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‘Half-classroom, half-hospital’

Psychology students learn to treat patients next door at the Family Health Team Clinic

BY DAN FALK, JOURNALISM ’92

The low-rise building at 80 Bond Street, nestled in the heart of downtown Toronto just two blocks from the Eaton Centre, blends in with its neighbours; most passersby hardly give it a second glance. But within this unassuming structure, patients in need of psychological care receive first-rate treatment – and a select group of Ryerson graduate students get a unique opportunity for hands-on training in clinical psychology in a diverse and challenging urban setting.

It’s called the Psychology Training Clinic. Open since 2010, the facility is a collaboration between St. Michael’s Hospital and Ryerson University’s Department of Psychology – something that makes perfect sense given that the clinic’s Bond Street location is exactly halfway between St. Mike’s and the Ryerson campus.

“It’s really a perfect location,” says Kelly Horner, the clinic’s director and student supervisor, as we stand just outside the clinic on a warm, early autumn afternoon. “The students can do their courses, and be involved in their research – but then they can also walk down the street and be involved in community mental health.”

Graduate students in Ryerson’s psychology department do the first of their three required practicums at the clinic, which is part of the St. Michael’s Hospital Family Health Team Clinic. Here, they get hands-on experience with patients with an array of psychological needs, under close supervision by Ryerson faculty members. At the same time, the students get to interact with health-care professionals from St. Mike’s – everyone from physicians and nurses to physiotherapists, chiropractors, dentists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers and even lawyers. It’s a “wealth of services,” as Horner puts it, giving the

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