Professor Colin King.
Professor credits team for award
Professor Colin King has been recognized for his work with youth and children in London and surrounding area.
King, the Director of the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic, received the Contributions to School Psychology Award from the Canadian Psychological Association. The award recognizes individuals who have advanced the profession of school psychology through clinical practice, research, teaching, training, supervision, advocacy, policy influencing or policy outreach.
King said the award recognizes the hard work of staff and students at the clinic.
“It's really humbling to receive this award,” he said. “It’s certainly a team effort.”
Graduate students in the School and Applied Child Psychology program at Western University, under the supervision of licensed child psychologists, provide high-quality and affordable psychological consultation, assessment, and treatment services to children and youth from three to 18 years of age.
King believes the clinic’s strength is its collaboration with families and community agencies, group-based programming, and community outreach activities. These partnerships with the community set the clinic apart from the traditional clinical models of treatment.
“We made an intentional effort to extend our reach beyond the clinic and develop new pathways for kids and families,” King said.
The clinic will continue to develop these relationships post pandemic. King said youth recovering from learning loss, the continued high levels of stress and mental health challenges for children and families are areas where the clinic will focus.
“It's not business as usual, and we need to take a community-wide approach to breaking down some of those professional silos to do something different,” King said.
What’s more, King also credits the clinic’s staff for making it feel like home for families.
“We tried to listen to families and to the community and identify areas where we could make a difference.”
