About Val Walker

Val WalkerWriter   •   Speaker   •   Educator

 

Through speaking and writing, Val's mission is to restore our confidence in the art of comforting—an art often overlooked in our society today. She presents to audiences at hospitals, colleges, seminaries, businesses, and retreat centers, and trains group facilitators in ways of providing comfort to people in distress.


Val holds a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University, with specialized study in grief, loss and disability. Previously, as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, she has guided Veterans Affairs clients with service-related disabilities in their major transitions from military to civilian life. She has facilitated bereavement support groups at the Massey Cancer Center, Medical College of Virginia, and served there also as an interviewer/researcher in a national study of grief and depression. With Jewish Vocational Service in Minnesota, she designed and implemented a community-based rehabilitation program which was accredited by CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). Later, she developed support groups, guided grieving families, and trained volunteers as a bereavement coordinator at a hospice. For the past five years, she has worked with supported housing programs for people with mental illness at a mental health agency in Portland, Maine.

 

Writing

Author, The Art of Comforting: What to Say and Do for People in Distress (Tarcher/Penguin, October 2010)

Val's articles and book excerpts have appeared in Good Housekeeping Magazine, Whole Living Magazine, AARP Bulletin, USA Weekend Magazine, Belief Net, and Maine Women's Journal

Author, Narrator & Producer,
The Even Keel Program and CD, a self-help relaxation tool.  Clients have included:

  • Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing, Lewiston, Maine
  • Cancer Community Center, South Portland, Maine
  • Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota—Mayo Clinic uses the Even Keel Relaxation program on their Video-on-Demand broadcast system for patients throughout their hospitals
  • Therapeutic Solutions, P.L.L.C., Bisbee, Arizona
  • Richmond International Airport, Richmond, Virginia
  • William Byrd Press, Richmond, Virginia
  • This End Up Furniture Company, North Carolina
  • EduCare, Richmond, Virginia
  • Klarity Multimedia, Maine
  • Portland Adult Education, Maine
  • Virginia Housing Development Authority

Author, Ages of Your Life CD, a guided imagery tool for life-planning

Columnist, Habits Forming, Slant, Richmond, VA, 1987

 

Speaking

Venues have included:

  • Medical College of Virginia, School of Allied Health Professions, Richmond, Virginia
  • National Association of Social Workers, Virginia Chapter
  • American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, Virginia Chapter
  • Lifelong Learning Institute, affiliated with Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Department of Health and Human Services, State of Maine
  • University of Southern Maine, Continuing Education, Maine
  • Redington-Fairview General Hospital, Skowhegan, Maine
  • Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, Lewiston, Maine
  • The New Seminary, New York, New York

 

Education and Certifications

M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Specialized training in life transitions and loss

B.S. Applied Theatre, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Including 2 years in Scotland and England teaching speech and drama to people with disabilities
(Worked as Youth Drama Specialist at the Craigmillar Festival Society)

M.H.R.T/C. Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician, State of Maine.

Mandt System, Portland Maine
Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, Trauma Informed Services

C.R.C. Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, State of Illinois, 1993-98.

Certified Rehabilitation Provider, Board of Professional Counselors, Commonwealth of Virginia, 1993-96.

 

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