Wallace Murray
- Position: Principal Therapist and Consultant
- Experience: 26 Years
- Location: Available online, partner clinics, retreat centres and in community
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: North America: 778-885-4607, EU: +31 97 010270186, Bureau: 613-683-8856
Personal Experience & Biography
“Healing is not about becoming someone new. It is about remembering who you are beneath what you carried to survive.”
Whatever comes up during our sessions, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The most important element is trust and connection, which is why I offer a brief no‑charge consultation so we can discover whether we’re a good fit.
My work blends modern therapeutic methods (psychodynamic therapy, trauma‑informed somatic work, hypnotherapy) with global and Indigenous‑informed modalities. We move at a pace your nervous system can trust. I’m interested in helping you un‑cover what you’re ready to know, restore balance in relationships (with yourself, others, and the living world), and build the capacity to meet life with clarity and heart.
The Role of Relational Healing in Psychedelics: A Comparative Study
Philosophy
Healing is inherently relational—between self and body, self and others, self and community, and self and the living world. Therapy helps restore those relationships.
However, like all approaches, they have their strengths and their limitations.
For instance, as a counsellor that respects the Indigenous knowledge of this planet, one is a supporter in a shared experience of learning and growing, with assessments usually being completed by the person being helped. I use questions, storytelling, humour, modelling, and proven methods to raise your awareness of your wholeness and interrelationships within life. I use the healing power of hypnotherapy for connecting within ourselves: spiritual, mental, physical and mental. I use a two-eyed approach of both modern and ancestral knowledge when working.
This further means that therapeutic ideas that limit both me and my clients by placing me as the final expert on my client’s lives, are not the final arbitrator of how I run my practice.
What this looks like in my practice is that both you and I are in an alliance of curiosity to find the way forward.
Read the interview: “The Crumbling Away of Untruth” with Wallace Murray
My therapy models
- HYPNOTHERAPY (Ericksonian influenced)
- PERSON-CENTRED THERAPY
- NARRATIVE THERAPY
- GESTALT THERAPY
- GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY (I am extensively trained in group training approaches)
- MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING
- COMPASSIONATE INQUIRY (as developed by Gabor Mate in the year long psychotherapeutic training programme)
- SYSTEMS THEORY (Ego parts therapy and Internal Family Systems)
- MINDFULNESS APPROACHES/MEDITATION
- SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY (SFT)
- PSYCHODYNAMIC AND FAMILY OF ORIGIN COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT)
- DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (DBT)/NEURAL LINGUISTING PROGRAMMING (NLP)
- HUMANISTICE NEURO LINGUISTIC PSYCHOLOGY (HNLP)
- LIFE COACHING and DEVELOPMENT COACHING
- DEEP BRAIN REORIENTING (DBR)
My Focus Areas
My focus areas are: Trauma and PTSD, dissociation, anxiety, depression, burnout; grief and end‑of‑life support; addictions and habit change; intimacy and relational dynamics; identity, purpose, creativity, and meaning; psychedelic preparation and integration.
Psychodynamic therapy and family‑of‑origin exploration; trauma‑informed somatic work and parts‑informed lenses; clinical hypnotherapy (including Ericksonian methods); mindfulness and imagery; a Two‑Eyed/Relational
How we’ll begin
- 15-20 minute consult to understand your goals and see if we’re a fit.
- Session plan tailored to your rhythms and needs.
- Ongoing review and integration, adjusting the approach as you grow.
Background & Designations
- CT — Counselling Therapist (The Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta)
- RTC — Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (member of ACCT)
- CH — Counselling Hypnotherapist (IACH: International Association of Counselling Hypnotherapists)
- Naturotherapist (N.D./n.d.) — ACNN (Académie des Naturopathes et Naturothérapeutes du Canada)
- Naturotherapist — ANQ (Association des Naturothérapeutes du Québec)
- Senior Fellow ACCPH UK (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists)
- My naturotherapist designations support complementary, non‑medical wellness and counselling services. I do not diagnose medical conditions or perform controlled acts. I collaborate with your primary healthcare providers as requested.
- Member & Board Member — Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy (CAPT)
- Member — Society for Shamanic Practice
- Member — Psychedelic Association of Canada
- Member — MAPS Canada SAP Co‑op Committee
- Participation in focus groups and global communities exploring emerging and integrative approaches to mental health and healing
We are compassionate partners in your care.
It also means that I acknowledge that every approach has limitations, and that some have been used to subjugate rather than foster a relationship between two equal sides. I acknowledge that the DSM: The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of symptoms describing the various personality and mental disorders, has been used in this way. Unless agreed upon by both sides for practical reasons, we will include approaches that fit for you and work within your community.
Lastly, my participation in this field means that I have a responsibility to do my best in my practice so that inequality and privilege lose their power. I welcome your conversation to see if there is value and a match in working together.
In my private practice, I work one-to-one, in groups, and online with clients from all over the world, guiding others to un-cover possibilities and paths to life. When asked, I will step into being a helper during ritual, ceremony, or other. I am in gratitude to the Balinese and Cree knowledge keepers that have mentored me, guided me, and protected me as I learned what I can and cannot do.
I do not presume to represent these lineages beyond permissions extended by my teachers. With respect and appreciation, I often gather on territory of the Syilx People of the Okanagan Nation, on traditional Coast Salish territory known as Greater Vancouver/Fraser Valley, on traditional Anishinaabe Algonquin territory known as the National Capital Region, and on the land of the Seminole in Florida.
I also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous Peoples with whom I also share land with during my work. We are all people with a responsibility to honour all our relations, for all that we have as a result of so many sacrifices and hardships endured by those who came before us.
Some of my studies include an Advanced Counselling Skills Diploma, an Advanced Bachelor’s degree, and a Post Baccalaureate Graduate Diploma. My recent completed academic history is in the areas of Psychedelics: a completed Microprogram in Psychedelics and Spirituality Studies at the University of Ottawa as well as an MA thesis: The role of relational healing in psychedelics.
Also, I have completed the Introduction to Psychedelic-assisted Therapy certificate and the Advanced Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (PaT) Certification Program with ATMA ( Psychedelic Therapy Training | Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Canada | | ATMA Academy).
I am increasingly focused on emerging areas of trauma therapy and natural approaches to health. My approaches include: Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, a 240-hour, year-long, graduate level training in a psychotherapy mental health approach developed by Gabor Mate, Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner/Master Practitioner of NLP, practicing approaches and areas of parts therapies including genomics and epigenetics, Deep Brain Reorienting as pioneered by Frank Corrigan, indigenous modalities, and the growing field of plant medicines/ psychedelic studies alongside extra pharmacological healing approaches.
In summary, I use a variety of modalities when needed, all listed in my site. My broader primary focus outside my one-to-one, group or individual practice is in Mental Health consulting, such as coaching or counselling mental health support workers/first responders, acting as mental health support, counselling and assessment/care plan teams within Aboriginal Services, partnering with Mental Health teams in special projects, or coaching and supporting other counsellors how to manage both clients and a practice.
With respect and appreciation, I sometimes gather on territory of the Syilx People of the Okanagan Nation, traditional Coast Salish territory known as Greater Vancouver/Fraser Valley, the traditional territories of the people of Treaty 6 and 7, Métis homeland, and traditional Anishinaabe Algonquin territory known as the National Capital Region.
I also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of all Indigenous Peoples with whom I also share land with during my work. I acknowledge the traditional knowledge keepers, both young and old. We are all people with a responsibility to honour all our relations, for all that we have because of so many sacrifices and hardships endured by those who came before us.
We dedicate ourselves in sharing responsibility for the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental health of all people in the regions we gather.