Robert Bircher is a scholar-practitioner with a lifelong interest in the intersection of law and psychology. His research has focused on factors that influence outcomes in family mediation including the influence of emotional intelligence. He is a retired family lawyer and currently practises as a registered clinical counsellor specializing in couples work and integrated mediation. He has a great passion for teaching and mentorship with a view to effect change in the justice system.
Experience
Bircher practised in Victoria for 25 years specializing in family law mediation. He returned to the University of Victoria in midlife to pursue psychology and became a therapist. He was then invited by the Law Society of British Columbia to become the Associate Director of the Lawyers Assistance Program and in that role focused on lawyer mental health. He designed, developed and taught many mental health programs for lawyers. Bircher also practiced as a counsellor and facilitated psychoeducational groups.
He qualified as a family law mediator with the Law Society of British Columbia in 1989 and as a registered clinical counselor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors in 2001.
Education
2019
Provincial Instructors Diploma
Vancouver Community College
1996
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology
University of Victoria
1974
Juris Doctor in Law
University of Saskatchewan
1971
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
University of Saskatchewan