Rowan Percy - MA, RCC

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Bio: Who I Am

Although people usually bring painful life experiences to therapy, I experience great joy in my work and in taking some part in each individual's journey.

Counselling Experience

I had a private practice in counselling therapy in Victoria from 1982 to 1998.

Before training to become a professional counsellor, my early counselling experiences in the seventies were in combatting sexual violence against women.

After graduating with a Masters in 1983, I worked at a centre for complementary medicine, in Victoria, BC, and continued my anti-violence focus. In the mid-eighties I developed a private practice and worked full-time until, in the late nineties, I developed a chronic illness. My partner and I moved to Saltspring Island in 1999. For some years I took a period of time to focus on my health and to be more inward. In 2012, I resumed my work as a psychotherapist.

Training and Qualifications

I graduated from London University, UK with a BA, followed by an MA in Counselling Psychology (1983) from the University of Victoria. I am a registered member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC #285).

Further to academic training, I pursued a 9 year training program in a body-mind-emotions therapeutic approach called Bioenergetic Analysis, a forerunner of the many somatic therapies developed in recent decades. I have also long been a student of Buddhism, and mindfulness and compassion practices.

To be an effective counsellor requires me to know myself and to have worked with my own issues, so that I can attend fully to my clients. I have undertaken many years of my own therapy. I understand what it feels like to be the client. My commitment to study and training is an ongoing part of who I am as a therapist.

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Personal History

I was raised and educated in the UK and emigrated to Canada as a young adult. My early twenties coincided with the second wave of feminism. The internal conflicts of the women’s movement focused me on how communication and psychology played a part in the changes I wanted to bring about. I came to realize there were many dysfunctional aspects in my own upbringing. I began to explore how various contexts of my life – class, religion, culture – had affected my confidence, beliefs, sexual orientation and gender expression. I undertook many years of therapy and training and began a life-long commitment to healing, in myself and, once I had trained, for my clients. Later, I explored Buddhist thought and discovered a world of understanding that further deepened my path as a human being.

I have not dropped my politics. I am keenly committed to structural and societal change, and to understanding individuals in the broad framework of their racial, cultural, class, gender and other contexts.

I believe we can all find different ways to support this world to heal. No one way is intrinsically superior or inferior to another. I believe in the power of the psyche to heal, if, like a plant, we give it the conditions it needs, such as water and light. I believe human consciousness (the psyche) is much greater than we realize in our everyday life. I am committed to supporting the healing journey of my clients and I hope the ripple effect may fan out into the world.

I live on Saltspring Island with my partner, who is a naturalist. I am also a poet and writer. I love the natural world and I'm grateful to live in this thriving and active community of Saltspring Island.

I am open to your inquiry. To make an appointment, or if you have further questions, please use the contact form below.