Meet Our Students

Alba Singh

Master of Social Work Student

Hello, my name is Alba (she/her), and I am in my first-year MSW foundational program at UBC Okanagan. Currently, I am doing my virtual practicum at Moving Forward Family Services (MFFS). This non-profit agency is based in Surrey, BC and aims to provide counselling services to anyone in need across the country. What prompted me to complete my internship at MFFS is their commitment to assist diverse population groups, regardless of their age, gender, sexuality, religion, culture, location, presenting problem, etc., and offer them free to low-cost services such counselling, psycho-educational programs, and community-focused groups and workshops.

Furthermore, my interests lie in facilitating individual, couples, and group counselling sessions with people; therefore, I feel extremely grateful that such opportunity was available to me in my first year of MSW through MFFS. In fact, this internship offers me the privilege to have my own client caseload and gain further experience in providing counselling sessions implementing a variety of psychotherapy modalities, such as CBT, ACT, IFS, couples therapy, EFT, and so on.

MFFS also allows me to facilitate coaching programs surrounding key concepts and practices like Life Skills, Healthy Intimate Relationships, and Mindfulness, as well collaborating on, organizing, and conducting community groups and workshops for newcomers and Punjabi/Hindi-speaking individuals. My internship at MFFS also consists of enhancing my social services knowledge and expertise by participating and completing various webinars, workshops, and trainings, such as the Gottman Method Level 1 and 2, Brief Action Planning, and Non-Pathologizing Approaches to Counselling.

Through the collaboration with my fellow MSW and practicum peers, I am fortunate to create meaningful interactions and connections within my community and share with local businesses about the incredible services and resources available at MFFS for anyone to access. Furthermore, this internship offers very resourceful in-house platform trainings and supports through daily and weekly supervision groups where professionals and peers collaborate to provide insightful guidance and recommendations. Moving Forward Family Services not only is a great resource for clients, but also an excellent opportunity for interns and practicum students all over Canada as they are committed to enrich students’ skills, enhance their career development, and recognize their contributions in addressing individuals’ needs. I feel extremely privileged and delighted to work with MFFS as part of my practicum experience.

Ana Stopa

Master of Social Work Student

I am currently completing my first practicum with Elevation Outdoors. Elevation is an incredible non-for-profit organization that provides vulnerable youth with the opportunity to participate in outdoor programming that may have otherwise been inaccessible to them. Recognizing that financial barriers can significantly impact one’s ability to pursue sport, Elevation’s programs, including rock climbing, hiking, snowboarding, mountain biking, and skateboarding, are offered free of charge to eligible youth. They promote a learning environment in which the youth feel supported in developing skills relevant to both the activity and everyday living.

During my time with Elevation, I have been primarily supporting their Learn to Shred and Leaders in Action programs. I accompany program leads, volunteers, and youth to Big White 2-3 times a week and help facilitate group discussions surrounding weekly themes, as well as monitor and champion the youth’s progress. In the coming months, I will have the opportunity to facilitate Skill Development Sessions in which we will be discussing the topics of healthy communication and mindful social media usage. Further, I hope to engage various groups in conversations surrounding self and community care, and work on developing program curriculum.

Joycelyn LEgary

Master of Social Work Student

I completed my first-year practicum in the Social Development Department of the City of Penticton. The Social Development Department seeks to build and enhance the social well-being of Penticton by focusing on topics such as childcare, poverty reduction, substance use, housing, homelessness, community safety, and truth and reconciliation. I feel very fortunate to have worked in a placement that challenged me and provided me with many learning opportunities.

Using the knowledge I have gained from the Social Development team, I was able to assist on several major ongoing projects, such as formulating a municipal social housing plan and a community resource hub model. Through my role, I developed connections with key community stakeholders and partners by attending community engagement sessions, action tables, and working groups. In addition to these experiences, I was also able to collaborate on an inter-organizational grant proposal and was able to conduct extensive meta-analysis. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering how social work can be applied at a macro systems level and how it can inform municipal governance and policy making. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Social Development team and contribute to fostering a more inclusive, equitable, healthy, and vibrant community.

Olivia Stevenson

Master of Social Work Student

I am currently completing my practicum at UBC Okanagan Wellness and Education. Due to my background in Kinesiology, I was excited to be in a practicum placement that focused on health promotion and community as the client. My practicum supervisor has been supportive in guiding this placement to fit my interests and goals, and as a result, I am supporting a number of projects. These include facilitating the Dr. Claire Budgen Golden Apple and I Am Accessible Awards, building a tool for integrating health into campus policies, supporting PICNIC (i.e., Mental Health Mondays) and Campus Counselling (i.e., campus grief group) programming, and analyzing VOICE 6 student loneliness data to present at a student health conference.

My favourite part of my placement has been the people and community. I am surrounded by a supportive and interdisciplinary team who are passionate, innovative, and caring. As a result, I have had the opportunity to learn how a care team with various backgrounds can come together to support biopsychosocial-spiritual community well-being.

Clayton Murphy

Master of Social Work Alum

I completed my second-year practicum at the Forensic Psychiatric Services clinic in Kelowna. At FPS, I worked with an interdisciplinary team of a forensic psychologist, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, outreach workers, and a concurrent disorder clinician. Through my role, I had the opportunity to conduct intake assessments, assist with client visits, connect with external agencies, and shadow the case management process. I also had the opportunity to attend Kelowna Integrated Court along with our local mental health court, and to connect with and assist clients who are actively involved in the criminal justice system. In addition to these experiences, I worked with the psychology team to carry out program evaluation and research regarding sexually motivated offences and sexual assault behaviour across BC.

Clayton is currently employed as a Forensic Community & Liaison Social Worker with Forensic Psychiatric Services.

Halle Bosch

Master of Social Work Alum

I did my second-year practicum at BC Children’s Hospital in the provincial ADHD Clinic. Having a practicum in a hospital provided me with opportunity to shadow multiple departments and areas of social work, as well as take part in an interdisciplinary team lead by psychiatry. I was able to partake in the intake, assessment, and follow-up process with families across BC and aided in providing a variety of mental health related resources. I also worked on creating a support group for caregivers of ADHD.

Halle is currently employed as a Social Worker at BC Children’s Hospital in the child psychiatry unit.