New training centre provides psychological services to community

By Erin Carpenter

Adam McCrimmon, BA’00, traces his passion for helping school children to his time as an undergraduate psychology student at the University of Calgary when he took part in a program providing early intervention for children with autism.

Now a doctoral student in psychology, McCrimmon says that experience helped shape his decision to pursue research in autism. “Autism became intriguing to me and I wanted to help discover new and creative ways to interact with and teach these children.”

While McCrimmon completes his research, he’s doing practicum work through an innovative program recently launched on campus by the Faculty of Education’s Division of Applied Psychology.
The University of Calgary Applied Psychological and Educational Services (U-CAPES) is a training facility that will enhance the teaching, research and service missions of the division’s graduate programs.

It also offers people in the Calgary region low-cost, high-quality psychological assessment, prevention and treatment services for a variety of issues, while helping to fund scholarships for students.

Based in the Education Tower, the centre fills an important role, says Dr. Vicki Schwean, associate dean of applied psychology.

“It is fulfilling a need in the community by providing psychological and educational services to children, youth, adults and their families whom otherwise may not receive a quality service,” she says.

U-CAPES offers help for a fee, while also providing professional development and research services to government, private and community groups.

Six graduate students working in the clinic are supervised by licensed psychologists who are also faculty members, and their doctoral funding will be provided through the revenue that U-CAPES generates.

U-CAPES itself anticipates becoming an accredited internship site, a move that a number of other Canadian universities have undertaken.

Schwean says it’s an innovative way to fund graduate students while meeting a growing demand in the community.

“In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of children in Alberta identified as having exceptional learning needs that make them eligible for special education services,” she says, adding the problem is compounded by a severe shortage of school psychologists throughout Canada.

McCrimmon’s role at U-CAPES is assessing children with various issues and devising strategies for their treatment.

“The services provided by myself and others in the clinic will help children who may be having difficulties in school,” he says. “Having grown up here [in Calgary], I feel it’s important to help the community.”

For more information on U-CAPES, go to www.educ.ucalgary.ca/apsy/service/