Psychology in Powell River

Dr. Lisa Strickland-Clark

About

Delphino

By Charlotte Price and Francesca Volpoini

I grew up in England with a Canadian mother and an English father.  I always felt that I had the best of both worlds and I enjoyed observing my culture through my mother’s eyes from the perspective of an outsider.  Before I decided to study psychology, I had a number of different jobs, including working in a factory, secretarial work, waitressing, working in a school for children with emotional and behavioral problems and teaching English to students from all over the world.

I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America and have lived and worked in England, Scotland, Spain and now Canada. I feel very fortunate to have had those experiences before beginning a career in psychology. I initially trained and worked as a psychologist in the National Health Service in the UK. I later practiced in Nova Scotia before moving to Powell River in BC. I believe my experiences and my childhood have given me the capacity to view life from different perspectives and to be open to hearing what others want or hope for without judgment or a notion that I have a better vision for them. I initially became interested in studying psychology when I was working in a residential school with children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Over time, this led me to move into a formal study of psychology.

I quickly learned that taking up a profession as a psychologist was not like becoming a lawyer or a businesswoman.  Being able to work with people who are in great emotional pain or under stress has required me to explore my own emotions and thoughts in depth and I have done this over the years through a sustained practice in meditation and through a range of different therapies.  I became very interested in the mind/body connection and this led me to study Yoga which eventually led to my becoming a certified Yoga teacher.

I have always been interested in hearing people talking about themselves. In therapy I love seeing people opening to their potential, overcoming pain and suffering and reconnecting with what it is that brings them joy and passion in life. I believe that any psychological distress, whether it is trauma, depression or panic attacks, brings with it a sense of disconnection from oneself, from life and from others. Part of my job as a psychologist is to help you reconnect. I use my experience and extensive training to help provide you with skills, resources and tools to guide you through that process.