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EDUCATION

• B.Sc. from Northland College in 1961 (majors, psychology, biology)
• M.Sc. from New Mexico Highlands University, in 1963 (major, clinical psychology, including an APA approved internship at the New Mexico State Hospital)
• Ph.D. at the University of Victoria in 1969 (major, clinical neuropsychology).

As a registered psychologist, I remain a student, meeting all of the annual requirements for continuing education.

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PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

I was employed as the senior psychologist at the Burnaby Mental Health Centre and the Maples Psychological Education Clinic from 1965 to 1979, including a two-year sabbatical to complete a Ph.D. This position included working as a member of a traveling clinic team servicing communities throughout northern British Columbia.

In 1979 I left my employment with the government to become a partner in the firm of McLean Wilson and Stuart, an applied research organization. We published several studies and completed five self-help books for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

I left that partnership to form R.F. Wilson Services Ltd., a company dedicated to the development of psychological services as a benefit to employees.

This firm became Wilson Banwell Inc. in 1984, when Dr. Greg Banwell joined the company. I served as president until 1998, at which time I became CEO and Chairman of the Board of the company, which had become an international company of psychologists providing clinical and organizational development services to customers around the world.

During this period I developed a range of employee benefits:

• the first Psychological Health Benefit in North America
• the first Trauma Assistance Benefit
• the first Grief and Bereavement Benefit
• the first evidence-based treatment program for individuals on short- and long-term disability with a diagnosis of depression
• the first internet-based treatment programs in 2000

I also developed the first weekly internet radio program devoted to psychological topics, hosted by Dr. Jim Ricks, called Shrink Rap.

In 2004 I led an acquisition strategy, which doubled the size of the company over the next six years, and the company name became Human Solutions Humaines. By 2010 we employed over 300 staff and 1,500 part-time professionals with offices in all major Canadian cities and many smaller communities. We offered a wide range of psychological and organizational health services to over a thousand corporate customers and carried benefits covering over two million employees and their family members. The company was maintaining a healthy profit margin at the time of its sale in July of 2010.

Throughout my tenure as CEO and Chairman of the Board, I maintained an active clinical practice, focusing primarily on the mental-health needs of executives and professionals and their families.

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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

During the 1970's, I served twice as president of the BC Psychological Association, and in 1976 I chaired the committee that successfully drafted the legislation to register psychologists in British Columbia.

Nationally, I am a past president of the Advisory Council of Provincial Associations of Psychologists and past chair of the Applied Division of the Canadian Psychological Association.

I served for ten years on the Board of the Canadian Psychological Association, and was also the treasurer of the Association for several years. I am one of the founding members of the Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

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AWARDS

Over the course of my career I have been fortunate to have my work recognized by my peers and the business community.

• 1983

  I received the Park O. Davidson Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of the Profession of Psychology

• 1984

  I became a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association.

• 2001

  I received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Northland College.

• 2006

  I received the Park O. Davidson Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of the Profession of Psychology a second time for "work as a pioneer and innovator in the practice of the profession."

• 2010

  I received a "Who's Who in Workplace Health" award from Benefits Canada. One of seven honourees in five categories, I was given the Provider Leadership Award, sponsored by Pfizer Canada, as a "pioneer in bringing workplace mental health to the forefront." A one-page article in Benefits Canada describes my contributions to the field.

  Link to article  2010 - Who's Who in the Workplace Health.PDF

• 2010

  Also in 2010, I was given the Homewood Centre for Organizational Health Award. Previous award recipients include Michael Wilson, Canada's former ambassador to the United States, and The Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

  Link to article  Homewood Centre for Organizational Health Award.PDF

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