SA

Dr Chris Walsh MBBS, DPM, FAChAM

Chris is a psychiatrist working in private practice and at a Drug and Alcohol treatment centre in Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in psychiatry since 1985 accumulating experience in hospitals, jails, community settings, and drug and alcohol institutions as well as with urban and tribal Aboriginal communities.

He is a member of The Family Alcohol and Drug Network (Fadnet) which is a gathering of professionals from the drug and alcohol field with a particular interest in family work. They recognise and value the healing power within families, and also recognise the value of family-aware and family-inclusive practice in the treatment of alcohol and other drug difficulties.

In 1983, after he first graduated as a medical doctor, Chris assisted at the Tibetan refugee hospital in Dharamsala in Northern India. This trip left a lasting impression on him. Chris's daily Mindfulness Meditation practice began eighteen months later, as he began working in psychiatry. As a result Mindfulness has been organically integrated into his psychiatric practice from the beginning.

His psychotherapy integrates diverse theoretical frameworks, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Gestalt and Self Psychology in which he is formally trained.

Chris has taken a major role in family constellation work in Australia. He runs regular workshops, sponsors senior European teachers, and is a foundation member of the Melbourne peer supervision group. He has given presentations at Australian national professional conferences on both mindfulness and family constellations. Chris is also the founder and moderator of Constellation Talk a very active email chat group with over 300 subscribers worldwide.

Chris has a breadth of experience both in his life as well as his work. As a medical student he took a year off from his studies. He spent this year travelling around Australia working as a labourer in factory and farm jobs. He has diverse interests including music, poetry and football and is fluent in Spanish.

Soledad is an Occupational Therapist. She worked as a Medical Practitioner in Chile primarily in Paediatrics and Family Medicine, and with Survivors of Torture, before migrating to Australia in 1985.

In Australia, Soledad has worked with Women's Groups, Refugees and Psychiatrically Disabled clients. As an Occupational Therapist she has worked with the Aged, in Acute Settings and the Liver Transplant Unit at the Austin Hospital, in Melbourne.

Soledad enjoys Constellation work and her contribution focuses specially in Bodywork during Constellation Workshops; is fluent in English, enjoys dancing, crime novels, and good quality soccer matches.

Ms. Jenyce Boys
Office Administrator