May
Psychologist Jeff Wong Recognized with Jim Shea Memorial Award
May 5, 2021
For immediate release
MISSISSAUGA – EveryMind is delighted that its consulting clinical and forensic psychologist, Dr. Jeff Wong, has been awarded the Jim Shea Memorial Award for 2021. Presented at the Continuum’s annual conference on May 4th, this award is made once a year to someone who has made a significant contribution to the development and provision of services to youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviour.
EveryMind nominated Dr. Wong in recognition of his outstanding expertise and notable contributions to the mental health of children, adolescents and adults who are involved with the mental health, child welfare, education and criminal justice systems. Dr. Wong provides consultations to clinicians in EveryMind’s Trauma and Abuse Treatment Program for youth who present with sexually harmful behaviours. He also supervises the completion of risk assessments with these adolescents.
The Continuum – short for the Continuum of Services for Adolescents Who Have Sexually Offended – named this award after the late Jim Shea, founding Director of the Peel Collaborative Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Treatment Program at Peel Children’s Centre (rebranded in 2020 as EveryMind). As a social worker, Jim developed and nurtured a team who provided outstanding service to Peel Region and transferred their knowledge to other organizations engaged in similar work.
“EveryMind has had the privilege of working with Dr. Jeff Wong since 2001,” said Ceri Harnden, Chief Executive Officer. “Jeff embodies Jim Shea’s legacy of educating and treating youth with sexualized behaviour to enable them to live offence-free lifestyles, while also providing compassionate, effective treatment for victims of sexual abuse or assault to remediate their trauma.”
In accepting his award, Dr. Jeff Wong spoke of being honoured to be part of the group of Jim Shea Memorial Award recipients and his good fortune in having been a colleague of Jim Shea. “Jim and I were colleagues for 17 years before his death in 2005. He was an expert in community-based resourcing and services for our field. Jim brought people together.” Dr. Wong also thanked and recognized the professionals of the Continuum and the Trauma and Abuse Treatment Program at EveryMind for their dedication to this field and its resourcing, as well as his family for their support of his complex work.
The Continuum is a not-for-profit association of staff from the social service, child and youth mental health, and youth justice sectors who provide leadership by organizing learning opportunities towards improved service to young people who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviour. The Continuum also advocates for the treatment needs of this population and the resource needs of those who share the Continuum’s commitment to reducing sexual violence.
EveryMind (formerly Peel Children’s Centre) provides a broad range of mental health services and related supports for children and youth ages birth to 25. The provincially designated lead agency for child and youth mental health services in Peel, EveryMind is funded by the Province of Ontario, the Regional Municipality of Peel, and the generous support of donors. In its 2020-21 fiscal year, EveryMind provided over 7,000 services to more than 5,500 unique clients.
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More information: Karen Anslow, Manager, Clinical Services (905) 795-3500 ext. 2299
