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program faculty
Dr. Izabela Schultz
 Dr. Izabela Z. Schultz is a clinical and rehabilitation psychologist specializing in medico-legal aspects of psychological, neuropsychological and pain-related disability, both in her academic research and her forensic practice. She is doubly Board-certified and holds the Diplomate distinctions of the American Board of Professional Psychology, in Clinical Psychology, and of the American Board of Vocational Experts.
Dr. Schultz currently is a Professor in the Counselling Psychology Program at the University of British Columbia where she also serves as Director of the newly formed graduate Program in Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling. She has presented, taught and published extensively in the United States , Canada and internationally in the areas of psycho-social and psycho-legal aspects of disability, rehabilitation and compensation for psychological injury. Her particular research expertise is in the forensic determination of the causality, extent and severity of permanent psychological and pain-related impairment and in the prediction of chronic disability. Her innovative investigation into the prediction of pain-related occupational disability has recently won her research team two international research awards.
Dr. Schultz is the Principal Investigator on two major studies: "Early Intervention with Low Back Injured Workers at High Risk for Chronic Occupational Disability"; and "Towards Evidence-Informed Best Practice Guidelines for Job Accommodations for Persons with Psychological and Neuropsychological Disabilities"; and recently published two books: Handbook of Complex Occupational Disability Claims: Early Risk Identification, Intervention and Prevention (2005), and Psychological Injuries at Trial (2003).
Dr. Schultz is a licensed psychologist in British Columbia and in the State of Washington . She maintains a limited private practice focusing on rehabilitation and forensic assessment of psychological and neuropsychological injury, and on rehabilitation counselling. She has extensive expert witness testimony experience in the personal injury and workers' compensation contexts.
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Dr. Tracy Halpen
 Dr. Tracy Halpen is a registered Psychologist in the province of British Columbia, with declared areas of competence in Clinical, Counselling and Rehabilitation Psychology. She received her doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1993. She is a full member of the British Columbia Psychological Association and is listed with the Canadian Register of Health Services Providers in Psychology. Dr. Halpen completed her clinical and counselling internships at Queen Street Mental Health Centre, the OISE Psycho-educational Clinic, and the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto. She spent her registration year at Lacroix, Scher Consultants in Toronto, where she performed independent medical (i.e., diagnostic) psychological assessments with clinical and rehabilitation clients. Her areas of interest include helping clients adjust to work-related and MVA-related injuries that have resulted in emotional trauma, pain and disability. She also sees clients with other types of adjustment and emotional problems. Dr. Halpen has expertise in providing medico-legal assessments with a disability focus. She provides consultation and supervision to other practitioners on disability issues in psychotherapy. In the past, she has coordinated a clinic providing psychological diagnostic, psychovocational, and other types of assessments. Dr. Halpen supervised the first clinic and practicum course for the UBC Vocational Rehabilitation program. She is currently in private practice in Burnaby, BC.
Read Dr. Halpen's online bio.
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Dr. Vaughan Marshall
 Dr. Vaughan Marshall received her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from UBC. She has been a member of the Academic Committee of the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling program since its inception. She teaches several courses in the program, including clinical and research courses, as well as "Issues in Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling." She has a passion for bringing a Disability Studies perspective to the practice of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Dr. Marshall has 13 years of experience working in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation. At GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, BC's tertiary-level rehabilitation centre, she has worked with clients with a wide range of disabilities such as brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, neuromuscular disorders, rheumatic diseases, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, amputations, and cancer-related disabilities. She also co-created a program jointly offered by GF Strong and BC's Children's Hospital that addressed the vocational issues of adolescents with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses. She has particular interests in the pre-vocational and vocational issues of adolescents and young adults with disabilities, lay understandings of illness and disability, and disability in the context of families.
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Dr. Gurdeep Parhar
 Dr. Gurdeep Parhar is Associate Department Head and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC). He is the Course Director for the Family Practice Continuum Courses which provide medical students with their first clinical experience in the first and second year of the undergraduate medical curriculum at UBC.
Dr. Parhar is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, at the University of British Columbia. He designed and teaches a course entitled “Medical Aspects of Disability” which is a mandatory course in the Masters of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling Program at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Parhar is a Sessional Instructor in the Department of Continuing Studies, Applied Sciences Program, at Simon Fraser University. He designed and teaches a course entitled “Medical Disabilities – Physical Medicine”. This is a mandatory course in the Rehabilitation Management Diploma Program at Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Parhar is the Medical Director of CORE Medical Centre (Complete Occupational, Rehabilitation and Environmental Medicine), an occupational health care centre in British Columbia that provides independent medical and functional capacity evaluations. He serves as the Medical Director for many major employers and across several industries in British Columbia.
Dr. Parhar has previously held positions as a Medical Advisor to the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia and as the City of Vancouver’s Occupational Physician.
He is currently the Medical Coordinator for the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) of British Columbia.
Dr. Parhar’s clinical practice is in the Fraser Health Region where he is an Active Medical Staff member of Royal Columbian Hospital and Eagle Ridge Hospital and is a Associate Staff member of Burnaby General Hospital.
Dr. Parhar is the Medical Director of Burnaby Square Family Doctors and Welcome Medical Clinic, which serve as a combination of a large and busy interdisciplinary medical centre and an urgent care centre employing over 15 family physicians and medical specialists.
Having grown up in Kitimat, B.C. and having done his medical training in Calgary, Alberta, Dr. Parhar currently resides in Vancouver with his wife Anita, who is completing her PhD in education at UBC, and their three children.
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graduate profiles
Douglas - Graduated in November 2005
Current Employment:
I have a private practice in Vancouver and Nanaimo specializing in the provision of clinical counselling and vocational rehabilitation counselling services to individuals with workplace depression/anxiety. I also provide mental disability management consultations to employers.
Future Plans:
Continue with my private practice.
Establish work with an employer or organization who is receptive to developing a pilot study integrating Clinical and Rehabilitation Counselling for workers with depression. My hypothesis is that this integrated model is more efficient and effective both from a cost/benefit and humanitarian perspective.
Writing articles in relation to the ethics of certain practices of vocational rehabilitation counsellors. For example, the current practice of identifying alternate occupations for individuals using a transferable skills analysis process which has no empirical support.
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Shazia - Graduated in May 2005
Current Employment:
I started with the WorkSafeBC Board on May 9, 2005. I work as a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant with the Board and have been able to directly apply the educational knowledge received from the courses and hands on experience received via the practicum / work experience to my work here at the Board.
Future Plans:
My future plans at this time are to continue working as a VRC with the Board. Perhaps in the future.look at other positions here, do some private counselling on the side...management perhaps. not entirely sure yet.
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Karen - Graduated in May 2005
Current Employment:
have been working as a Vocational Rehab Counsellor at G.F. Strong Rehab Centre (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority) for 2 years. Prior to this, I worked in the field of Recreation Therapy for 18 years. G.F. Strong has afforded me the opportunity to fully utilize the education and training I received at UBC.
I feel that the program's counselling clinics and my practicum experience at The B.C. Cancer Agency played significant roles in my training. Those experiences, along with the course work, equipped me to successfully acquire a vocational rehab counselling position immediately after graduation.
Future Plans:
My plan is to continue working at G.F. Strong for the foreseeable future, as each day brings a new learning experience and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
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Elizabeth - Graduated in May 2005
Current Employment:
I started as a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant (VRC) with WorksafeBC in the autumn of 2004. Prior to this I was a research assistant with Dr. Izabela Schultz and had worked for several private and not-for profit agencies in a VRC / Career / Employment Counsellor capacity.
I found the UBC VRC program to be highly applicable to the work I was, and am currently doing, specifically the course work on the history of VR & disability, the counselling interventions and the medical information. In addition, the course assignments also provided an opportunity to review some of the recent research going on in the VR field which was also useful.
Future Plans:
In regards to the future, I plan on continuing my current work with WorksafeBC as it is challenging and varied (but in a part time capacity as I recently had a baby boy), however the possibility of private practice and research work has always been intriguing, so you never know.
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