Single Session Mindset Symposium 2026
Join us for two days of immersive learning focused on single session thinking and therapy in community-based mental health care.
- Explore the past, present, and future of single session thinking and therapy in Calgary and beyond
- Discover how are we building healthier communities through accessible mental health care
- Learn about research-based key practitioner competencies that leads to impactful single session therapy
- Engage with community-based and larger system health providers
- Reflect on how single session thinking and therapy mental health providers across Calgary collaborate to meet the needs of Calgarians
- Discover the best ways to include single session theory in everyday clinical conversations
When: March 18–19, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM (daily)
Where: Inglewood Opportunity Hub Conference Space, 1008 14 st SE, Calgary, AB
Details: Free parking is available through the Wood’s Homes parking lot and free street parking. Lunch, coffee, tea included.
Purchase tickets below!
Meet the Presenters
Arnold Slive, PhD
Arnold Slive, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and AAMFT clinical fellow and approved supervisor in independent practice. He has founded the first walk-in counseling service in Canada (Eastside Family Centre in Calgary AB) as well as in the U.S. He is co-editor (with M. Bobele) of both Implementing Single-Session Psychotherapy: When no Appointment is Necessary(2025) and When One Hour is All You Have: Effective Counselling for Walk-in Clients (2011) as well as (with Hoyt, Bobele, Young and Talmon) Single-Session Therapy by Walk-In or Appointment (2018). He is a consultant to Stepped-Care Solutions.
Angelique Jenney, MSW, PhD, RSW
Angelique Jenney, MSW, PhD, RSW is an Associate Professor and the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health in the Faculty of Social Work, at the University of Calgary. Dr. Jenney has 25 years of experience in intervention and prevention services within the gender-based violence, child protection and children’s mental health sectors. Her community-based, simulation research and practice interests focus on trauma-informed approaches to working with young people and their families and the use of reflective, simulation-based learning approaches to training both students and practitioners in the field.
Nancy McElheran, MN
Nancy McElheran has a masters in nursing and is a registered couple and family therapy supervisor in Canada (CACFT). She has worked at Wood’s Homes and the Eastside Community Mental Health Service (ECMHS) for over 30 years. Her Eastside work focused on the development, teaching and training of the one at a time/single session approach to therapy. She has presented her work at international conferences and has written about the single session approach on her own and with colleagues in professional journals and books.
Harry Park, RSW
Harry Park is a Clinical Social Worker and Supervisor with decades of
experience in mental health and family services. In 1990, Harry
participated in the development and launch of the Eastside Family
Centre and later with the Westside Family Centre - offering no-cost
mental health support to individuals and families. Harry briefly
worked as a residential therapist in the Exceptional Needs Program,
Stabilization, and Cottage Three before working at Eastside Family
Centre until 2022. Beyond Wood’s, Harry has shared his expertise as a
consultant with organizations such as Aspen Family Services (now
Trellis), Miskanawah, and Alberta Health Services.
Serge Nyirinkwaya, MNTCW, PhD
Serge Nyirinkwaya, MNTCW, PhD is a mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) practitioner-researcher, narrative therapist, and trainer with over 20 years of experience in frontline practice, program design and capacity building across Canada and Africa. His work centres on Single-Session Thinking to Therapy (SST) and other brief, accessible MHPSS approaches (Eg., PM+, SH+) designed for real-world settings, delivered by trained non-specialists where time, resources, and follow-up are often limited. Serge develops and delivers skills-focused and simulation-based training tools that help practitioners strengthen clinical judgment, therapeutic presence, and ethical decision-making in complex, high-stakes encounters. He works closely with practitioners and supervisors supporting children, youth, and families affected by violence, poverty, and structural adversity, translating evidence-informed ideas into practical, collaborative and culturally grounded care.
Monica Sesma-Vazquez, PhD, RSW, RMFT-SM
Monica is a social constructionist-oriented social worker, family therapist, educator, supervisor, and researcher. Monica is an Assistant Professor and the Academic Coordinator of the Post-Masters in Couple and Family Therapy Program at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. She works at the Eastside Community Mental Health Services and the Calgary Family Therapy Centre as a family therapist, researcher, and supervisor. She is the Research Coordinator of the Calgary Family Therapy Centre. Monica is currently a Board Member of the Canadian Association for Couples and Family Therapy, the American Family Therapy Academy, and the Family Process Institute. Her current clinical and research interests focus on relational and systemic work with underserved communities. Monica research focuses on children and their families and on immigrants, refugees, and newcomers’ mental health and well-being. She has over 20+ training practitioners on single session therapy.
Fazilah Shariff, MSW, MHA, RSW, RMFT
Fazilah Shariff is a Child and Family Therapist and the founder of YYC Family Therapy. She holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Health Administration, is a Registered Social Worker, and has completed an advanced designation as a Registered Marriage/Couple and Family Therapist. Fazilah has worked across community and healthcare settings, including the Calgary Family Therapy Centre, Alberta Health Services, and Wood’s Homes. She has presented at numerous conferences and is the curator of She Rises: A Woman’s Health Series. In addition to her clinical work, Fazilah has served on multiple boards of directors for large, established not-for-profit organizations.
Amanda Richardson, MCP, RSW
Amanda has enjoyed a 20+ year career working with children, youth, and their families in a variety of therapeutic settings. For the past 22 years, Amanda has been with the Alberta Health Services/Recovery Alberta mental health portfolio working first, as a mental health clinician with Access Mental Health and currently as a Clinical Supervisor and therapist for Child and Adolescent Specialized Services and the Emerging Adult Treatment Clinic. Amanda has presented numerous times, both local and abroad, on the topic of Emerging Adults and mental health and most recently was an integral player in the development and implementation of the walk-in/single session services for the emerging adult population. In addition to her current role, Amanda also has a small private practice.
Jory McMillan, RCSW, MSW
Jory McMillan obtained his BSW and MSW (clinical specialization) at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Social Work in 2000. Jory joined the Registered Clinical Social Worker Registry in 2005 and became an approved supervisor with the ACSW in 2013.
Working with Alberta Health Services/Recovery Alberta in 205 Jory began as a Family Counsellor with the School Based Mental Health program and later transitioned into the role of Clinical Supervisor with that team. In late 2021 Jory moved into a new role at the Summit Centre for Youth Resilience as the Clinical Supervisor to support the opening of the Owerko Family Walk In Services program. The Summit Walk In supports the walk in, single-session service delivery to children, youth and their families in an urgent mental health setting.
Jory is both a practitioner and appreciator of the benefits that single session therapy offers the clients it serves and what it can inspire in the therapists who provide it.
Mischa Nagtalon
Mischa Nagtalon has worked with Wood’s Homes for eight years and currently serves as Program Supervisor of the Linking Employment Abilities and Development (LEAD) program at the Inglewood Opportunity Hub. In her supervisory role, she championed the operational integration of Single Session Mindset principles into LEAD’s intake and waitlist management processes, ensuring that every point of contact creates clarity and forward momentum for youth and young adults.
Amanda Tailleur-Marshall
Amanda Tailleur-Marshall started with Wood's Homes as a Practicum Student in January 2025 before attending academy and now serves as a youth employment counsellor for Linking Employment Abilities and Development (LEAD) at The Inglewood Opportunity Hub. In her role Amanda attended Single Session Mindset Training and with the support of her supervisor Amanda utilized the framework to develop Single Session Employment, eliminating long waitlists and providing immediate support for young people.
Eileah Trotter R.Psych
Eileah Trotter is a clinician and practicum field supervisor at ECMHS, and an instructor with Athabasca University’s Master of Counselling program. She holds a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology and is a Registered Psychologist in Alberta. Eileah has been a dedicated therapist with Wood’s Homes for nearly seven years, with previous experience as a crisis counsellor and newcomer support worker. Her professional background also includes work with the Distress Centre, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, and the Centre for Sexuality.
Lindsey McCallum
Lindsey McCallum is a Clinician and Practicum Field Supervisor at ECMHS. She does additional work in private practice following a single session model and writes SAFE Assessments for Wood’s Homes’ Foster Care Program. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and is Certified Canadian Counsellor working towards her provisional in Psychology. Lindsey has been a dedicated therapist with Wood’s Homes for four years, with previous experience at Wood’s Homes supporting families and their children for 15 years. Her professional background also includes work with CSSD, McMan Family Services and Trellis (formerly Boys and Girls Club).
Dori Palmiere RSW, MSW
Dori Palmiere is a Registered Social Worker and Community Volunteer Therapist with Eastside Community Mental Health Services, where she practices single‑session therapy within a collaborative, interdisciplinary model. With over three years of counselling experience and more than a decade in the non‑profit sector, she brings a strong systems perspective shaped by her work in relationship health, sexuality, gender identity, sexual orientation, and stigma reduction.
Schedule
For questions and more information, please contact Laura at [email protected]