Adler University and YWCA Metro Vancouver have formed a new strategic partnership to expand access to community-based behavioural health services across British Columbia. Through practicum placements, research collaboration, and professional development initiatives, the partnership will strengthen service delivery while preparing future practitioners to meet complex community needs.
“YWCA Metro Vancouver is a trusted leader in community-based service delivery and we value the opportunity to work together,” said Lisa Coleman, Ph.D., president of Adler University. “Partnerships like this allow Adler to embed real-world practice in our curriculum, ensuring we deliver on the investment our students make by providing high-quality, supervised learning. Together, this work will strengthen graduate education while expanding workforce capacity and improving how mental health care is delivered in communities.”
Through a memorandum of understanding, the two organizations have established a framework for collaboration focused on education, training, and service-related initiatives in behavioural health. The initial phase of the collaboration centers on structured practicum placements for Adler graduate students in counselling psychology, clinical psychology, and art therapy, embedded within YWCA’s community-based service environment. Designed as a reciprocal learning model, these placements align graduate education with active service delivery, allowing students to contribute meaningfully while developing advanced clinical judgment, ethical practice, and systems awareness required for contemporary behavioural health work.
Beyond student training, the partnership establishes a foundation for ongoing collaboration in applied research, professional learning, and community engagement.
“We are looking forward to this new partnership with Adler University to expand real-world training options to support YWCA participants,” said YWCA CEO Erin Seeley. “We know there are many opportunities to further support women, children, youth, and families across BC, and we look forward to collaborating on this important work.”
Adler faculty and YWCA leaders will advance research initiatives grounded in practice and community context, with a focus on mental health, employability, and workplace psychology. The organizations will also co-develop professional learning opportunities, knowledge-sharing forums, and funding initiatives that support practitioners and strengthen behavioural health services across British Columbia.
About YWCA Metro Vancouver
YWCA Metro Vancouver is a registered charity, gender equity advocate, and community service provider, delivering affordable housing, early learning and child care, training and employment services, and a range of holistic programs that help support individual, collective, and economic well-being.