
John has been a member of CCPA since 2002. He was a member of the 2011 National Symposium on Inter-Provincial/Territorial Mobility within the Counselling Profession. He also served on the working group developing a National Clinical Supervision Competency Framework. He was a committee member of a CCPA initiative on provincial regulation in Canada.
John’s education includes a Bachelor of Science (Psychology), a Master of Divinity and a Master of Education in School Psychology. After working for ten years in parish ministry, he served as a faculty member and campus counsellor at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) for 27 years. Since retirement from the college, he has established a private practice in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – MD Counselling & Educational Consulting. In addition, he continues to work on projects for NSCC. Currently he is a member of the writing team developing a Sexual Violence Policy and working on two projects in mental health literacy.
John has been a volunteer in his community for many years. With his wife, he was active in Scouting and coaching their children in various sporting programs. He coordinated Special Olympics in Dartmouth for a number of years and continues to coach basketball and curling for Special Olympics athletes. He was active in the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) serving on many committees and as a Member of the NSTU Provincial Executive. He also served as the first Chair of the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists (NSCCT).
John lives in Dartmouth with his wife. They have three adult children.
“Serving CCPA as a member of the Board and President is an exciting and rewarding way to give back to our members who have made such a tremendous contribution to the profession. Our Mission and Vision statement encapsulates whom we are as professionals, united in a common bond and common purpose, stretching across our country.”
Vision and Mission Statement
The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) is a national and bilingual organization dedicated to the enhancement of the counselling/psychotherapy profession in Canada. In fulfilling its mandate, the Association promotes research, education, policies, and appropriate standards of practice for the provision of accessible, competent and accountable counselling services throughout the human lifespan in a manner sensitive to and inclusive of the pluralistic nature of society. The Association endorses therapeutic approaches across the continuum of care that have sound theoretical underpinnings consistent with current established knowledge in the field, that withstand scholarly review and demonstrate efficacy, safety, and benefit to the client. The Association strives to understand the needs of the diverse community of counsellors and psychotherapists and their clients in Canada and is committed to providing a strong voice for the promotion and advancement of counselling and psychotherapy.