RP, SCP

Heather Vanderstelt is a Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner and Supervisor-Educator in CPE (CASC/ACSS) and a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Presently she supports St. Joseph’s Hospital, which is an ambulatory hospital comprised of a number of specialized clinics and programs, for example, Respiratory Clinic, Breast Care Centre, Diagnostic Imaging, Day-Surgery, Ivey Eye Institute, chronic disease management, and others. She is Ordained within the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and is a graduate from Knox College. Heather has a passion for meeting people where they are at, as well as engaging in research related to clinical practice. Heather’s research interests include integration of spiritual care into outpatient care contexts, spiritual care’s relationship to psychotherapy, and the impact of SPE/CPE. Heather is currently serving as the Research Chair on CASC/ACSS’s Professional Practice Commission. When not at work, Heather is wife, a mother of three energetic girls, and enjoys spending time in nature, and highland dancing.

ThD

I received my ThD in pastoral care and counselling from the University of Toronto in 1995 and my MTh in pastoral counseling from Wilfrid Laurier University/Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in 1990.

I am now retired and enjoy my cottage.

RP, CSE

Angela Schmidt, DMin, is the Associate Professor in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy at Knox College located on the campus of the University of Toronto. She is the Director of the Master of Psychospiritual Studies degree and Director of Experiential Learning. Angela is a Registered Psychotherapist, RP, a Certified Supervisor-Educator with the Canadian Association of Spiritual Care/association Canadienne de soins spirituels (CASC/ACSS) and a Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner (CASC/ACSS). She is a board representative for the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling.

Angela lives in the Grey Bruce region of Ontario. She worked in healthcare for almost two decades leading spiritual care programs, training spiritual care providers through Clinical Psychospiritual Education (CPE) and developing a Hospital-Community Collaborative (HCC) for spiritual care and education in healthcare and in community. Previously Angela worked as a Marriage and Family therapist and taught courses in Psychology for Redeemer College in Ancaster. Angela has a robust commitment to the promotion of spiritual wellness through its many forms and the benefits of spiritual care and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. Her spiritual affiliation is Lutheran and as the wife of a pastor she is actively involved in providing Godly Play spiritual education with the children of their congregation.

Angela would be honoured to rejoin the GBSCC, this time as a board member and not as the Spiritual Care Manager for GBHS (now Brightshores) and the Spiritual Care Coordinator for GBSCC. Angela resigned her position at GBSCC ten years ago to take a position at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie to begin a CPE program. She navigated to Knox College two years later when the College was commencing a new program integrating spiritual care and psychotherapy and they needed a specialized skillset. Angela feels she can bring insight, energy and creativity to the board.