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Dr Ruth Lawson-McConnell
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Publications and Career History

PUBLICATIONS:

CAREER HISTORY AND SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS:

Professional Development training and workshop presenter speaker (see Speaking Engagements and Activities)

Senior lecturer, School of Counselling, Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand (2010 – present)

Part-time teaching – Responsible for teaching 2nd and 3rd year classes:

  • Relationships and Family: Family systems, emotionally focused couple therapy, attachment theory, child therapy modalities, working with adolescents, domestic violence/abuse, genograms, family sculpting and family dynamics
  • Integrated Practice A: Creating a meta-theory of ethical belief integrating counselling modalities, theological anthropology and the counsellor’s personal integration.
  • Research Methods in Counselling: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches to research in counselling.

Registered Clinical Counsellor. Private Practice, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (2004-2009)

  • Clients referred from GPs, community contacts, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Regent College, Employee Assistance programmes, Church Pastors.
  • Experience working with children, adolescents and adults with a wide variety of presenting problems (depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, grief work, cross-cultural issues, stress, and parenting concerns).
  • Certified Facilitator of Gordon Neufeld’s parenting courses.

Contract work with Vancouver Christian Counselling Centre (2002-2007)

  • Clients referred from churches, community contacts, GPs and social services.
  • Counselling clients with depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, stress, parenting concerns

Lecturer in Psychology. Rugby College, Rugby, England (March 2000 – July 2000).

  • Taught undergraduate psychology (Social Psychology, Experimental Psychology and Personality).

Consultant: The Ark Children’s Services, Vancouver, BC (June 1996 – July 1997)

  • Consulted with professionals involved in the provision of counselling services for children experiencing parental divorce/separation. Planning and speaking at various training events for school counsellors with regard to the counselling of children experiencing parental divorce/separation.

Children’s Counsellor: Aberdeen Children’s Society, Scotland. (August 1993 – March 1994)

  • Working with children and adolescents involved in parental separation and divorce, offering individual counselling as well a variety of non-directive therapeutic techniques such as art therapy and play therapy. The Children’s Counsellor role complimented the work of the Family Counsellor with the parents involved in marital separation.

Family Counsellor, Aberdeen Children’s Society, Scotland (August 1992 – July 1993)

  • Working with separated/divorced parents focusing on relationship issues, grief work and post-divorce parenting skills. This job involved working with the Children’s Counsellor as well as the Family Mediation Service, especially around contentious issues such as visitation rights and child care decisions.

EDUCATION

  • M.A (Honours) in Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland (September 1985 – June 1989)
  • PhD The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland (September 1989 – December 1994) Thesis Title: “An Evaluation of Post-Divorce Adjustment of Counselled and Non-Counselled Children.”
  • Regent College, Vancouver, BC, Canada – audited courses – 1994-1997

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING/CONFERENCES ATTENDED

    • Compassion Focused Therapy. Gerard Pauley. School of Psychology. Massey University. Sept. 4th 2012. Albany, New Zealand.
    • Making Sense of Anxiety in Children and Adolescence. Gordon Neufeld, videocourse. July, 2012.
    • Inaugural NZAC Counsellor Educators Conference. December 5-6, 2011. WelTec, Wellington, Aotearoa/ New Zealand
    • New Zealand Christian Counsellor’s Association Conference, Auckland, May 2011.
    • Life Story and Case Study Symposium: Counselling Research. John McLeod, David Epston and Rachel Shelby. Massey University, Palmerston North. February 2011.
    • Marae Visit (Maori house) with the Counselling and Bi-Culturalism course: Simon Moetara, Laidlaw College, Henderson, August 2011.
    • Counselling and Bi-Culturalism Course: Simon Moetara, Laidlaw College, Henderson, August 2011.
    • On-line seminar with Dr. Gordon Neufeld (Developmental Psychologist) on attachment theory and developmental psychology – Sept. 10, 2010, www.gordonneufeld.com
    • The Importance of Social and Emotional Intelligence in Everyday life: the clinical application of Interpersonal Neurobiology. Seminar with Daniel Siegel, The Justice Institute of BC, New Westminster, BC. May 7th 2009.
    • An Interpersonal Neurobiology Approach to Psychotherapy: Awareness, Mirror Neurons and Neural Plasticity in the Development of Well-being. Day conference with Daniel Siegel, Justice Institute of BC, New Westminster. May 8th, 2009
    • The Art and Science of Love: Workshop. John Gottman’s research with couples. Langley, BC. May 7-9, 2007.
    • Facilitator Training for Gordon Neufeld’s Power to Parent Series, Vancouver, 2006-2009.
      • Part 1 – The Vital Connection – attachment theory applied to Parenting
      • Part 2 – Helping Children Grow up: helping children realize their potential as human beings.
      • Part 3 – Challenging Childhood Behaviours: helping children get developmentally unstuck.
      • Making Sense of Adolescence
      • Bullies: their making and unmaking
    • Successful Contracting and Consulting Course. New Directions in Business. Vancouver, June 2006.
    • Challenging Childhood Problems. Intensive training Level 2 with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Developmental Psychologist, Vancouver, August 5-9,2006.
    • The Art and Science of Psychotherapy. Training Conference with David Burns on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy. Vancouver, May 24-27th 2006.
    • Solution-Focused Behaviour Therapy. Conference with Insoo Kim Berg, Vancouver, April 26-28th, 2006.
    • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. Course by Yolanda Von Hockauf, EFT trainer, Vancouver, May 2006.
    • The Fundamentals of Employment Assistance Programmes. Course with Claire Sutton, October 2005.
    • The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Conference with Joan B. Kelly, Vancouver, July 2005.
    • The views of the Child: Interviewing Children in Mediation and Collaborative Practice. Conference with Joan B. Kelly. Vancouver, July 2005
    • Working with Stuck Kids. Intensive training Level 1 with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Developmental Psychologist, Vancouver, BC. June 2-6, 2005
    • Couple Therapy with Conflictual Couples. Lydia Rozenthal, Jewish Family Services Agency. Vancouver, BC. March 18th, 2005.
    • Kids Skills: helping kids solve their own problems – based on Michael White and David Epston’s work. Workshop with Ben Furman of Helsinki Brief Therapy Institute. Vancouver,BC. March 15th, 2005.
    • The Beautiful Risk: A New Psychology of Loving and Being Loved. Day Conference with Dr. John Olthius of Toronto’s Institute for Christian Studies. Vancouver, Sept. 2003.
    • Techniques for working with children. Conference: The Association of Family Therapy: Edinburgh, February 1998.
    • The use of the Parent-Child Game technique in working with non-compliant children. Workshop Series: The Association of Family Therapy: Aberdeen; November – March, 1994
    • Emotional Abuse and Relationship Play Therapy. Conference of the British Psychological Society: London; March 1993.
    • Brief Solution-Focused Therapy. The Association of Family Therapy: Aberdeen; February 1993.
    • Introduction to Psychotherapy Course. Department of Mental Health, Aberdeen University: Jan-Mar, 1993.