Recipient of the 2024 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

Colleen Worsley

Nominated For: HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

Colleen is a registered social worker in good standing with the Ontario Social Worker and Social Service Worker College as well as the Ontario Association of Social Workers. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Dalhousie, an Honours Bachelor of Social Work and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology from York. She also holds certifications in Holistic Nutrition, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, EMDR and PTSD trauma intervention therapy, ACT therapy, Grief Recovery, and training in several modalities of mental resiliency building methods.

Colleen lives in York Region, practices throughout the Greater Toronto Area and has worked extensively in both private and public sectors. She is proud of her more than 20 years of experience working in the acquired brain injury rehabilitation and trauma recovery field. She works from an anti-oppressive trauma-informed lens, meeting each client where they are at in terms of support needs. Colleen’s approach comes from a respectful and skilled perspective when supporting individual’s or as part of a rehabilitation team. Her experience includes roles as a rehabilitation support worker, rehabilitation support worker coordinator and clinical lead, case manager, and social work therapist. She currently works with Eden Dales Social Work team providing social work therapy for individuals living with a wide variety of challenges and provides mentorship and supervision support for the social work team.

Activism and volunteerism are an important part of Colleen’s personal and professional life. She has been active with the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST) for more than 15 years, serving two terms as a member of the Board of Directors. She currently serves on the Advocacy Committee of BIST, working with survivors and other therapy professionals to build awareness and to advocate for community services with individuals living with the effects of traumatic brain injury. Colleen has also lead support groups with the Brain Injury Association of York Region and volunteers with other organizations to raise funds, provide education, and develop support programs for the ABI community. Her dedication and genuine concern for her clients drives her motivation to support them in accessing quality services, connecting to community resources, and making sure their voices are heard within their rehabilitation journey to gain some feelings of control and emotional wellness within confusing and often overwhelming circumstances post injury.

With the many deserving members of the ABI community that continue to impress her with their client focused, knowledgeable, and skilled interventions with clients, Colleen is honoured to be considered worthy of recognition as part of this year’s award candidates, and is grateful for the consistent respect, support and kindness she encounters every day working in this field.