About Candace Marshall and Nexus Counselling Services Vancouver

About Candace Marshall MA CCC

It is my belief and practice that you, the client, deserve to know something about the therapist you choose to work with. In that vein, here’s a bit about me.

I am Certified Clinical Counsellor (CCC; Registration #12031) in my third year of UBC’s PhD program in Counselling Psychology. Since graduating with my Master’s degree in 2013, I have accrued over 2300 clinical hours working with adults including men, women, the LGBTQ community, veterans and first responders from various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition to working with people that have more common psychological concerns (e.g., such as depression, anxiety and self-esteem, life transition), I continue to develop an expertise working with the LGBTQ issues, Veteran’s reintegration and individuals who have experienced various types of trauma (e.g., interpersonal trauma, war, natural disasters, ritualistic abuse) and who are affected by Post-Traumatic Stress and Dissociative Disorders.

It was a workplace injury as a fine dining waiter in my early 30s that initiated a quantum life change and I reluctantly went back to school.

It was either my 3rd or 4th introductory psychology class during my second semester at Douglas College that changed everything. Later that evening I told my husband that I wanted to get a PhD and become a Psychologist. I had found my passion. To remind me that I had a dream, I programmed a scrolling banner on my first cell phone that read “I’m getin’ a PhD”. Pursuing this dream has been the most difficult thing I have ever done. My learning did not have a curve, it has been vertical all the way.

It is only With a Little Help from My Friends as the Beatles wrote, that I am now able to see the finish line. I am forever grateful to my family, close friends, professors and mentors who collectively held a vision of what I could be and accomplish until I could hold that vision for myself.

In life, we all need a little help from our friends.

In professional practice, I hold these experiences and supportive relationships close to my heart when working with clients. Based on evidence based research and my own clinical experience, a good therapeutic relationship, regardless of therapist orientation or approach used, is one of the most salient ingredients in positive client outcomes. For this reason, it is my practice to be fully authentic within the framework of the therapeutic alliance. Clients have described me as: understanding and empathetic; strong, patient, kind, caring and personable; nonjudgmental; void of pretension and airs, genuine and, simple in my approach.

I continue to be humbled when a client invites me into their life. For me, it is truly an honor to be part of someone’s healing journey. When a client feels heard and understood, often signals a first step towards healing and change.

To that end, my counselling space is one of acceptance, understanding and safety.

Publications

Marshall, C., Linden, W., Ng, A., & Vodermaier, A. (2019, August 12). In the Margins: Unsolicited Comments of Cancer Patients Across the First Year After Diagnosis. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000141

"Adjustment over 1 year post-diagnosis in patients with cancer: understanding and predicting adjustment trajectories"

"Electrodermal Activity at Acupuncture Points Differentiates Patients with Current Pain from Pain-Free Controls"

"Disease stage predicts post-diagnosis anxiety and depression only in some types of cancer"