January 2024: Affiliate News

The Prentice Institute collaborates with researchers in Canada and elsewhere to address some of the most difficult challenges of the next generation and beyond.

Dr. Bonnie Lee is Professor of Health Sciences and a Research Affiliate of the Prentice Institute. She is a registered marriage and family therapist and social worker. In September, she presented the paper Counsellors' Readiness to Engage in Relationship and Religious/Spiritual Issues during Crises and Disasters at the “International Conference Social Work and Social Policy in Times of Global Crises” held in Ohrid, North Macedonia.

Her paper drew from research supported by the Prentice Institute Research Affiliate Funding conducted with Co-investigators Dr. Chance Bell and Dr. Samuel Ofori-Dei. 

“It was a wonderfully enriching opportunity to meet colleagues from Eastern/Central Europe and the Middle East and learn about their cultures, perspectives on the pandemic, and their views of what’s going on in the world,” said Dr. Lee.

Dr. Toupey Luft has specialized in understanding the needs of marginalized groups in both research and practice. Her work on mentors in teen girls’ lives earned her a National Doctoral Fellowship with SSHRC. Toupey has been a Registered Psychologist for the past 16 years and is currently examining how systemic oppression affects wellness and resilience. She is passionate about counsellor education and has weaving research and practice knowledge with her teaching. 

Dr. Toupey Luft (top left), Faculty of Health Sciences assistant professor and teaching fellow (2024), along with recent grads Kate LaRocque (BFA ’08, BEd ’10, MEd ‘21) (top right) and Jessica Parker (BA ’11, MSc ’14, MC ‘22) (bottom left), and professional librarian Sandra Cowan presented at the 39th annual Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration conference in Vancouver. This year’s conference theme centred on looking beyond individual people and instead to thinking about systems. The ULethbridge panel's discussion was called Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity with Various Psychotherapeutic Systems and will explore topics related to neo-liberalism, Buddhist concepts, the system formed between therapist and client and more.



Her recent work includes:

• Co-ordinating, chairing, and presenting a panel with UL colleagues at the international conference for “Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy” in Vancouver in May 2023 (above).  
• Luft, T., Kellett, P., Desbordes, E., Oppong, E., Agyapong, D., Richardson, M., Hosseinpour, Z., & Middha, S. (2023, June). Migration, mental health, and living well in Southern Alberta. Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference, Lethbridge, AB
• Luft, T. & LaRocque, K. (in press). Enhancing clinical supervisors’ compassion satisfaction by mentoring mental health clinicians. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching
• Luft, T., Sheldon, M., & Rees, C. (2023). Identity development of international graduate students in Canada: Findings from an interpretative phenomenological approach. Trends in Psychology, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00298-4

In addition to his work as the Director of the Prentice Institute, Dr. Lars Hallstrom has published the following on some of his additional research work:



Reid-Musson, E., Aubrecht, K., Kelly, C., Embrett, M., Hallstrom, L., Hamilton-Hinch, B., Johnson, S., Knocton, S., Lawrence, L., MacDonald, M., Mah, J., Marier, P., Moody, E., & Sim, M. (Accepted, 2023). Participatory evaluation of a direct payment program for equity in dementia care in Nova Scotia, Canada. International Journal of Qualitative Methods.

Hallstrom, L. (January 2023). Innovation vs inertia: Entrepreneurial governments in 21st-century rural Alberta. Canadian Geographer.

On December 5, the Prentice Institute hosted Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Jon Doan, as he presented his Institute funded research project, "Tracking shifting trajectories: Understanding employment status, musculoskeletal discomfort, and total physical activity amongst active older Albertans." You can view the webinar here: https://youtu.be/htcwmVOQcvs