Ken Olson

Ken grew up in the Midwest in the State of Minnesota where he graduated from high school. In 1978 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and Program Development from Concordia College in St. Paul, Minnesota. His specialty was to organize, develop and facilitate programs for youth and families in large churches. His first job out of college was in Stony Plain, Alberta followed by serving in several churches in Riverside and Claremont, California. Through his commitment of working with families and youth, he was encouraged to continue his education to better meet the emotional needs of the people he was serving. In 1988 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Azusa Pacific University. In 1991 he became licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences in the State of California as a Marriage and Family Therapist. In 1994 Ken founded Olive Branch Counseling Centers as a non-profit corporation where he maintained positions of both Director and therapist. Ken saw the need for a community-based counseling center that could specialize in the needs of youth and their families. At OBCC’s Peak Ken was over seeing a staff of over 20. This included a range of licensed and pre-Licensed clinicians. Wanting to get back to a smaller more personally focused clinic, In March of 2019 Ken stepped down as Director to Olive Branch to start Ken Olson Counseling. With over 38 years of experience working with families, couples and individuals, Ken continues to strive to make Ken Olson Counseling an important part of our community. His practice includes children, youth, couples and families. With his 38 years as a licensed therapist he has also gained experience in crisis intervention for families and the workplace. Ken truly values the concept of family. In his work with high risk teens, he saw a consistent pattern in seeing these teens coming from homes where their fathers were struggling in understanding how important the man’s role is to the foundation of the family. Through his belief, Ken wanted to have a greater influence on working with families in crisis. He saw the best way to influence the family was to have greater access to the men who were struggling with their anger. For more than 35 years, Ken has been certified to provide Anger Management/Domestic Violence classes by the probation departments of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Ken was working with over 100 men each week providing this 52 week class. Ken also provides marriage counseling, works with individuals dealing with a number of personal issues, children and related parenting issues. Ken is experienced in critical incident debriefing after a major crisis at the workplace. Ken strives to use his style of Heart Therapy with all those who come into his office, young or old, anyone who is searching to bring balance back in their life. With Ken’s background in church he can provide Christian counseling as part of his counseling when requested. Ken’s referral sources include pastors, juvenile and adult probation departments, physicians, insurance counselors, school counselors, and word of mouth.