About Change of Seasons Consulting (COS)

Our service is informed by years of experience in working with individuals, families and organizations across Canada and in the United States. Helping men to change their use of violence or abuse in their intimate relationships requires a balance of challenge/confrontation and respect. Abusive behaviour cannot be effectively changed with a disrespectful or “finger pointing” approach and interventions that do not hold individuals to account for their actions are irresponsible and ineffective. For more information on this approach see the article on “Open Hands” located elsewhere on this website.

The Change of Seasons approach begins with the belief that everyone can change and that those who use violence and abuse genuinely desire a better way. Contact us for individual help or if you are an organization looking for consultation in enhancing the work that you currently do.

About Bruce Wood M.A., MPH (Liverpool) - Consultant and owner

Bruce has been a counsellor, therapist, educator, public speaker, community organizer and author in practice for 30 years. He holds a Masters in Social Psychology, was trained at the Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis, the Justice Institute of B.C. and the Interdisciplinary Institute on Hazing Intervention at Indianapolis.

His work background includes:

29 years of direct clinical experience in working with men who have used violence against women. He has worked with programs in six different Canadian provinces and helped to create or retool programs focussed on ending men’s violence to their spouses/partners, including:

• The Evolve Program in Winnipeg (co-founder)
• Dryden Community Counselling Services, Dryden, Ontario
• Project NewStart in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Shifting Gears in Abbotsford, B.C.
• Change of Seasons Society at Squamish, B.C. (co-founder)
• Warriors Against Violence, Vancouver, B.C.
• Men Ending Violence group, Lloydminster, Alberta
• Men’s Resource Centre of Saskatoon (founder and Executive Director)

Bruce also has been contracted in both provincial and federal corrections systems to assist with the designing and delivering of Partner assault programming.
Mr. Wood has over 20 years of experience in offering anger management/anger skills programs to adult men and women including the designing and facilitating of group programs for:

• Family Services of Greater Vancouver
• Family Services of New Westminster
• Family Services of Richmond
• Fraser Regional Correctional Centre
• Alouette River Correctional Centre
• Vancouver Richmond Health Board
• Men’s Resource Centre of Saskatoon

Since 2001 Bruce has provided support, education and Risk Management resources to sport organizations affiliated with Sask Sport and since 2007 for Sport Manitoba on such issues and needs as:

• Hazing in sport
• Coach abuse of athletes
• Bullying in sport organizations
• The development of comprehensive policies and procedures that prevent or effectively respond to Hazing , abuse and bulling incidents

Mr. Wood is also an author, public speaker and educator on these and other important issues. Here, his experience includes:

• Published articles in the Globe and Mail, Briarpatch magazine, Macleans, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, the Vancouver Province, the Winnipeg Free Press and numerous others.
• Written and published two books on male violence; “Moving Towards the Light” 2000 and “A Change of Seasons” 1992
• Public lectures and conference keynote presentations that have included the World Conference of Indigenous Women and the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence founding conference of male violence programs along with many other conference and symposium presentations.

Bruce was a staff instructor at Vancouver’s’ Native Education College from 1991-2000 and a Project Coordinator with the Canadian Red Cross Global RespectED Project since 2001. He is a member of Men’s Resources International, the Association of Progressive Helping Professionals, the Network for Conflict Resolution and is a spokesperson for the White Ribbon Campaign.

In 2009 Mr. Wood was invited to attend the first ever Global Symposium on “Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality” at Rio De Janeiro and is a signatory of the Rio Declaration.

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