Dr. Theresa Zolner
Dr. Theresa Zolner is a clinical researcher, author, and psychologist in Canada. Her primary area of work is in clinical and cultural psychology, with a particular emphasis on children and families. She works extensively with high-risk youth and also performs consultation on matters pertaining to psychological assessment and the courts. She has done considerable work with forensic psychological assessment in the areas of parenting and custody, as well as addictions, student integration into the schools, and psychotherapy.
Dr. Zolner’s doctoral studies in clinical psychology were completed in the University of Saskatchewan’s Clinical Psychology program, which was accredited by both the Canadian and American psychological associations. Her doctoral internship was completed at Alberta Children’s Hospital, with corollary studies at Calgary Foothills Medical Centre in the adolescent addictions dual diagnosis clinic. Dr. Zolner was awarded the Canadian Psychological Association award for academic excellence for her doctoral study, The Impact of Culture on Psychological Assessment. Her doctoral studies in clinical and cultural psychology were sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and supported by the Social Development Sector of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
Dr. Zolner has taught courses in child development, adolescent development, abnormal psychology, community and cultural psychology, personality, adult development, counselling psychology, educational psychology, as well as the history of psychology. She has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and, in 2002, was recognized by the Students Union at the University of Saskatchewan with a Teaching Excellence award. In addition to her doctoral and masters degrees in psychology, she also holds a masters degree in English from Binghamton University, and an undergraduate degree in Arts, Honours English (achieved with first-class academic honours). She also did additional course work psychology at the University of Alberta, early child education at Grant MacEwan University, and Eastern Christian lay formation in the Eparchy of Saskatoon.
Current Work and Publications
Dr. Zolner is Associate Professor of Psychology at The King’s University College in Edmonton, Alberta, where she teaches courses relating to research and practice in clinical, research, and developmental psychology. She presently performs research focusing on parenting and also continues her longstanding research in cultural psychology. Dr. Zolner has retained a life-long interest in working with people who have been affected by discrimination, oppression, or objectification in various forms. In the past, she headed up a three-year pilot clinical research institute that worked to help improve the lives of First Nations children in Saskatchewan affected by residential schools, homelessness, street life, and the foster care system. She has dedicated much of her professional career to working with persons of First Nations heritage, particularly youth living in high-risk circumstances. She also does scholarly work on Eastern European cultural settlement in Canada and has a special interest in child and family spirituality and religion, Christian psychology, as well as rural psychology.
Dr. Zolner’s dossier includes over 20 publications, including a major Canadian post-secondary textbook in child and adolescent development, Children, which she co-authored for Pearson Education Canada. The third edition of this text was recently published. Other publications span a range of topics, including developmental psychology, cultural psychology, clinical assessment, addictions, Christian psychology, and theoretical psychology. She also was the researcher/writer of It’s Time for a Plan for Children’s Mental Health for the Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate, which was tabled in the Saskatchewan Legislature in 2004 and had considerable influence over planning for children’s mental health services in the province at that time. She also provided consultations for the 2005 provincial report on substance use services in the province compiled by Mr. Graham Addley, Premier’s Legislative Secretary on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (the Addley report).
Dr. Zolner is an accomplished public speaker and has given talks or seminars on topics such as developmental psychology, cultural psychology, clinical assessment, addictions, counselling skills, behavior management, and case management. In terms of public presentations, Dr. Zolner has given over 50 invited talks at conferences, organizations, and gatherings in the area of child, family, and cultural psychology. In addition, she has been asked to participate in many public media forums, such as radio and television, and had the distinction of being invited to participate in a speaking role (South Door) at the first formal First Nations – Provincial Government Judicial Hearing/Community Healing Circle, which was held in Sakimay First Nations.
Honours and Awards Received
Dr. Zolner has been awarded grants or honours over a dozen times for academic scholarship, teaching, or research. She was honoured by Nehiyaw Awasis Siceca Cistinna in 1997 for work in conference organization and in 2002 by Qu’Appelle Child and Family Services for work in program evaluation and training. Also, in 2009, she was nominated by students at Athabasca University as a top tutor.
Oral History Legacy Project
Dr. Zolner’s experience in the area of oral history commenced in 1986, when she studied and worked with her mentor, Associate Professor Emerita Dr. Rosalind Gabin at Binghamton University in New York. Contributing to her studies in this area were her studies with Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Mario di Cesare in epic works, Associate Professor Emeritus Dr. Francis X Newman in medieval studies, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Wilhelm F. Nicolaisen in language, folklore, and names. This foundation for the study of oral history was established while Dr. Zolner was completing a master’s degree in English, with a special focus on rhetoric and composition.
While conducting these studies, Dr. Zolner also taught in the noteworthy undergraduate institution of Harpur College, which is known for its excellence in liberal arts instruction and study. While teaching in Harpur College, she had the opportunity to work with many inspirational students in the Transitional Year Program (now the Educational Opportunity Program), which is designed to provide academic and personal support and advocacy for students who had grown up primarily in the inner-city areas of New York City. The students in this program made their mark on Dr. Zolner and, although she loved the study of oral history and rhetoric, she eventually decided to complete her studies in Clinical Psychology, where she could work more directly with youth and the personal, real-life issues they face every day.
Her interests in oral history and rhetoric never abated, however, and, in 2000, Dr. Zolner brought her considerable skill in the areas of oral history, cultural psychology, and clinical interviewing together in a powerful combination to found the original Oral History Project at St. Thomas More College on the University of Saskatchewan campus. The intent of the project was to document and study the achievements of Ukrainian Canadians, as well as adjustment difficulties relating to social oppression, political internment, and discrimination. The project was developed in three phases. Its first phase consisted of a study of Ukrainian families and parenting. The focus of the research was on how Ukrainian families view their sense of community and role as parents in raising children in post-settlement generations. This study is ongoing, and data for the study are continuing to be processed.
The second phase of the Oral History commenced in 2001 and was a video project conducted with support from the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage (PCUH) at St. Thomas More College. In this project, a number of interesting Ukrainian personages were interviewed on camera, including Dr. Victor Buyniak, Mrs. Mary Cherneskey, Mr. Walter Podiluk, among others. For the project, Dr. Zolner performed the project planning and coordination, background research and interviewing, as well as on-location direction. On-set interview questions were arranged and directed by Dr. Zolner but voiced by a research assistant, who remained off-camera during the interviews. Set design was done by the University of Saskatchewan’s Media Services, in consultation with Dr. Zolner and her staff. Camera and tape production was performed by the University of Saskatchewan’s Media Services Department. Presently, stewardship for the video collection is held by St. Thomas More College and the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage.
The third and final phase of the Oral History Project commenced in 2001, with Dr. Zolner starting to develop, concurrent to the video project, a project of much broader scope about the history of Ukrainian immigrants on the prairies. In 2002, Dr. Natalia (Afanasenko) Khanenko-Friesen (formerly known as Dr. Natalia Shostak) requested to become part of the oral history project. Dr. Zolner agreed to Dr. Khanenko-Freisen’s participation in phase three of the project and, together, they developed further Dr. Zolner’s idea for a historical project about Ukrainian settlement on the prairies. Along with two research assistants, they gathered approximately 100 interviews of Ukrainians predominantly from Saskatchewan and Alberta, ranging in age from the teens into the golden years. The original tapes from phase three of the oral history project are held in stewardship by St. Thomas More College and the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage. While phase three of the oral history project continues at the PCUH, it no longer is directed on-site by nor benefits from the guidance of Dr. Zolner, although she does retain a copy of the original collection.
Professional Affiliations
Dr. Zolner is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists, and the Christian Association of Psychologists. She previously also volunteered as a member of the Legislation and Bylaws Committee of the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists, and she has volunteered time as an Oral Examinations for candidates seeking registration with the College. In addition, she recently completed a draft supervision manual for the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists.
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“If you want to be important – wonderful. If you want to be recognized – wonderful. If you want to be great – wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.
And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr. (Click here to hear this excerpt from his speech)
