Cara C. Email & Phone Number

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Responsible for leadership of the programs and services team, including a team delivering direct-to-caregiver programs and a regional team interfacing with community-based caregivers, organizations and service providers across the province.Program offerings include mental health services (counselling, psychoeducation, and professional coaching), education (eLearning courses, webinars, and health information newsletters), peer support (1:1 mentoring and online groups), system navigation (24/7 Caregiver Helpline), social prescription, and resources for working caregivers and young caregivers.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Responsible for the strategy and oversight of operations for the Crisis Responder team (~7000 trained CRs across Canada), including recruitment, retention, and engagement of frontline volunteers in the texting service. Oversight of KPIs such as service output, monthly active CRs, service user satisfaction, and quality assurance.Ensures cross-departmental alignment on partnerships and community initiatives (i.e., Finding Hope: Indigenous Youth Action Plan and RiseUp powered by Kids Help Phone). Creates and implements continuing education strategy for CRs and Texting Community staff, while developing systems for monitoring and evaluating remote Community Team workflow + performance.Co-lead of relationships with international affiliates (Crisis Text Line US, SHOUT, 50808) as we develop collective goals regarding mental health crisis intervention strategy, and leads user-support portfolio and product/tech development in close collaboration with the software engineering team at Crisis Text Line US.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Manages and oversees team of volunteer Crisis Responders across Canada, who provide front-line support over SMS text message to youth and young adults in crisis. Collaborates with Supervisor Team to ensure consistent high-quality delivery of the Texting Service, and responds to high-profile or sensitive imminent risk or mandatory reporting issues as needed.Responsible for providing training and ongoing coaching support for Crisis Responders, as well as implementing creative recruitment strategies, project management, product deployment, user support, and ensuring adequate coverage for the 24/7 Texting Service. Manages and reports on KPIs related to Crisis Responder pipeline, performance, wait-time, and quality.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Was responsible for all operational aspects of the texting service, including recruiting, training, and real-time supervision of remote volunteer Crisis Responders to ensure they offered the best quality service to clients. Actively monitored all aspects of the service to ensure KPIs are met or exceeded. Took the lead on client sessions that included imminent risk, child abuse, or neglect. Executed active rescues and mandatory reports as needed.

Ottawa, Ontario

Conducted an independent graduate research project exploring the experience of workplace emotional distress and practice of self-care in novice counsellors. A constructivist qualitative research approach called Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), drawing from Grounded Theory, will be used to identify and analyze themes in the data. Supervised by Dr. Nick Gazzola. The benefits of exploring this topic are three-fold. First, the data will generate knowledge that can be transferable across all human services (e.g., medicine, social work, education) to inform best practice. Second, as counsellor distress and inadequate self-care practices can cause undue harm to clients seeking services, research on the topic will enhance understanding of professional accountability and concerns for public safety. Lastly, data drawn from active counsellors’ lived-experience can inform the decisions of future policy makers, encourage valuable help-seeking and consulting behaviours, and de-stigmatize issues of clinician well being.

Ottawa, Ontario

Provided weekly individual counselling to clients living with serious and persistent mental health issues. Focus on experiential-oriented modalities including emotion-focused therapy (EFT), dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, psychodynamic therapy, and schema therapy models.Co-facilitated two 6-session “Practical Skills for Emotions and Assertiveness” psychoeducation groups by introducing discussions and role-plays, leading debriefs, modelling exercises in emotion regulation (i.e., breathing, visualizations, mindfulness, etc.), encouraging peer rapport building, and managing situations of distress or crisis with kindness and respect.Provided single-session walk-in counselling to individual clients and couples within a solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) and narrative framework.

Queen'S University, Kingston

The Peer Support Centre (PSC) is a campus support service that provides confidential one-on-one personal, practical, academic, and crisis support to all members of Queen's University community. No issue is too big, too small, or too diverse. We are here for You.Oversaw operations of the Peer Support Centre:- Managed finances and conducted staff training- Reviewed peer session reports and logged service activities- Debriefed with volunteers and managers about sessions as needed- Maintained and executed emergency procedures Oversaw all promotional aspects of the Peer Support Centre, including social media and website development, print material development, press relations, and outreach events.Maintained positive and professional relationships with advisors and external stakeholders:- Queen's University Health, Counselling, and Disability Services (HCDS), Student Affairs, and Residence Life- Frontenac Community Mental Health and Addiction Services (FCMHAS)Acted as an advisor to other institutions establishing their own peer support networks:- Included contacts at the University of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, Western University, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey

Queen'S University, Kingston

Provided information, advice, and assistance to students and AMS staff regarding discrimination, harassment, and equality within the workplace and campus life. Received training from the Queen's University Human Rights Office. Facilitated informal complaint resolution and coordination of formal complaint investigation. Promoted a climate on campus that is welcoming of diversity and respectful of differences.

Master Of Arts (Ma), Counselling Psychology

Bachelor Of Science (Honours), Psychology