Calgary Counselling Centre Timeline

  1. 1962

    Calgary Counselling Centre (formerly the Pastoral Institute) opened in the Central United Church basement.

    Our non-profit counselling facility was the first one in Canada. Three short years later we introduced group counselling.

  2. 1967

    This was the year we implemented fees via the sliding fee scale to ensure no member of our community would be turned away from counselling services due to financial constraints.

    We also first received funding from the United Way. Our relationship with the United Way continues to be positive results for our community even almost 50 years later.

  3. 1975

    Calgary Counselling Centre (formerly the Pastoral Institute) becomes fully accredited as a training centre by the Canadian Council for Supervised Pastoral Education.

  4. 1981

    The "You're Not Alone" program is introduced for female victims of domestic abuse.

    At the request of the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter we offered our first group for men who were experiencing domestic abuse in intimate relationships.

  5. 1995

    The launch of our Eating Disorders program. We not only focus on those struggling with food preoccupation, but also on those supporting them through the difficult time.

  6. 1996

    Dr. Robbie Babins Wagner becomes CEO of Calgary Counselling Centre.

    Dr. Babins-Wagner in her commitment to continue the success of The Centre and further the positive impact The Centre has on the lives of thousands implemented new procedures based on research and evidence that revolutionized counselling and brought outstanding results for clients.

  7. 2001

    Our "Children of Divorce" program receives acknowledgement from Family Mediation Canada as a best practice program.

  8. 2002

    Our Centre launches "Managing Depression" as a pilot program, which later evolves into our impactful group: "Break Loose from Depression."

    This is also the year we began to work with Dr. Scott Miller to implement Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT). Dr. Scott Miller is the founder of the International Centre of Clinical Excellence, and an internationally renowned psychologist and author.

  9. 2005

    Launch of "National Depression Screening Day."

    An annual community collaboration spearheaded by Calgary Counselling Centre - including community partners such as the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and The Mayors office - to raise awareness of Depression. Each year thousands of Calgarians screen for depression using our online tool whilst raising awareness of its prevalence in our community and encouraging individuals to seek help.

  10. 2006

    The Wilson Centre for Domestic Abuse is introduced, named after W. Brett Wilson and his family for their generous financial contribution to Calgary Counselling Centre and their ongoing support.

    The Wilson Centre helps build a strong community platform concerning domestic abuse and advances the knowledge and treatment for domestic abuse issues.

  11. 2009

    Our Centre's training program is renamed the Haskayne Learning Centre for Graduate and Post-Graduate Counselling Studies after Dick and Lois Haskayne whose long term generosity and commitment to the Centre has made them one of our major donors.

  12. 2011

    Our Centre hosts its first Domestic Abuse Treatment Webinar series: an eleven part online curriculum for counsellors, victim service staff and professionals in Domestic Abuse treatment.

    Additionally we begin training in clinical hypnosis and strategic hypnotherapy with Dr. Michael Yapko – a world renowned psychologist and author of countless books including the very popular "Depression is Contagious."

  13. 2012

    We saw the launch of our new brand. Everything we do here at the Centre is founded on the power of one conversation at a time. That's why our new logo begins with an open quotation mark. It's an invitation to engage in open and honest communication with our clients, staff, volunteers and supporters in life-changing ways.

    This year also marks our 50th Anniversary and we look forward to celebrating this accomplishment throughout the year.

Welcome

Most people are hesitant about change. We embrace it. Without change we cannot reshape our lives, revise our perspectives, and indeed redesign our future. You could say what we do is help our clients change. We guide them through all the fog and confusion, the pain and the doubts. We show them the way out, the possibilities, and the potential.

We started this journey in 1962 from very humble beginnings, in the Central United Church basement. 50 years have passed and we - much like our clients - have come a long way. This, our 50th anniversary year, gives us a great opportunity to look back, reflect on where we came from, how much we have changed and accomplished, and where we're going.

When we look back at our 50 years of work in our community, we can't help but feel proud. We're proud of our accomplishments: the groundbreaking research that has led to revolutionary and highly successful counselling programs; the vast collaborations we have with many different community partners; but most of all we are proud of the reason we are here: our clients and the work they've done changing and reshaping their lives. They are our inspiration and their needs are what drive us.

Change can be arduous. That's why our focus is to get the best results for our clients to help them through their journey by giving them the tools they need to create lasting change.

We also stand by our promise that no Calgarian will be turned away from counselling services due to their financial limitations or any other circumstance. A healthy community begins with healthy individuals; therefore, we provide the help needed to each Calgarian who are courageous enough to take the first step in changing their lives for the better.

Here, we will take you on a journey through 2012 highlighting some of our main accomplishments, as well as look back at our 50 years, the people we've worked with, the people we've touched, and who we've become because of it.

It has been an honour to serve our community for 50 years, and we can't wait to serve it for 50 more.