Message from the CEO

It certainly doesn’t feel like it, but I’ve been at Calgary Counselling Centre for 30 years. It doesn’t feel that long because the Centre has been constantly evolving. During my tenure, CCC has gone through significant changes – either programmatically, strategically, building on strengths and learnings, or anticipating and adapting to the changing needs of our community.

It’s amazing to think that CCC has been around for 60 years, and that I have been a part of the organization and witnessed it grow and change for 30 of those years. I’m proud of our growth, but more so, I’m proud that we grew organically. The goal was never growth for growth’s sake – we have always been intentional and deliberate in achieving significant long-lasting results for our clients as they go through their journey of change.

Early on, I saw the need to do things a little differently. I knew we needed to focus on the client results. We needed to better understand if therapeutic treatment was really working for clients. We adopted outcome measurement and Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT) – which allowed us to tangibly see whether clients were experiencing change or not. This was a game changer. The adoption of Feedback Informed Treatment has resulted in CCC consistently delivering client results significantly higher than industry averages. These outstanding results generated interest and gave rise towards the adoption of FIT in much of the counselling field. The use of FIT is one of the many examples of innovation that CCC has shown through its 60 years.

Mirroring our own community, Calgary Counselling Centre has shown great resilience through the years. Alongside our community we have faced recessions, natural disasters, global crises, and many other challenges. As we tell our clients, we don’t know what challenges life may throw at us, but we can make this promise, when you need us, we’ll be there.

While 60 years is a significant amount of time, in many ways I feel we’re just getting started. Last June we expanded our reach to provide counselling services province wide through our new division, Counselling Alberta. Now, all Albertans have access to effective counselling without a waitlist and financial barriers. This is a significant development and the CCC team and I are excited to see the many ways we can further the field of counselling and help our community.

I want to thank all the board members I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Their wisdom, experience, and ideas are an important part of who we are and what we’re becoming.

I want to thank the amazing team at CCC. I have learned a great deal from each of them.

I want to thank our donors and funders that believe in our vision and support us in doing this important work.

It’s a privilege and honour to serve this organization and community. I can’t think of a better place to work.

Dr. Robbie Babins-Wagner
CEO, Calgary Counselling Centre