I heard so many good things about Mr. Christensen and had high hopes that he could help. Our stated goal was to reestablish my relationship with all three of my kids. My ex threw up roadblock after roadblock. I never knew where Wes was coming from. Lots of shooting from the hip. In one of the first sessions, he shamed me for having a custody assessment done, I guess because the psych test revealed that my ex had a moderate personality dysfunction and the likelihood that she would do poorly in reality testing. The thing was, she insisted on the psych test, not me. At what was to be the last session, my ex announced that she was quitting for financial reasons. I offered to pay. She said she was still quitting. I figured I had nothing to lose and brought one extreme incident that she controlled the kids even when they were with me. He seemed to understand and said that she couldn't do that kind of stuff. Yet, in his last report, he wrote that she quit due to lack of progress! You would have to be blind and deaf not to see what she was doing! He was useless. read more

Out of the blue the name Wes Christensen came into my mind and it trigger some old, pretty traumatic memories, so I decided to look him up. Sadly, I see here (based on his reviews) not much has changed. I would like to say that when Wes was on our case, there was no YELP, I shut him out of my mind, I wish I would have reviewed him as it may have helped someone else. I sought help to protect my child, it turned out I needed to protect her from Wes, here is my story... I was in a very heated custody battle for many years and was in court so much we opted for a Special Master, we agreed and this is when Wes entered the picture. Wes started off mild mannered but that quickly changed, as I presented info on my ex's instability Wes showed little to no interest. I went to a group session and Wes allowed my ex's new "fiancé" (I never met) to be present. He was recently on parole and had two strikes, Wes felt he should be a part of the decisions as he would be raising our daughter (?????). Without writing a novel it only got worse, but Wes always gave my ex the benefit of the doubt no matter what I presented. This went on for a few years. As soon as the Wes's time expired as Special Master, we ended up in family court and based on the information (the same information Wes had) they immediately granted me sole physical and legal custody. That fiancé that Wes loved so much well he threatened to harm me and my daughter, the court granted me a 3 yr/ 300 yd restraining order. Within 3 month he got his 3rd strike and was back in prison (Wes had him directly involved in my daughters life). I specifically made it a point to write Wes and let him know that he has tremendous power and it could harm someone (and how lucky we were in spite of his poor decisions). I let him know the custody status, that the finance was now back in prison. Wes never responded but someone close to the case told me he admitted to them he screwed up. My ex eventually was able to be there for our daughter part time but sadly she passed away from cancer a few years back. The good news out of all this is that Wes is retiring, in our case (and I see others) he made very poor decisions. Most people only find out about Wes after the fact, it seems he would be more suited to use his skills as a valet car parker because he has no place being around or making decision involving children (no offenses to valets). In my experience Wes was just as much a danger to my daughter as everything we try to protect our kids from, he has no business being licensed and is a very scary man! For over a decade he has zero care how his actions have repeatedly harmed families. read more

EVIL, EVIL, EVIL This man, Wes Christensen, has done more damage to my children and I than I can put in words. We were tossed around for his amusement and hourly fee. Before you know it he will be running your court case in a way that he is the center of it only to let go when you have no money left. He loves the power given to him through courts and he totally abuses it. We were divided more after meeting him than when we first saw him. I can only think of EVIL when I think of this man. If you and your spouse aren't able to agree to custody, this is the last person you want to visit. Chances are he will divide you even more. We reconciled our deferences and dropped the case shortly after but what he did to us simply put was inhumane. Read other reviews and believe me he will scar you for life. It felt as if he was doing to us what must of happened to him and his family. It was obvious that he wanted to see us in an absolute agony and he had no intensions to help. He dealt with us with a cold heart. It was as if he wanted to see us in pain no matter how he could get there. He should be in therapy himself and not licensed to do this job. read more

As others have said, Wes has a difficult job. There's no doubt about that. But my experience with him was absolutely terrible. I would not recommend him to anyone. He was supposed to help two parents who don't see eye to eye on how to raise our kids create tools for resolving issues on our own, but he only made things worse. You might think that I "lost" to Wes' decisions, but that's not the case. I prevailed on several matters, but I also experienced most of the problems described by all the other reviewers - poor communication, abrasiveness, condescension, snap decisions, refusing to review the facts. My list goes on and on. Please take the time to read all the other reviews and recognize that there are 10 terrible reviews to 2 positive ones. 11 terrible ones including mine. Take the reviews seriously. It's not worth the risk. If you want more details, send me a message and I'll follow up with you privately. read more

RUN, RUN, RUN! I rate him a ZERO. Barbara S. must be a relative of Wes ("WC") and that's why the post was a positive one. The other two posts about WC are right on the money about this dude. I want to say more, but I'll stick to the facts. Bruno G and Adrian R: I agree with every word. Thank you for taking the time to review him. If you are considering WC after reading this review, but proceed to hire him, then blame yourself. God help your kids. Initially, opposing counsel ("OPC") and my lawyer recommended him to me, but after OPC had more experience dealing with WC, he recently said that he had other clients complain about WC as well. Be aware! Be warned! 1) During my intake, WC told me I was "rambling on" about my children. After an hour of "rambling," he told me that if I didn't want to act on my issues, then I should "Shut the F%!@# up!" I went straight to my lawyer and looked into options. My lawyer and I had a mediation session with him. The first thing WC did was deny it, but then he went on to apologize twice to me. I told him that I didn't need his apology, but I needed him to step down as our parent coordinator (PC). He refused. So, I was stuck with him for the next two years. Luckily, the contract has ended. If I had an experienced lawyer, he/she would have filed a restraining order against WC on my behalf. 2) Can you say oppression of women and their rights? This guy will use his perceived god-like powers to have control over women. After reading other reviews, I'm inclined to believe that he likes to control people overall -- must be to compensate for many shortcomings as a man and human being. If you have a strong personality, he will be intimidated and respond negatively to you. 3) He makes rulings without complete information. For example, he sent my very young kids to their ailing grandparents without even checking on grandparents' health. There are too many examples for this forum. 4) He lives to bill you. Just don't use him, and you won't have to deal with his frivolous invoices for just breathing. UPDATE: He was requested (not by me!) to provide input on my custody, and he ended up billing me! Huh? I didn't request his service! In short, if someone recommends this guy, he/she is unaware of his incompetence, unfairness, vulgarness, inexperience, and lack of respect for women/people and the law. UPDATE: OPC recently told me that he would never recommend WC to his clients because this guy is so polarized -- he either hates you or like you. OPC stated that this person is not healthy for parents who already have co-parental issues between each other. read more

Wes is not qualified to be a counselor. It lies repeatedly and is always in the favor of the "paying party". The time it took him to get to some sort of conclusion (its been 2 years and lots of $$$$) is shameful. the worst part of his practice is he is ruining children's lives. He is not even current with the laws, can you believe he didn't know kids could fly on airlines without their parent, what a joke he is. He is nasty and insulting at every turn. I am surprised he hasn't been sued yet. Good thing there are several ways to get this message out, so others don't have to experience what I have. read more

Dr. Christiansen is in a difficult business - trying to hear the truth through the stories of highly emotional parents frightened of losing connections and time with their children - actually - it all comes back to the parents in the end. Kids know. Dr. C was fair. He laid out a path for the investigation required by the court, informed the participants and kept too the path. The final report was clear and even-handed. I never felt that he took sides with either of us as parents - but really just listened for the truth for the long term good of the children. Any sane parent regrets having to go through this sort of thing but sometime one needs to fight for what will be healthy for children - in my case I wanted the children to go to a better school but still see their dad. He wanted the easiest situation for himself, schools near him. So - custody was odd because we did not change how much time of access we had - kids need both parents, no matter how much one parent dislikes the other. As adults we need to get over ourselves an protect the kids. Dr. C helped that happen. read more

I used the services of Wes Christensen many years ago when i was in an awful custody situation with my ex (who was an attorney). We were referred to Mr. Christensen for co-parenting counseling by the court. He was superb. I would recommend him to anyone who cares for their children's emotional health without reservation. read more

Worth every penny , as a counselor awesome listens to both sides and encourages parents to work things out and realize the child is what's important the child first it's been almost a year and I'm amazed at the progress would refer him to anyone who has custody issues read more

Highest recommendation. Wes Christensen is the best in the Bay Area for helping families focus on the needs of children. In a highly complicated custody case Mr. Christensen was always focused on best interest of the children-above all else. He is honest, and a straight talker-focusing on helping parties decrease conflict and focus on caring for the children. Mr. Christensen was very thorough in gathering information before reaching any opinion. He is highly professional, reasoned, and has great integrity. He is very clear and fair about billing practices. He has my highest recommendation. read more

I rate him below a zero! I agree with Chris V. Carolyn B who wrote a favorable review must be a relative or an employee. Now that my youngest daughter is graduating from high school and is 18 yrs old I can finally speak freely about God (I mean Wes) (who thinks he's God). He calls himself a special master. I call him a puppet master. If you consider hiring him as a special master then consider the following: Even though he ruled favorably towards me in getting custody of my children (and I did) the process with him was the most unbearable experience I have ever had in my life. In fact it makes me almost nauseous just thinking back to the time spent with him. Divorce and child custody issues are emotionally difficult at best. By signing his agreement you allow him to control your life and your children's for the next 1-3 years (oh, and you get to pay him for that). I don't think that he favors men or women. He is just the most callus, cold, and cruel person I have known. Even if you are a stable parent you will not here a kind or compassionate word from him. He is great at brow beating his victims(clients) (both sides). He has not been in our lives for the last 7-8 years but I remember it like it was yesterday. Look up his background. He was a software engineer for 20 years before being a therapist. I didn't know that software engineering was a prerequisite for therapists? Go figure!That makes him knowledgeable about widgets and computers but you don't become great with people just by earning a degree in therapy. Oh, did I mention that I HATE him? Even after 7+ years of not seeing him. If you love pain and paying for it or you just like being sodomized then go ahead and hire him. read more

Did a great job in a complicated case involving custody and activities of children. Works really hard toward mediating a solution that both parties can appreciate; and also good at pointing out what works and doesn't work for communication in order to reach solutions. read more