JOEL DURKOVIC

Joel Durkovic brings a rich history of clinical experience to his counselling practice.  A professional counsellor since 1997, he spent six rewarding years as part of a counselling practice group in the Chicago suburbs.  In 2003 he moved with his family to Victoria and founded Arbour Counselling Centre in 2006.  Joel provides counselling services to individuals, couples, and families, and he facilitates supervision for the Arbour team of seven Registered Clinical Counsellors.

Joel’s specialized training and experience as a marriage and family therapist gives a unique, systemic perspective of working with families, couples, and individuals.  He is adept with helping couples navigate through conflict and grow in relationship satisfaction, and he offers an ongoing clinical assessment program for couples facing life transitions, such as preparation for marriage or the birth of a child.  Joel also has special interest in working with individuals, families, and couples on issues of anxiety, depression, loss and grief, cross-cultural concerns, spiritual growth, and challenges faced by adolescent boys.

Joel received his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois in 1997.  He became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) in 2000 in Illinois, and when he moved to Canada in 2003, became a member of the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and a member of the B.C. Association of Clinical Counsellors.  In August 2016, he completed his clinical supervisor training and received the designation of Registered MFT Supervisor.

Having spent fifteen of his childhood years in Guatemala, Central America, Joel is fluent in both English and Spanish and has a depth of understanding of the Latin American culture.  Prior to becoming a therapist, Joel worked as a systems analyst with Andersen Consulting in the United States and Europe.  He also served for three years in Guatemala with Youth for Christ, developing and challenging young people to growth and maturity.