William Smiley is a highly experienced social worker and counselor with over 30 years of experience working with children and families. He has held senior positions in child protection services and mental health programs in Canada. Smiley testifies about the importance of strong families and parental authority in protecting children. He discusses the negative impacts of undermining parents and keeping secrets from them, as well as his perspective on gender identity issues and childhood trauma.
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Summary
William Smiley testifies that children are at risk due to the breakdown of families, undermining of parental authority, and absence of fathers in many homes. He emphasizes the importance of strong family units and empowering parents. He expresses concern about schools keeping secrets from parents and undermining parental authority on issues like gender identity. He discusses how unresolved childhood trauma often underlies issues like gender confusion. He shares his experience working in child protection and seeing the negative impacts of family breakdown. He also describes his personal journey from being skeptical of religion as a therapist to embracing Christianity and incorporating spiritual healing into his practice. He now sees faster results by referring clients to inner healing sessions rather than long-term counseling alone.
Credentials
William Smiley has an extensive background in social work and counseling, with degrees including a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, and Master of Social Work. He worked as a senior social worker for the B.C. Ministry for Children and Family Development from 1995-2002. From 2002-2007, he was a mental health therapist supervising child protection social workers. From 2007-2021, he served as clinical director of the Family Center in Edmonton, providing community mental health services. Smiley was involved in reforming child welfare practices in Alberta and implementing collaborative service delivery programs. He currently has a private counseling practice and is co-director of a ministry school campus.
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