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Overview
The Calgary Family Therapy Centre offers a
specialized clinical program under the umbrella of
Wood's Homes supported by the Calgary Health Region
in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The
Calgary Family Therapy Centre, formerly known as
the University of Calgary Family Therapy Program
was established in 1973. It is a clinical
outpatient treatment program which provides
specialized services in family therapy.
Approximately 500 families are seen per year,
including a wide range of types of families and
presenting problems which provide a rich resource
for clinical training experiences. The Program also
provides ongoing teaching and serves as a base for
conceptual research in family therapy. It is
supported by excellent physical facilities
including multiple interviewing rooms equipped with
one-way mirrors, telephone intercoms, and
remote-control videotape cameras.
The
orientation for the Program, in terms of the
theoretical framework and methods of practice, has
changed several times. During its 32 years the
Calgary Program has been at the leading edge of the
field of family therapy and has continuously been
involved in exploring, developing and applying new
patterns of therapeutic thought and
action.
The
Centre is located in Calgary, a vibrant Western
Canadian city with a population of approximately
900,000. It is only one hour by car from the
beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains and Banff
National Park which offer world class hiking,
camping, climbing and sight-seeing.
Purpose of Program
The Program provides family therapy services.
Professional therapists work with families whose
children are experiencing emotional or behavioral
problems, with the primary goal being to enable
these families to develop their own methods of
managing these problems more effectively.
Therapy Process
The orientation of the Program is specialized in
that the major emphasis is placed on working with
the family group rather than with individuals. The
initial task is to define the nature of the
problem(s) as clearly as possible. Thus all members
of the household are usually asked to attend the
first interview and each member is encouraged to
share her or his view of the problem. After therapy
is started, interviews may continue with the family
as a whole or may be arranged for parts of the
family. Several therapeutic approaches are utilized
in the Program. Each situation is assessed and the
most appropriate approach(es) determined for that
family. On the average, families attend five to
eight sessions of one to two hours duration. The
time intervals between sessions vary from one to
four weeks.
Therapy Team
The therapy team is composed of professionals from
a variety of disciplines. It includes
psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and
post graduate trainees in these disciplines, all of
whom have a specialized interest and skill in
family therapy. Each family is engaged by a
specific team member who carries primary
responsibility for therapy with that family. During
the course of the therapy, the primary therapist
may seek input from other team members through
discussion, supervision or consultation. In this
way the special expertise of other team members may
be drawn on and the family may have the benefit of
several opinions even though they may have seen
only one or a few team members.
Teaching and Research
Because the Program is part of the Faculty of
Medicine at the University, families may be invited
to participate in teaching or research activities
by having interview(s) videotaped or observed
through a one-way screen. The family's explicit
consent is always sought before such participation
with the understanding that the family may refuse
without prejudice. The Program staff and trainees
assume the responsibility to respect the privacy of
the family and to treat all information as highly
confidential and part of the family's medical
file.
Medical Responsibility
Physicians are not routinely involved. Only family
therapy is provided by the Program. Psychiatric
consultation may be arranged by the primary
therapist when indicated but family members should
consult their family physician in regards to any
medical problems and for ongoing medical care.
Referral Procedure
Any family who is experiencing emotional or
behavioral problems may phone the Program directly.
Usually the Program works with families who are
most concerned about the symptoms of family members
who are 18 years of age or younger. Alternately the
family may be referred by any community resource
(e.g. physicians, teachers, social agencies) either
by telephone or in writing.
Fee
There is no out-of-pocket charge to families seen
in the Program since it is funded by the Alberta
Mental Health Board of the Department of Health and
Wellness of the Government of Alberta.
Psychiatrists bill the Alberta Health Care
Insurance Commission.
Hours
8:30 am - 6:00 pm MST Monday to Thursday 8:30 am -
4:00 pm MST Friday. Occasionally evening
appointments may be negotiated but the majority of
the appointments are scheduled within usual working
hours. Each therapist schedules his/her own
appointments. To minimize scheduling difficulties,
families are requested to keep appointments
whenever possible. We ask that at least two days
advance notice be given if it is essential that an
appointment be cancelled or rescheduled.
Location of Program
The Program is located on the third floor, Huang
Building at the Holy Cross Centre. The mailing
address is:
Calgary
Family Therapy Centre
300 - 2204 2nd Street SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2S 3C2
Telephone: (403) 802-1680
Fax: (403) 270-7446
E-mail: fraserm@ucalgary.ca
Program
Information Sheet
You can
download a copy of the Family Therapy Program
Information Sheet.
The
files are in PDF format that is compatible
with
Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
If you do not have this on your computer, you may
download it free from
Adobe
get
 .
To
begin the download, simply click on the icon above
to download the file in Adobe Acrobat format. To
insure the file is downloaded properly, you may
have to hold down the "Shift" key while clicking
(Macintosh users hold down the "Option" key).
Calgary
Family Therapy Centre information
Sheet
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