Meet Mark Walker
Registered Clinical Psychotherapist, art therapist and theologian — working with care, curiosity and empathy.
As a registered psychotherapist with a creative art therapy and pastoral background, I work from a collaborative position of care, curiosity and empathy. I utilise a variety of approaches to match your specific goals and needs — facilitating understanding of your situation, and helping you move through stuckness.
Mark is a registered psychotherapist with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
“The problem is the problem, the person is not the problem.”
Clinical Experience
Mark works with individuals of all ages, couples and families, with over 15 years of clinical pastoral experience. His work has spanned the public hospital system, state and private schools, and a range of government and non-government agencies — including high-care facilities, prisons, Relationships Australia and private practice.
He has a significant background in supporting people through life-changing experiences, including trauma events, bereavement, grief and loss, relationship, identity and sexuality issues, and mental-health difficulties — in particular anxiety, depression and behavioural problems.
Therapeutic Framework
Mark's therapeutic framework is psychodynamic, client-centred and creative. The foundational concept is that we all experience problems and difficulties in our lives and, at times, need assistance in making meaning of our situation. Often our inner worldview becomes blocked or overwhelmed by stress, anxiety and patterned behaviours.
The creative unconscious is a wonderful source for freeing these blockages and guiding us toward alternative, more productive storylines: "In my experience, people tend to have their own answers; we sometimes just need help to see them."
Working with Young People
Mark has an excellent rapport with young people and a passion for creative approaches with children. He is an accredited Aussie Optimism (Curtin University, 2014) facilitator — the evidence-based suite of resilience and social-skills courses utilised by the WA Department of Education.
Mark is also a registered marriage celebrant and certified marriage-preparation facilitator using Prepare-Enrich.
An invitation to play, image, and meaning.
Mark works from a creative art therapy and pastoral background — drawing on clinical art therapy, Jungian Sandplay (to ISST standards), and a range of expressive approaches.
For some clients — particularly children, but also adults working through trauma or grief — words alone can fall short. Image-making, the sand tray, and symbolic play open doors that conversation can't always reach.
A drawing of the therapy room — the kind of work that emerges when words alone aren't enough.
Working with Veterans
With his significant Defence background, Mark has a special interest in veteran mental health and trauma. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the specialist approaches he uses — a research-based method proven effective with those experiencing depression, PTSD and complex trauma.
Following the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Mark continued his post-graduate studies and research into veteran suicide. He is currently working on his PhD as part of the Open Door Initiative at Flinders University.
A life beyond the consulting room.
Outside work, Mark enjoys the great outdoors and is a keen runner, tennis player, cyclist, kayaker and photographer — a supporter of most codes of football, cricket, basketball and ice hockey. Mark is also passionate about music.
Ready to take the first step?
Get in touch to talk through what you're looking for, or book a session directly.
Contact Mark