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1999, WINTER The focus of this past year for both the OPA and the student section has been one of planning and change. In response to a financial crisis, the OPA has undergone a governance review and is moving toward various changes which will require more involvement from its members, particularly on committees and within the various sections. In conjunction with these larger organization changes, the student section has focused its activities on developing mechanisms which will allow for swift and cost effective circulation of information as well as greater student involvement across Ontario. The section has developed a Website for students. Initially, the site will be relatively simple, basically allowing for more efficient means of disseminating important information as well of the activities of the section executive. This will allow us to inform you about current issues and provide you with a means to communicate with the section executive. Web address: http://sosip.tripod.com. We hope that the website will be one step toward encouraging involvement from students in regions outside of Toronto and encourage them to work on projects that could be supported by the section at large. For example, several students in the Toronto Region have asked the section for support in organizing a Rorschach workshop specifically designed for students. The workshop ran over several weeks which made it impractical for students outside of Toronto to attend. A similar workshop could be organized in other locations with the sections support but at this point we are unclear about the needs and wants of students in other regions. We are hoping that the web site is one step toward bridging this gap. In order to support the web site, we are also attempting to put together list serve for both OPA student members and Ontario students in general. This will allow us to easily communicate with our members, directly inform you of important happenings, direct you to information posted on the web page and encourage membership. We are in the process of contacting each university and trying to get the necessary information. Another way in which we are attempting to increase student involvement across Ontario is to find campus representatives. We felt that university based representatives would be helpful in various ways, such as: informing the executive of student needs and interests outside of the Toronto area, setting up joint projects and student workshops in local areas, encouraging membership and informing students of OPA's activities. We have contacted the universities in order to get a clear understanding of the student government and hope that we can initially gain their assistance in finding a campus representative. Unfortunately, this work has taken up most of our time and energy this past year. Yet I can't express enough how important it is for graduate students to quickly be informed of important information that may impact their future as a professional psychologists. The delegation issue is one example of this. We have few avenues to communicate to students the urgency of this issue and the need for them to respond. There are constantly changes to and events happening with the government, the college, insurance companies and the media which can have an impact on how psychology is practiced. It is becoming increasingly important that these issues are responded to promptly. Often without your voice there will be changes to existing policy and legislation and/or additions of new ones that will dramatically affect your ability to function as a psychologist in Ontario in particular and Canada in general. We hope that our efforts this year will be one step towards this level of communication. Sandra Jackson, Past President Stephen Biggs, President I'm nearly finished my doctorate at York University. I still have a dissertation and clinical comps left to do. My interests are varied, from history to the implications of modern communication technologies. I have put together a simple website and email list for the student section. Feel free to contact me at sbiggs@yorku.ca Sandra Jackson, Past President Hi I'm Sandra and I was born in the wagon of a traveling show....kidding. I began my Ph.D. at York University in 1994 and planned to finish in four years. Well six years, a marriage and a new baby later I'm still working at it. I guess somewhere along the line I decided to enjoy the process instead of striving toward some end-point that never seems to materialize. Anyway, given this preference for process my primary research involves understanding the kinds of change processes that occur in psychotherapy, particularly with non-western clients. I first became involved with OPA three years ago as I was feeling discouraged about the state of psychology as a profession in Ontario. My main interest as a SOSIP member has been and continues to be thinking of new ways in which we can better inform and involve all of Ontario's Psychology Students. My involvement as SOSIP president also involved bringing student voice to the executive level of the organization. It is my hope that SOSIP can encourage more students to become interested and involved in some of the central political and professional issues that are shaping the profession of psychology today. Karen Fergus, Co-secretary I've been "completing my degree" in Clinical Psychology at York University for the last 2 years. I hope to be finished completing my degree in the not too distant future. I'm currently involved in picking up extra courses, teaching counseling skills and working with people who have cancer. Kimberly Watson, Co-secretary I'm in my second year of the Ph.D. Clinical Programme at York University. My main research interest is in qualitative methods and their application within psychology. I originally joined SOSIP for the networking opportunities (truth be told), but have since enjoyed learning about OPA's role as advocate for own profession and SOSIP's ability to influence the direction of that advocacy. Kimberley Gordon, Member at large Hi, I'm Kim Gordon, a second year Ph.D. Clinical Psychology student at York University. I am involved in psychotherapy process research and to date, have focused on the therapist's role in facilitating client change. I have been a member of SOSIP for the past couple of years and have enjoyed the opportunity to work with other students on various professional issues (as well as the chance to make some great new friends). I encourage all interested students to become involved in SOSIP either by joining the executive, various committees, attending conferences/workshops, etc., and to have a voice in the future direction of psychology. Alberta Pos, Member at Large I'm in my 2nd year of my doctoral programme in Clinical Psychology at York University under the supervision of Dr. Leslie Greenberg. I'm studying emotional processing in psychotherapy and it's relationship to change, specifically for the treatment of depression. I'm also interesting in the nonverbal aspects of emotional processing and how they can be used to identify different emotional processes. I joined SOSIP to interact with various practitioners of psychology in the province of Ontario and to take a more active role in shaping my own future. Allan Eng, Treasurer/Newsletter Editor I am in the Applied Developmental Psychology Program at OISE/UT. My interests include assessment and therapy of individuals and families. I have enjoyed being an OPA student executive member for the past few years. I was initially introduced into the organization by some friends. As I attended each of the meetings, I have learned about the changing faces of the psychology profession. I enjoy adding my voice in representing some of the concerns raised by psychology students. I encourage others to join too so that we may hear your voice too. The first Rorschach educational workshop coordinated by SOSIP in February 1999,
was well attended by eighteen graduate
students from the Pavla Reznicek, Workshop Coordinator Thanks Pavla, for all your work! mentor: n. experienced and trusted adviser. -Oxford English Dictionary Telemachus, son of Odysseus, a young man despondent at the state of his house and the absence of his father... a young man striving to make it in the world, without the benefit of wisdom or experience... Athena wisest of the Olympian gods, fond of Odysseus and his family, deeply saddened by their plight, turned herself into an old man and presented herself to Telemachus and gave him good counsel. Her / his name was Mentor. Now, don't spend too much time trying to figure out which episode of Xena or Hercules this reminds you of, or if your tastes run a tad more cerebral, the socio-cultural implications of cross-dressing Goddesses. I simply paraphrase this small passage from the beginning of Homer's Odyssey to point out the long history of mentoring. Since the time of the Ancient Greeks mentoring has played an integral role in the process of development and learning. Mentoring can help increase one's level of confidence and experience. Mentoring can serve as a bridge between where we are and where we want to be. Unfortunately, we aren't so lucky as Telemachus Goddesses knocking on our doors offering up free advice. We have to take charge and seek out our own mentors. As many of you know the Student Section at OPA has been trying to facilitate this process by creating a program that matches students with professionals based on interest and location. We have had some interest in the program from both prospective mentors and protégées, but often people who have expressed interest are located in different parts of this very big province of ours. However, we are continuing to match people and are even looking into telementoring as a way of bringing people from different areas together via e-mail. In any case it's okay to have more than one mentor, in fact it's a great idea. Do what most successful people do: assemble a team of experts. Think of them as your very own mentoring team. So while you're waiting to get matched up with someone by us, or if you're setting out in search of a mentor for the first time consider the following pointers. 1 . "Know thy self". Before knocking on any doors figure out what you want. Do some self assessment to determine what skills you need to attain your goals. 2. "Do some reconnaissance". Get some background on a prospective mentor before meeting with him or her for the first time. 3. "Contact". At the outset, outline the expectations of your relationship, how often will you meet, etc... 4. "Remember your goals". Try to bring some structure to your meetings that is tied to your goals and the skills that you hope to acquire. And finally, a good mentor is someone who believes in you and will go to bat for you, who will tell you the truth, who's not afraid of hard work, who cares about doing the right thing and most of all, a good mentor is someone you can trust. Much of this article was based on a recent issue (Sept. '98, pp 186-195) of Fast Company, a journal for progressive businesses, and information from the National Mentoring Partnership (geared more toward kids). Check out their websites at: www.fastcompany.com & www.mentoring.org respectively.Also check out this related article from APA "Unique mentor programs bolster students' careers", www.apa.org/monitor/may97/trends.html. Steve Biggs, President Have you recently completed your Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation? Do you know someone who has? Anyone who has graduated from a psychology programme in Ontario in the past year is eligible to enter SOSIP's Annual Thesis Awards Contest sponsored by the Student Section of the Ontario Psychological Association. The purpose of the Contest is to encourage and reward research that contributes to the practice of psychology. The winners of the Contest will enjoy several benefits. The first place winners in the Doctoral and Masters categories will receive cash rewards of $300 and $150 respectively. They will also receive a free one year OPA membership. In the past there have also been other rewards courtesy of several corporate sponsors. And finally, the winners will receive acknowledgement at the Annual Convention Awards Luncheon in February. TO ENTER, please submit the following: I. A copy of your abstract with the title of your thesis or dissertation* II. On a separate page, provide: Full Name, Address, Phone Number, E-mail, University Affiliation, Title of Your Work, and Category : Doctoral or Masters. Email the above material to: sosip@hotmail.com (SUBJECT: Thesis Contest) *If submitting a hard copy via regular mail, please supply 3 copies of your abstract Mail to: SOSIP Thesis Contest Submissions must be received no later than December 1st, 1999 A panel of psychologists will judge the material and finalists may be requested to submit a copy of their Thesis or Dissertation. Winners will be notified some time before the Annual Convention. |
Greater Toronto Area.
Evaluations obtained from 11 of the
participants indicated that the workshop had
been very helpful and that most students
would be interested in a follow up workshop
in the future. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Alan
Bardikoff who led the workshop. His interest
and enthusiasm in the topic as well as an
engaging and well organized approach was
highly valued by all participants.
Additionally, his teaching style successfully
stimulated a good learning experience for students of varied backgrounds with the
Rorschach. Updates on any future workshop plans will
be provided in the months to come.