UNews - Counselling Services

Master of Education Counselling Psychology seat expansion a boost to mental health profession

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 21:02:38 +0000

Graduate students looking to become mental health professionals will have more opportunities to study in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Master of Education Counselling Psychology program thanks to funding support from the Government of Alberta.

The Faculty of Education graduate program is the only route to registration with the College of Alberta Psychologists.

Earlier this fall, the province announced $780,000 of support to add 15 seats over three years to the Faculty of Education’s master’s program. ULethbridge was one of 12 post-secondary schools to receive funding, creating a total of 761 new seats in a variety of programs, including psychiatric nursing, psychology, social work, child and youth care, and addiction counselling.

“Ours is the only graduate program that was funded for seat expansion, which is significant because a graduate degree in counselling psychology is the only pathway to registration with the College of Alberta Psychologists, and demand for admissions to these graduate programs is extremely high,” says Dr. David Slomp, associate dean of graduate studies and research in the Faculty of Education.

The funding will allow the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to add two integral positions in support of the influx of new students — a clinical practicum supervisor and an administrative support for practicum and partnership development. The first cohort of five students has been admitted and will begin their practicum placements in Fall 2025. Additional groups of five students will be admitted in each of the next two admission cycles.

“With a growing need for mental health services, this seat expansion will benefit families across the province,” says Dan Williams, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction. “No matter what part of Alberta someone calls home, they deserve access to consistent, high-quality mental health care. Our government is proud to be working with post-secondary institutions, making sure services are available to Albertans in need.”

Slomp says it is imperative the students have opportunities to participate in high-quality practicum placements. While some of those can be filled on campus, the new positions will assist in cultivating more relationships within the community.

“The clinical practicum supervisor will work within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Counselling Services team to provide supervision for an expanded number of practicum students working within that unit,” he says. “Finding quality practicum placement experiences for students seeking to register as psychologists is becoming increasingly challenging. We have great partners, but we need to do more to enrich those partnerships and to expand the number of counsellors we partner with.”

The Mental Health Professions Enrollment Expansion grant program committed nearly $10 million over three years to create more spaces to train mental health professionals at post-secondary institutions across the province. To learn more, visit the Government of Alberta website.

Peer connections the focus of new Student Wellness Ambassador Program supported by former chancellor

trevor.kenney — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:13:10 +0000

Janice Varzari headlines program fundraising with matching donation

A new program designed to enhance student wellness at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is receiving a boost of support from its former chancellor, Janice Varzari (BN ’90, MEd ’02).

Former U of L Chancellor Janice Varzari, left, and her husband Glenn will match all donations to the establishment of the new SWAP program, up to $20,000.

The Student Wellness Ambassador Program (SWAP) is a student-led wellness initiative aimed at developing peer connections and promoting wellness. The program has already been active in raising funds from alumni and donors to support it through its first four years, and Varzari and her husband Glenn pledge to match the money raised, up to $20,000.

“In talking with Janice, she was looking to support something related to student wellness that was more than a one-time gift and would have a lasting impact,” says Jennifer Ellis-Toddington (BSc ’99, MEd’05), manager of Counselling and Career Services at the U of L. “I’ve felt we’ve always needed a peer support program. We have many ways for our students to connect with counselling services at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ but not every student needs or wants a professional counsellor.”

The SWAP initiative will focus on two main areas, regular student-led (and developed) wellness initiatives that allow peer-to-peer connections on and off campus, and peer support services.

“As a proud alumna and long-time volunteer and supporter of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, I care deeply about our students and their experiences while studying at the U of L,” says Varzari. “As at most post-secondary institutions, our students are experiencing significant stresses that affect their mental wellness, and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is seeing increasing demands upon its mental health services.

“My husband Glenn and I are thrilled to offer our financial support to this initiative. We are encouraging other alumni and supporters to consider making a gift to this much-needed program.”

Ellis-Toddington says students are seeking ways to connect with each other, noting a 45 per cent participation increase in group events offered by Counseling Services.

“Our virtual book clubs fill up almost immediately and it’s been that way since the start of the pandemic, so something like this is needed now more than ever,” she says.

A Student Wellness Ambassador Committee will be responsible for planning weekly outreach events that provide students opportunities to engage in wellness activities as well as learn about mental health resources on campus. Peer listeners will be trained by counseling services staff and provide peer support through active listening and referrals to other services, if needed.

“This will really fill a gap for our students,” says Ellis-Toddington. “I see it as a prevention strategy in that students who may not be willing to come forward to talk with counsellors, maybe they will reach out if it’s a peer they can connect with. Our listeners will be trained to talk with them and if they need further support, they can get the help they need.”

Students who participate as wellness ambassadors will earn valuable training and also receive credit on their My Experience Transcript (MET).

Those looking to support the Student Wellness Ambassador Program can do so on the SWAP web page.

2013 President's Award recipients

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:57:24 +0000

Each year, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge presents the President's Award for Service Excellence Award recognizing exceptional service to the U of L and members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. This year, the award is given to one AUPE staff member, one APO/Exempt Support Staff member and one team.

AUPE Recipient - Barbara Hodgson

Described as the "best-kept secret at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge," Barbara Hodgson has been the administrative support for the Department of Political Science and now fulfills that role for the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

In her administrative support roles, Hodgson makes sure all the parts of a university department work together smoothly, and innovates to make things work better. Taking a genuine pride in her work, she strives for perfection, and has done so at the U of L for over 30 years.

Hodgson takes initiative to learn new skills and improve the operation of the department. She has developed new ways to efficiently organize information and make it easily available to those who need it. For example, she learned basic HTML and web development software to maintain departmental web pages. To aid in the completion of Professional Activities Reports, Hodgson created a collection of records of the department's teaching activities, broken down by course, year and instructor, which was invaluable to faculty members for completing these reports. In all her work she demonstrates excellent know-how, experience and sheer hard work, combined with an ability to connect with people.

Supportive beyond the call of duty, Hodgson strives to treat all she works with as individuals. She often attends undergraduate thesis presentations, helping and reassuring first-time presenters. Always friendly and courteous, she admires, respects, and cares for people, and helps to make the university a better place for those who work and study here.

With skill, dedication, and care, Barbara Hodgson has given exemplary service to faculty and students.

APO Recipient - Barbara Williams

Described as a "wonderful colleague and supervisor," Barbara Williams works hard to provide exemplary service to all the students who come to Counselling Services, inspiring and encouraging her colleagues to do the same.

Williams is completely dedicated to meeting the needs of students. Her focus is always on ensuring that students have access to the supports they need to be successful. She is committed to ensuring that all Counselling Services programming is accessible and targeted to areas of need. Under her leadership and encouragement, Counselling Services goes beyond individual counselling sessions to offer services that address the total well-being of students.

In the Counselling Services office, Williams has been dedicated to building and nurturing a strong and committed team. She has worked hard to select and retain diversely skilled professionals and to facilitate the teamwork required to serve the student population. A compassionate supervisor, she offers her staff opportunities for growth and supports their initiatives. She is also known as an extremely positive person who brings out the best in others.

Before Counselling Services, Williams spent many years in Recruitment & Student Life, where she played a significant part in growing the student population. When prospective students inquired about the U of L, Williams would ensure that everyone was well prepared to show off the strengths of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Among the initiatives she developed for recruitment was the Student for a Day program, which allows prospective students to come to the U of L campus for one day to tour the facilities and attend lectures in their areas of interest. This successful program is still running today.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is proud to recognize Barbara Williams for her enthusiasm, dedication and passionate support of student success.

Team Recipient

Pictured (back row L to R) are Diane Layng, Judy Westcott, Kim Selk and Tyler Hayward, (front row L to R) Greg Martin, Murielle Guitard, Fiona Randle and Jeanette Leusink.

The tireless efforts, commitment and expertise of the Printing Services team – Greg Martin, Tyler Hayward, Fiona Randle, Kim Selk, Judy Westcott, Murielle Guitard, Diane Layng and Jeanette Leusink – results in superb customer service and beautifully printed products.

The Printing Services team makes extra effort to help its customers meet their printing needs and deadlines. Whether by phone, e-mail, or in-person, the team guides its customers through the printing and copying process, helping resolve any issues or challenges. Even when faced with difficult, time-sensitive jobs, the team's response is "we'll take care of it, and call you when it's ready."

The group has never been late in delivering on a job, and is often done in advance of a deadline. The Printing Services team is tightly co-ordinated, working under intense deadlines with confidence and care.

The team consistently strives to offer an expanding array of products and services. In a world of changing technology, Printing Services does an outstanding job of keeping the U of L at the forefront. Its ongoing goal is to produce the best finished product at the most affordable cost.

On top of being an excellent service provider, the Printing Services team makes the effort to educate its customers in the field of printing. The team takes the time to discuss the file type, file quality, colour separations, paper type and weight, adding a "bleed" to a document, and so forth. They make the effort to advise on issues such as matching the needed paper quality and weight to the length of use of the publication. The team at Printing Services is always there to answer questions and guides its customers through the process.

Renowned for exceptional craft and friendly, high quality service, the staff of Printing Services excels in supporting the needs of campus.

This story first appeared in the May 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Counselling Services

Master of Education Counselling Psychology seat expansion a boost to mental health profession

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Peer connections the focus of new Student Wellness Ambassador Program supported by former chancellor

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2013 President's Award recipients

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