Mark Skelding Dip. Psych.

With over 20 years of experience in private practice as a counsellor, therapist, facilitator, and teacher, Mark has general practice for adults both individually and in relationships (couples, or otherwise). He has a particular skill set in working with: life transitions; uncertainty and lack of purpose; crises of aging, death and dying; the psycho-spiritual distress and trauma of living in times of great division; the apparent “unravelling” and change of climate and social systems we believed we could rely upon and trust; and more. In addition, he often finds himself in support of counsellors, therapists, and folks who hold space for others.

Mark’s psychotherapy practice is rooted in Psychosynthesis and Social Ecology with a focus in Ecopsychology. But more importantly than that, his approach honours the deep knowing that we each have already in our bodies and hearts. He believes that often much of what we need is to find ways to bring this more fluidly into our daily world. Mark helps his clients discover that, like nature, they hold an innate wisdom to shape the flow of their lives, as a tree grows towards the light.

It is Mark’s belief that just as physical illness occurs when our natural processes of healing are interrupted, so too with psycho-emotional disturbance. When emotional well-being is compromised, it tends to be our sense of our identity, purpose and value that is challenged. Mark works with clients to align with their own processes to recover their sense of themselves, their purpose, and the aliveness that informs us all.

With a background in conservation, communications, and theatre improv, as well as a trainer facilitating Joanna Macy’s “The Work that Reconnects”, Mark is as passionate about social change as he is about personal change, and sees that they go hand-in-hand. He supports his clients in learning how to live fully, especially in the face of the challenging times, both personally and globally.

Though born in the UK, Mark lived for four decades in Aotearoa/New Zealand, where he was a founder of one of the first transition towns in Australasia, leading efforts to empower local communities to create solutions around eco-social challenges. In addition to his practice, Mark was a course facilitator at Psychosynthesis Institute of New Zealand for 12 years. He relocated with his Canadian partner to Salt Spring in 2020.

From Mark: ‘Uy‛ skweyul. This Hul’qumi’num greeting recognises the traditional caretakers of these lands, and my gratitude to have felt welcomed here, both by people and place.