St. Stephen's College Department of Psychotherapy & Spirituality

📢 We're proud to support an important community event!

On Saturday, August 29, St. Stephen's College is pleased to help promote the Youth Mental Health Seminar: a free, in-person gathering designed for young people aged 13–30 who are looking for practical tools and professional guidance to navigate mental health challenges.

🧠 Event Highlights:

🗓 When: August 29 | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

📍 Where: Fellowship Hall, Southgate Baptist Church (11107 51 Ave NW, Edmonton)

🎟 Cost: Free (registration required)

🎤 Featured Speakers:

Prof. Mobolaji Lawal – Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Alberta

MLA David Shepherd – Shadow Minister for Health and Emergency Services

As a college committed to theological education, pastoral care, and community well-being, this seminar aligns deeply with our values. We encourage our students, staff, and wider network to take part in this meaningful conversation about mental wellness.

📲 Register here: https://forms.gle/PnEsKtVCng4uJNGEA
📧 For more info: [email protected]
📞 Or call: +1 587-501-5149

Please help us spread the word—share this post with anyone who might benefit! 💚

We are excited to share the publication of a new special issue of the Canadian Journal of Art Therapy (39:1), titled "Cocreating Belonging in the Healing Arts: Rivers Converging to Collectively Dream of Health and Peace." This special issue was inspired by the 2025 conference theme and collaboration between CATA, the Ontario Expressive Arts Association (OEATA) and the Winnipeg Expressive Arts Therapy Institute (WHEAT).

It can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ucat21/current

Featured artwork: Bohun, A. (2026). Floating: The Sensation of Calm, Grounded, Present, and Regulated. Canadian Journal of Art Therapy, 39(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/26907240.2026.2674443
Abby Bohun Art Therapy

This National Wellness Month, Let’s Advocate for Safe, Accountable Mental Health Services 🛡️🌱

When we think of wellness, we often think of physical health, mindfulness, or self-care practices. At ACTA, we believe true community wellness also depends on something foundational: safe, ethical, and professionally accountable mental health services.

Mental health is central to overall well-being. Whether navigating daily stress, life transitions, or grief and loss, access to competent, ethical, and evidence-based counselling matters.

This August, ACTA highlights a key wellness priority for Alberta: the formal regulation of Counselling Therapists under the Health Professions Act (HPA).

Regulation strengthens public trust and ensures Albertans can access services with confidence, knowing clinicians are held to consistent ethical standards, professional oversight, and clear accountability.

How we can support a healthier Alberta this month:

🌱Support professional standards: Make informed choices. Seek practitioners who are transparent about their training, scope of practice, and ethical standards.

🌱Practice meaningful self-care: Wellness is not one-size-fits-all. Choose supports and practices that reflect your needs and lived experience.

🌱Advocate for change: Support the formal regulation of counselling therapy in Alberta to strengthen public protection across the mental health system.

Wellness is both individual and collective. Together, we can work toward a safer, more accountable mental health landscape for all Albertans.

Are you a practitioner passionate about the future of the profession? Take advantage of our summer registration incentives! Join ACTA to support ethical practice, professional standards, and public protection in Alberta.

Learn more about registration here: acta-alberta.ca/intermediate-route

🌿 International Day of Friendship 🌿

Healthy relationships are a cornerstone of emotional resilience. Being seen, understood, and accepted by others offers a vital buffer against life’s daily pressures. These natural circles of belonging are foundational to human well-being.

At the same time, even the strongest personal support systems have limits when facing deeper emotional distress, complex trauma, systemic challenges, or mental health crises. In these moments, professional clinical services can play an essential role.

Counselling Therapists understand the healing power of relationships. In the therapy room, the therapeutic relationship is intentional, objective, and grounded in specialized clinical expertise, providing a vital foundation for change. By integrating evidence-based approaches, Counselling Therapists help individuals and families navigate complex emotional experiences that extend beyond the scope of informal support.

To protect the public and honour this work, ACTA remains dedicated to the regulation of Counselling Therapists under the Health Professions Act. Rigorous professional standards help ensure that when Albertans reach beyond their personal circles for help, they are met with competent, ethical, and accountable clinical services.

Today, we celebrate the bonds that sustain us, and we reaffirm our commitment to strengthening access to high-quality mental health services for all Albertans. 💚

UPDATE: Applications now closed. Thank you for the overwhelming interest!

🌟 Volunteers Needed for New Communications Committee 🌟

Are you interested in helping shape the vision and public voice of the Canadian Art Therapy Association?

We are looking for volunteers to join a new Communications Committee. In this role, you’ll join a collaborative team to brainstorm, create, and share ways to elevate Canadian art therapy for our members and communities across Canada.

Together, we’ll meet once a month to explore:
🔹 Strengthening the presence of Canadian art therapy alongside our international art therapy association family
🔹 Shifting our communications toward decolonial, approachable, and engaging visuals and words
🔹 Expanding recognition for art therapy within health and healing spaces across Canada and abroad
🔹 Other topics around visual communications and public voice of CATA

If you want to help or have questions, connect with Simon Caulfield Sriklad at [email protected].

Students welcome. This is not a board position.

📢 ACTA has announced Board-approved registration improvements and temporary Summer 2026 incentives to help reduce barriers to registration and strengthen the counselling therapy profession's readiness for regulation in Alberta.

Until September 15, 2026:

✅ New applicants will have the $200 application fee waived.
✅ Former members can return with reinstatement fees waived.
✅ Workforce survey participants may be eligible for registration credits.

Whether you are a recent graduate, an experienced practitioner who has not yet registered, or a former member considering returning, this is an excellent opportunity to join ACTA and help strengthen the profession's voice in upcoming discussions on regulation, workforce planning, public protection, and access to mental health services in Alberta.

Sign up for the newsletter here: acta-alberta.ca/newsletter

Learn more about registration here: acta-alberta.ca/intermediate-route

What happens when you know what the ethical course of action is—but real-world constraints make it difficult to act on it?

Facilitated by Dr. Nuttgens, this session explores moral distress among counselling interns, highlighting the tension that can emerge when professional judgment is shaped or limited by supervision structures, workplace demands, and broader organizational contexts.

Rooted in the lived experience of clinical training, the conversation will reflect on how these pressures can influence both developing practitioners and client care, while also considering how supervisors and educators can become more attuned to, and responsive to, signs of moral distress.

A reflective space to examine the often unspoken ethical strain present in early clinical practice.

Caught in the Middle: Moral Distress, Counselling Interns, and Clinical Supervision
Dr. Simon Nuttgens, RPsych
September 25 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm.

Register today!
acta-alberta.ca/upcoming-events

Attendees will be provided with a Continuing Education Certificate of Attendance. Professional Development is FREE to ACTA members (members were emailed the free registration code) and is $125 for non-members.

Not yet a member as a Counselling Therapist? Take advantage of our summer registration incentives! Join ACTA today to demonstrate your readiness for regulation and gain access to valuable professional development opportunities: 🔗acta-alberta.ca/intermediate-route

The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) is excited to invite universities across Canada to learn more about their Student Representative Program for the 2026–2027 academic year!

They will be hosting a national virtual information session on Friday, September 11, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST for Canadian universities involved—or interested in becoming involved—in the Student Representative Program.

Please see the Zoom link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86226232210?pwd=S06TbRE39zK3CvgPgpfsbiXlisYhsX.1

Meeting ID
862 2623 2210
Passcode
278981

This engaging session will provide an overview of the program, the role and benefits of becoming a Student Representative, and how universities can help promote this opportunity to eligible counselling and psychotherapy students.

Please note that this information session will be held in English only.

The Student Representative Program offers students an opportunity to:

- Connect with counselling and psychotherapy students across Canada;
- Develop valuable leadership, communication, and outreach skills;
- Increase awareness of CCPA resources, events, and professional opportunities;
- Strengthen student engagement within their academic communities; and
- Begin building their professional identity and national network before graduation.

Students can learn more about the program and application process at:
https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/membership/students/student-representatives/

Information about master’s-level counselling and counselling-related programs across Canada is available at:
https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/membership/students/graduate-programs/canadian-graduate-programs/

The English and French Student Representative Program Guides are linked below for your reference and distribution:

English: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y-ODmvq1icZkEVV-3hIbq6Rzh5f2pPha/view?usp=sharing

French: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BWfViy3NhTQysHE_uW-NdzWVjTj6hH9E/view?usp=sharing

The Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (ACTA) is actively supporting Counselling Therapists as Alberta moves toward regulation and remains a trusted partner throughout this process.

Member benefits include:
▪️ Free access to all professional development webinars maintaining their readiness for regulation
▪️ Certificates of Attendance included (valued at $800—more than the cost of membership)

Don’t miss our upcoming sessions—free for members or $125 - $175 per session for non-members.
Explore events and register here: acta-alberta.ca/upcoming-events

Not yet a member? Take advantage of our summer registration incentives!

Join ACTA today to demonstrate your readiness for regulation and access meaningful professional development: acta-alberta.ca/intermediate-route