Clive Thomson

My name is Clive Thomson and I am currently Director of the School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Guelph. I am also a practising psychotherapist in Toronto. I volunteered for the Leave for Change program because I appreciate the profound personal enrichment that I have derived from previous volunteer experiences (in psychiatric hospitals in Toronto and London, Ontario, and nine years in the Student Counselling Service at the University of Western Ontario). I have developed practical skills, specifically in the area of personal and psychological counselling for students. I am a trained psychoanalyst and elected member of the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Another area of my experience is university administration, particularly in the area of internationalism. I initiated and implemented several international exchange agreements for faculty members and students. From this experience, I learned the importance of establishing and maintaining respectful relations with colleagues and students from other cultures. My assignment with Leave for Change is "Student Counselling Advisor" at the Binh Thuan Community College in Phan Thiet City in Vietnam.