Dr. Sandra Collins

I have been a counsellor educator at Athabasca University for almost 25 years. I chose a career in academia because I am interested in, and committed to, the continued improvement of teaching and learning. I focused part of my research and writing on enhancing counsellor education, promoting online and distributed learning, advancing competency-based practice and education, exploring course and program design, developing creative and multimedia learning processes and activities, and more recently, creating open-source educational resources. I see myself, first and foremost, as a counsellor educator, and my sense of meaning and satisfaction comes from seeing students thrive in their courses, find their voices through their writing journeys, and apply their learning to their work with clients and their broader roles within the professions of counselling and psychology. I have particular enjoyed my roles as program and curriculum developer.

My research focuses primarily on culturally responsive and socially just counselling. I am interested in what kinds of competencies counsellors and counselling psychologists require to be able to honour cultural diversity and address social justice issues, both with individual clients and in the broader systems that impact clients’ lives, as well as how we best instill those competencies through counselling and psychology programs. In my research and writing I focus on counselling women and clients of nondominant sexual orientation and gender identity, feminist and multicultural therapy, intersectionality and multiple nondominant identity development, and multicultural supervision. I am also very committed to my own continuing competency development in processes of decolonization and Indigenization within counsellor education and professional practice more broadly. I am committed to the removal of barriers to learning, human growth and development, and to supporting full and equal participation in society by all persons and peoples, both as part of my academic role and my research focus.

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Research interests

• culturally responsive and socially just counselling
• multicultural counselling
• social justice
• nondominant sexual and gender identities
• feminist therapy
• intersectionality
• counsellor education
• decolonization
• anti-racism
• open educational resources
• ebook publishing

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Educational credentials

• Ph.D. Counselling Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
• M.Sc. Counselling Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
• B.A. Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON

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Professional affiliations

• Regulatory College of Alberta Psychologists (Registered Psychologist)
• Nonregulatory Canadian Psychological Association (Member)
• Canadian Counselling Association (Member)

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