Walter Zahnd

LCSW, BCD, QCSW

Professor (Retired)
B.S.W., California State University, Sacramento, 1962
M.S.W., University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1964

Professor Zahnd has taught a wide range of classes since his initial appointment at CSU, Chico in 1970. His teaching has included Social Work Practice, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, and Social Welfare, as well as classes in juvenile and adult justice. He was one of the originators and Chair of the Masters in Corrections, and was the founder of Toyon Mesa School, a residential treatment center for troubled youth, now called Youth for Change.

In 1982, Professor Zahnd introduced Virginia Satir to CSU, Chico, and edited the first professional training videotapes of her work, entitled "The Chico Tapes." Since 1982, he has been active in mastering Virginia Satir's Human Validation Process Model and Brief Family Therapy Model, having studied with her until her death in 1987. Professor Zahnd is a member of Avanta-The Virginia Satir Network, and is active in the creation of the Satir community in Northern California. He has taught the Satir Model in California, Colorado, and many European countries including Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and was instrumental in establishing Satir Institutes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Professor Zahnd has facilitated Satir workshops in Northern California and the Bay Area, and has brought other Satir therapists to the region.

Professor Zahnd maintains an interest in teaching and training the Satir Strengths-Based Practice Model, Brief Family Therapy, and Family Reconstruction. He is available for students interested in Satir research, and also for students, agencies and counselors wanting to enhance their knowledge and skills in living from a place of being, rather than doing.