Dr. Theresa Zolner
Dr. Theresa Zolner is a clinical researcher, author, and psychologist in Saskatchewan. 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 to lawyers 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. Theresa 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. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner has taught courses in child development, adolescent development, abnormal psychology, community and cultural psychology, personality, educational psychology, as well as in 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. She also holds a master’s degree in English from Binghamton University and an undergraduate Arts Degree in Honours English (achieved with academic honours) with subsequent Special Studies in Psychology from the University of Alberta.
Current Work and Publications
Dr. Theresa Zolner has retained a life-long interest in working with people who have been affected by discrimination, oppression, or objectification in various forms. She also headed up a three-year pilot clinical research institute that worked to help improve the lives of homeless, street, and foster children in Saskatchewan. She has dedicated much of her professional career to working with persons of First Nations heritage, particularly youth living in high-risk circumstances, and she also does scholarly work on Eastern European cultural settlement in Canada.
Dr. Theresa 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 second edition of this text was published in 2008. Other publications span a range of topics, including developmental psychology, cultural psychology, clinical assessment, addictions, and theoretical psychology. She also was 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 has had considerable influence over planning for children’s mental health services in the province since that time. She also offered input into 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.
Dr. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner has been invited to speak at conferences, organizations, and gatherings over 40 times since commencing work in the area of child and family 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.
Dr. Theresa Zolner continues to tutor in the areas of personality and adolescent psychology for Athabasca University. However, after about two decades of post-secondary teaching across two disciplines, she no longer occupies a full-time professorial post at any university. She is a strong believer in the value of self-paced instruction through distance education models and advocates for the recognition of accredited distance education in Canada. She currently is working on a book about oral history and Ukrainian settlement in Western Canada.
Honours and Awards Received
Dr. Theresa 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 in that institution.
Oral History Project
Dr. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner was completing a master’s degree in English, with a special focus on rhetoric and composition.
While conducting these studies, Dr. Theresa 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 amazing and inspirational students the Transitional Year Program (now the Educational Opportunity Program), which is designed to provide academic and personal support and advocacy for students who might not otherwise be admitted to the university. The students in this program made their mark on Dr. Theresa 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. Theresa 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. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner but voiced by a research assistant, who remains off-camera during the interviews. Set design was done by the University of Saskatchewan’s Media Services, in consultation with Dr. Theresa 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. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner agreed to Dr. Khanenko-Freisen’s participation in phase three of the project and, together, they developed further Dr. Theresa 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. Theresa Zolner, although she does retain a copy of the original collection.
Professional Affiliations
Dr. Theresa Zolner is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists. She also is 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. Dr. Theresa Zolner also has special interests in graffiti, rural psychology, police and military psychology, as well as program evaluation.
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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.“
