Suman Banik was recently named Yorkville University’s first-ever Campus Representative for the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA).
An aspiring psychotherapist, Banik came into Yorkville’s Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology program in 2019 with a background in medicine. He previously went to medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and also studied Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Toronto.
“I did medical school in Ireland and I completed the theoretical part of that, but then I kind of redirected my focus from psychiatry to psychotherapy, because I realized that it aligned a lot more with how I wanted to pursue things,” he said, noting that he enrolled in Yorkville’s Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology program shortly after finishing his studies in Neuroscience and Mental Health.
“I decided to pursue this Masters, hoping to use a more holistic framework to pursue psychotherapy…I just started the program this year, but I like it a lot so far because it’s a lot more practical. Instead of a purely academic program, I find it a lot more useful for actually being a psychotherapist.”
It was during his undergraduate degree that Banik was first introduced to the CPA – Canada’s national association for the science, practice and education of psychology.
The organization’s objectives are fourfold:
- to improve the health and welfare of all Canadians;
- to promote excellence and innovation in psychological research, education, and practice;
- to promote the advancement, development, dissemination, and application of psychological knowledge;
- and to provide high quality services to members
Drawn to those goals, Banik served as the CPA’s Student Representative at U of T Scarborough for nearly two years, then jumped at the chance to continue that tradition when he began his MACP studies at Yorkville University.
“I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to represent Yorkville, but also to help a lot of the students who might have an interest in a lot of the resources that the CPA provides – especially the more academic resources,” Banik explained, noting that he had the opportunity to publish an article in one of CPA’s journals.
“I think some students, like myself, who do a lot of research, might want to reach out to the CPA in those areas and expand themselves differently.”
Becoming a member of the CPA, Banik explained, also grants students access to exclusive resources like discounted convention and continuing education rates, awards, grants, advocacy, special interest groups and liability insurance, as well as CPA journals and Psynopsis magazine – which, in turn, allows students to become better informed and play a more active role in the field of psychology in Canada.
“Exposure is really important. I know for myself, I changed my career path significantly at one point because of exposure,” Banik explained.
“So, I think that with the CPA and its conferences and opportunities to connect with others, it allows students to the many different modalities and frameworks out there and it makes it a lot easier to figure out what you’re interested in. That way, you can streamline your focus sooner and get to where you need to be.”
To learn more about membership in the CPA, go to https://cpa.ca/membership/
Anyone with further questions can contact Banik directly at [email protected] (please allow 3-5 business days for a response before following up).
Upcoming Opportunities with CPA Publications:
- Psynopsis – Canada’s Psychology Magazine – is looking for contributions to their journal for the theme of Climate Change (Issue 2., Vol 43) for Jan. 20, 2021. Submissions need to be 400-900 words, relevant to the theme or appropriate for one of their regular columns (i.e., Psychology in the Spotlight, Have Your Say, Campus Profile, etc.). Please contact managing editor, Carly Brockington at [email protected] to avoid duplication within topic areas by discussing the content of submissions prior to submitting.
- Mind Pad – Canada’s student-written, -edited and -published psychology newsletter – is looking for submissions on topics including: original research summaries; review summaries; psychology career-related articles; opinion articles on a psychology-related topics; reflections on new trends in psychology in research or media; and reports on conferences or workshops. They accept submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please contact Alexandra Richard at [email protected] for more information on submissions.
- Canadian Clinical Psychology Journal – the Official Newsletter of the CPA – is looking for original, empirical contributions in research, as well as commentaries or case materials. Manuscripts with direct relevance within a Canadian context are also welcome for submission. If you are interested in submitting content, you can reach the managing editor, Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker, at [email protected] for more information.
Upcoming CPA Events:
- The CPA, in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS), will host a Virtual Career Fair on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 from 12 to 4 p.m. (EST). tickets are $10 for CPA members. For more information visit: https://cpa.ca/careerfair/
- The CPA’s Annual National Convention will be held virtually from Friday, June 4 to Sunday, June 6, 2021. For more information, go to https://cpa.ca/canadian-psychological-associations-2021-national-annual-convention/
