Gerard Vardy, founder of ChangesFirst

Gerard Vardy, RP DMin

Brainspotting Practitioner, Certified Partner Trauma Therapist (C)

With over 20 years of experience in the helping profession, Gerard Vardy, RP, has been involved in the field of trauma and addictions work since 1997.

Prior to completing university studies, he enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 1980 as a Reservist. He was commissioned into the Regular Forces as a Personnel Administrative Officer in 1986. It was during his time in personnel administration that he began to discern a deep passion for helping soldiers and their families who were undergoing deep marital conflict and separation.

During a year-long clinical residency at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia in 1999, he was introduced to the field of family mediation, conflict resolution and marital separation work and the full spectrum of services that could be offered to individual soldiers and their families.

As a result, Gerard began to specialize in the field of mediation, addictions and trauma and spirituality.

To pursue that ministry, he accepted a component transfer into the Canadian Forces Chaplain Branch. He was then deployed domestically and internationally on operations with Maritime Forces Atlantic in Halifax, Deputy Team Leader for the Critical Incident Response Team at Swiss Air 111 and Mental Health Clinician with the Third Location Decompression Mental Health Team Cyprus (ATF).

Gerard holds a Baccalaureate degree from the University of Sudbury, a Masters of Divinity degree (MDiv) from Atlantic School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from Regent University.

He completed his second military-sponsored scholarship Post-Graduate studies and obtained a Masters of Arts in Counselling (MA) from Saint Paul University in 2004. He held clinical positions within Canadian Forces Health Services – Operation Trauma Stress and Support Centre (OTSSC) where treatment was offered to our soldiers and their families struggling with Operational Stress Injuries, Addictions and Issues of Spirituality and Trauma which often lead to separation and high conflict issues.

In 2005 he became a Canadian Certified Counselor (CCC) with the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). He recently completed an internship with Thorpe Recovery Centre in Lloydminster specializing in Group Counseling for Addictions and Spirituality and Trauma.

He is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Gerard is currently in the process of training with the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP), to become a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). Gerard has completed the Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS) and the IITAP Certified Partner Trauma Therapist (CPTT) training under the direction of Dr. Barbara Steffens (Your Sexually Addicted Spouse), and Dr. Stefanie Carnes and Mari A. Lee (Facing Heartbreak), and Dr. Sherri Keffer (Intimate Deception).

Gerard’s credentials and counselling experience are featured and Verified by Psychology Today.