Christine Boyd, MSW, RSW
SHE/HER
REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER
Child Counsellor
QUALITIES
Fun facts about Christine
In addition to Christine’s extensive child and family counselling expertise and experience, she counts horseback riding and Go-Kart racing among her many athletic skills!
Christine Boyd is a child counsellor
in Calgary who uses her resilience
and hope Superpowers
to help kids discover and grow
their own Superpowers.
Christine’s Superhero Story
Attention Parents
Before your first session, you can share this story with your child. Parents can also scroll below to read about Christine’s professional expertise as a child counsellor in her professional bio.
Once upon a time, there was a lovely girl called Christine.
Christine had a lovely huge heart and lovely long hair. She loved playing and listening to the music of the forest. She liked listening to the gentle sound of the river and the birds, and painting the beautiful things she could see and hear. She painted birds, bunnies, and butterflies. Mountains, flowers, and trees.
When Christine was outdoors playing or painting, she felt calm. When she was riding her horse, Cinnamon, or playing with her little blue dog, Max, she felt at ease, too. She felt safer and calmer in nature, outside.
Tricky, yucky “Big Feelings”
But sometimes Christine had to be inside, which she did not like. And when she was indoors, with other kids or to grown-ups, sometimes she felt yucky “Big Feelings” that did not feel fine. It was not fun for her to be around people at all.
She didn’t know the name for the yucky “Big Feelings” that came up for her, sometimes. Her whole body hurt, like a tummy ache everywhere. When she saw other kids or grown-ups, the last thing she wanted to do was to talk or play. She felt like crying or running away.
These tricky, yucky “Big Feelings” stayed in her heart for a long time.
(How long, you might wonder. About a few weeks, which feels like forever when you’re a kid or a teen growing up. Now let’s continue the story.)
How calmness helped
One day, after a really yucky “Big Feelings” day, she went to the forest with her little blue dog, Max. They sat on the grass under a big tree. Right away she felt a little bit better. Calming down in Nature, with her little dog, who was a good, calm dog, helped her feel calm, too. He helped her relax. That was the good part. But the yucky “Big Feelings” were still there. They felt heavy, like big rocks in her heart.
“Maybe I need help to figure out my feelings and what to do,” she thought to herself. “This is too heavy for me to hold all on my own. These tricky, yucky “Big Feelings” don’t let me play, make friends, or have fun. I want to make friends. It would be fun to play, and dream, and do well in school, and hold happy thoughts in my heart.”
Did you know?
Most dogs have a wonderful
“friendly listening” and calming
Superpower.
How Christine found her Superpowers
She must have fallen asleep because suddenly, a small purple feather fell softly from the sky, right on her lap. It belonged to a purple eagle, who was flying down to talk to her.
A purple eagle!
She had never seen a purple eagle before. (Have you?!)
The purple eagle talked to Christine in a wise, gentle voice.
“I believe in you, Christine”, it said. “Listen to your heart. You believe in you, too! And it’s okay to ask for help with our feelings and talk to someone we trust.”
Then Christine woke up from her dream with a spark of hope in her heart.
The very next day, Christine reached out and found a wonderful counsellor who helped her to feel okay.
Little by little, Christine found her way. Those yucky “Big Feelings” faded away and she discovered that she had wonderful Superpowers — and she’d had them all along.
- Her first Superpower was the courage to reach out for help.
- Then she found her second and third Superpowers, hope and resilience (this means being strong and not giving up), which she used every day.
So with the help of her counsellor, she worked very hard to make her dreams come true. She grew her Superpowers, and that was fun. Little by little, Christine’s knowledge and heart grew more and more. She did wonderfully in school and made fabulous friends.
Christine still grows her knowledge and heart every day, at work and play. She loves to be outside, and yes, in real life, she really rides horses, races go-karts, and wins trophies – isn’t’ that fun?!
Christine’s greatest Superpower
When she grew up, Christine became a Social Worker (which is another name for Feelings Helper or Child Counsellor). She has helped many kids and teenagers find their Superpowers and make their own dreams come true. And that’s her greatest Superpower: sharing her wisdom, courage, strength, and hope with kids, teenagers, and parents as a Child Counsellor. And since she knows so much, she even helps other Social Workers and Child Psychologists learn and grow what they know!
Christine believes in you. When you visit her in EmPOWERland at Kids Reconnect, what feelings, hopes, and dreams will she help you with?
Christine’s Professional Bio
Christine’s passion is supporting her clients to surpass their dreams and be the best they can be. Her specialty is providing an environment for children, youth, and parents that is safe and nurturing, while supporting trauma integration, healthy attachment, and development through insightful, creative interventions.
She is a Registered Social Worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers and holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in social work, both from the University of British Columbia. Christine has ample counselling, public speaking, group facilitation, and leadership experience and is a skilled trainer.
For over 17 years, Christine has honed her social work expertise in the non-profit sector. She has walked beside a myriad of clients from all walks of life, across the lifespan, from children and youth to parents and families, helping them through a depth and breadth of mental health, behaviour, addictions, parenting, and conflict challenges.
“My experience has shown me that our hearts have the capacity to grow bigger and stronger than any challenge. Provided we can access the right support and can summon our will to change, no adversity is so heavy that we cannot overcome it. The remarkable stories I have seen in my professional life give me relentless faith in people and possibility. I never give up.”
—Christine Boyd
Christine’s child counselling and adolescent counselling expertise
Incorporating a trauma-informed relationship-based perspective, Christine works from various theories and approaches, including Family Systems Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Solution-focused Therapy (SFT). Her training competencies include Sexual Abuse Intervention Level II, ARC (Attachment, Regulation, Competency), and PCIT (Parent Child Interactive Therapy) modalities, group facilitation for caregivers and staff, as well as children and youth. As a certified Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) facilitator, Christine has extensive expertise supporting individuals who experience suicide ideation and can assess level of risk.
Her vast experience in the foster care system has deepened Christine’s understanding of grief and loss, as well as her compassionate mastery in creating therapeutic interventions that support children, youth, caregivers, and families in moving through these challenges.
Most importantly, Christine is a profoundly humble and gracious therapist, with a gentle strength she cultivates daily through her mindfulness practice and a profound appreciation for our shared humanity and the gifts bestowed on us all by Mother Nature.
She is excited to warmly welcome your child or teenager to their counselling adventure at Kids Reconnect.
Parents, are you looking for couples counselling?
In addition to Christine Boyd’s child counselling expertise and experience, she is also adept at working with parents and provides couples counselling at Couples Reconnect.
