Chapter Executive

Position	Name
President	Jean Blackler
President-Elect
Past President	Patricia Wentzell
Secretary	Heather Colquhoun
Treasurer (Interim)	Patricia Wentzell
School Counsellor Liaison
Coordinator, Professional Development	Lori Slaunwhite
Coordinator for Professional Identity and Advocacy	Andrew Potter-Cogan
Student Representatives	Katherine Salsman and Ken Lotherington
School Counsellor Liaison
Member-at-Large	Derek Smith
Member-at-Large	Andrea Rivera
Board Liaison	George Maringapasi

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Mission

The Chapter is the provincial representative of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, which serves professional counsellors and psychotherapists, and which is dedicated to the enhancement of the counselling profession in Canada. Our Objectives

Represent regional interests of the national association.
Promote public awareness and support for the practice of counselling and psychotherapy in the province through activities focused on advocacy and education.
Provide direct contact with all CCPA members in the province including our provincial CCPA Director who may attend CCPA-NS Executive meetings as an ex-officio member.
Promote the professional development of counsellors and psychotherapists through facilitation of ongoing information exchange, specialized learning (both knowledge and skill-focused), and critical consideration and discussion of issues relevant to counselling and psychotherapy.
Provide opportunities for practitioners, researchers, and educators in the field of counselling and psychotherapy to meet, interact, network, and share information and discuss best practices, clinical and research findings, viewpoints, and common concerns.
Promote the Ethical Principles of the CCPA; integrity, justice, client best interests, and responsibility to society in all counselling and psychotherapy practices.
Encourage and support cooperation among Nova Scotia-based counsellors and psychotherapists across mental health disciplines and practice settings (e.g., private practice, agency and school counsellors, counselling therapists, social workers, psychologists and other mental health workers).
Provide an opportunity for Nova Scotia-based CCPA members who have earned the Canadian Certified Counsellor designation to connect with other CCCs across the province.
Serve as a direct link with the national-level CCPA, thereby providing for the pursuit of mutually sought aims and objectives and the promotion of awareness of the purposes and activities of the national body.
Undertake any other activities that may be considered necessary to advance the purposes of the CCPA in Nova Scotia.

History

Thank you for your interest in the Nova Scotia Chapter of CCPA (CCPA-NS). The chapter was created in 2011 with a beginning membership of 50 people an Interim Executive of three counsellors. With the assistance of the Provincial Director of CCPA, by December 2011 the executive submitted a constitution to National Office. The constitution of the chapter was approved in January 2012.

At the first Annual General Meeting in June 2012, elections were held for an executive consisting of: President, President-Elect, Executive Secretary, Executive Treasurer, Student Representative, School Counsellors Liaison, Coordinator of Professional Development, and Coordinator of Advocacy and Professional Identity.

In the chapter’s inaugural year, 2012/2013, the Executive served as the local planning committee responsible for the CCPA 2013 National Conference held in Halifax in May, 2013. Also during 2013, the now 200-plus membership was surveyed in order to establish the priorities of the organization for 2013-2014. Survey results clearly indicated three needs: (1) the need for networking opportunities among counsellors; (2) increased access to professional development opportunities (suggested topics were identified by the members); and, (3) the need for advocating for the enhancement of our professional identity as counsellors.

During the 2015-2016 year, the goals of the executive are to host more networking events, to plan and organize two professional development opportunities, and to explore ways to increase communication and information sharing among members.

We invite your participation in the chapter. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to explore volunteering on a committee or as an executive member.

Eric L. Ross, M.Ed.
Chapter President