About Joanne Ginter

Joanne recently presented her workshop Developing Intercultural Resiliency at the Brief Therapy Conference in Burlingame, CA this past December 2018, and has been accepted to present at the Erickson Congress  in December 2019 (Phoenix, AZ).

Joanne has also been actively presenting her workshop Developing Intercultural Resiliency to practitioners in both Calgary and Kingston, ON. This workshop accompanies her book “The Fifth Position, A Guide for Developing Intercultural Resiliency and Pluralism”, released in Dec. 2017. This book was a longstanding goal since obtaining her MA degree in Religious Studies in 2003. Joanne’s research for her degree focused on the ways that the building blocks of resiliency could be used to build bridges between positions of difference, including expanding one’s worldview and becoming a pluralist in therapy. In addition  Joanne researched the historical sticky relationship between religion and psychology and reviewed the current trends towards including both spirituality and culture as a topic in therapy. Expanding on this line of thinking, Joanne proposed that the therapist take a modified pluralist view using resiliency to include religion as a topic in therapy.

Bio:

Joanne Ginter, M.A., Registered Psychologist,  has over 35 years of direct clinical experience working with adults, children and families in a variety of counselling and school settings. She is a registered psychologist in Alberta Canada, having two graduate degrees, one in Psychology and the other in Religious Studies. Joanne is a supervisor for residents completing their licensing requirements for the College of Alberta Psychologists, students completing their MA in psychology and staff working in various clinical areas. Joanne is a member of the Canadian Psychologist’s Association, an Associate Member of the American Psychologist’s Association and Play Therapy Canada (Certified Play Therapist and Supervisor). She continues to promote the development of front line therapists by actively developing and presenting training workshops. Joanne’s current focus will be the promotion of the workshop “Developing Intercultural Resiliency and Pluralism” that parallels the release of her book, The Fifth Position.

Joanne work experience includes:

  • Associate faculty at CityUSeattle, Calgary campus. Teaching courses on Culture and Diversity, Trauma, Brief Therapy Interventions, Child and Youth Counselling and Practicum.
  • Counselling with First Nations individuals, couples and families for the Stoney Nakota Nation in Morley, AB.
  • Individual counselling for abused women in a second stage shelter
  • Coordination of a children’s program on family violence and divorce
  • Assessment of children with learning difficulties or developmental delays
  • Assessment and treatment of children for Child and Familiy Services
  • Counselling with individuals ages 2-75 at a urban counselling agency and rural children’t mental health
  • Couple and family therapy.
  • Facilitation and supervision of groups of in family violence, sexual trauma, divorce and significant loss
  • Assessment/team participation for preschool children diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder
  • Development and facilitation of groups for parents and siblings with special needs.
  • Supervision of psychology residents and students
  • Teaching at a post secondary institution in a Social Service worker program.

Joanne was a faculty member of the Canadian Play Therapy Institute for five years and is the Past President of Play Therapy International and the Alberta Play Therapy Association. She has held both Supervisor and Professor registrations with the International Board of Examiners for Child and Play Therapy. Joanne has presented across North American and in the UK on a variety of both child and adult therapeutic interventions. Her areas of specialty include trauma survivors, family violence, hypnosis, play therapy for both children and adults and the inclusion of spirituality and religion in therapy.

Joanne’s most recent research interests have included fostering resiliency as a model of creative healing; the development of a dialogue between religion and psychology, specifically the liabilities and assets of religion in the therapeutic context; and on becoming a pluralist in therapy to address our increasingly diversified world.