved back to BC started with the RCMP.

When I started in Surrey there were two of us, but shortly after my arrival, my colleague quit the position. I was the only psychologist for over a year. Unfortunately, the job became too much and an offer to move back into private practice in Chilliwack arose. Although I worked in private practice, with the bulk of my clients being both RCMP and Abbotsford PD, I went back on contract with the RCMP reviewing RCMP regular member applicant psychological files and conducting clinical interviews on applicants. In 2020, I received a call from the then HRO asking me if I would return as a Chief Psychologist at E Div HQ. I started this position in May of 2020.

During my tenure in this position, I formulated and put together the Peer Support Response team with the help of Sergeant Ronda McEwen. This team is comprised of members and employees of the RCMP and response to all critical incidents. The result of this team is that psychologists are no longer needed to conduct critical incident meetings. Through material which I provided to Sgt McEwen, she developed an eight-day training from the material and research I provided to her. This program is the only one of its kind in the RCMP. Sgt McEwen and myself also formulated the Proactive Employee Health Support Unit (PHSEU), again the only one of its kind in Canada. This unit supports all levels of employee within the RCMP on a very wide range of topics and interventions. There were two main goals we were working on addressing; the reintegration of member back to work after a critical incident and extended absences from work, such at maternity leave or five-year care and nurturance leave, and on finding more support and resources for partners/spouses and families.

I have learned that the fragility of life is constant. There are no manuals on how to prepare for what we witness or experience. I have had the distinct honour of working within the RCMP meeting people who are keen to become RCMP officers. Likewise, I have worked with those who have not fared well as they approach the end of their careers, despite the level of enthusiasm and excitement at the start of their careers. In the first responder world, policing has its own unique set of challenges separate from those of the fire and emergency medical service. Over the course of my career and my personal background, I have learned to understand and appreciate fully these unique challenges and hope to bring my experiences and insights into the Diversified group.