About Us
Our Staff
Our History
Salem, Shalem: What's in a Name?
At Shalem, we seek to develop best practice projects which model an active, integrated relationship between communities and the professional mental health sector. Presently, we do this by offering counselling through Shalem Christian Counselling Services, and by operating the Congregational Assistance Plan (CAP), WrapAround Services and Supports, Restorative Justice Services (including FaithCARE - Faith Communities Affirming Restorative Experiences) and RE-create (a drop-in at studio for street-involved youth in downtown Hamilton). We also support communities with the provision of resources on mental illness. Counselling is offered in the Hamilton and the Durham regions (we also provide an online Directory of Christian Counsellors across Ontario). RE-create is offered in Hamilton. The Congregational Assistance Plan, WrapAround and Restorative Justice are delivered across Ontario.
See "At A Glance" for a menu of exciting services that we offer specifically to churches and faith communities - with information about how to access them.
The Shalem Mental Health Network is a registered charitable organization (Charitable Registration Number: #13056 6011 RR0001), incorporated in 1963. The organization is supported by Members who elect a volunteer Board of Directors.
In 2006 the membership approved new By-Laws, and in 2008 the Board adopted an ambitious three-year Strategic Plan (both are available upon request). Shalem is supported by fees for services, donations, and interest from capital held by Shalem flowing from land that was donated to Shalem in the 1970s, for the purpose of building a hospital, and then sold. Shalem's most recent audited financial statement is also available upon request.
Meet our dynamic, professional Staff . We have a history of over 45 years of service, and a new name (see What's In a Name?) We invite you to become a Member of Shalem and we covet your financial and prayer support.
Mark Vander Vennen, MA, M.Ed, R.S.W., is our Executive Director. He has been a marriage and family therapist since 1988 and came to Shalem in 2004. He has worked in child welfare (Northumberland Children's Aid Society) and in children's mental health (Kinark Child and Family Services). Until 2004, he served for almost 15 years as the Coordinator of what was then called Children's Case Coordination Services for Northumberland County, an advocacy position which involved him directly in the child welfare, children's mental health, health, adult mental health, youth justice, developmental, medically complex, and education systems. Throughout that period he maintained a private practice in marriage and family therapy. In 1994/95 he helped to establish, as its first Service Coordinator, the Northumberland Emergency Response Program for Youth, a community-based, inter-agency crisis response program for youth who are actively suicidal, homicidal and/or extremely physically aggressive.
Mark was one of the first WrapAround practitioners in Canada; he has served as a WrapAround facilitator since 1993. He is a Founding Member and currently the Board Chair of Wrap Canada. He is the co-director, with Andrew Debicki, of Wrap Canada's Training and Technical Support Institute, where he provides "Train the Trainer" and "Coaches" training and development. Mark is also a trained Restorative Justice facilitator and has been an advocate for Restorative Justice since 1982, when he translated several articles by Herman Bianchi for the Mennonite Central Committee in Ontario. Mark has completed the three levels of training in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy offered by Dr. Dan Hughes. From 2004 through 2008, Mark served as a member of the Inter-Ministerial Provincial Advisory Committee of the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy at Queen's Park.
Mark holds Master's degrees in philosophy and psychology. He is a frequent workshop leader and public speaker, and he has worked extensively with both survivors and perpetrators of violence. As an active member of the peace movement for over 30 years, he has written extensively on themes of peacebuilding (see his Vibrations Between Emotional Health and Global Peace) . He recently co-authored, with Bob Goudzwaard and David Van Heemst, Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises (Baker, 2007), Foreword by Desmond Tutu.
Mark loves camping with his family in Algonquin Park, baseball, and his environmentally friendly, waste vegetable oil-powered car.
Contact Mark at markvv@shalemnetwork.org
Danielle VandenAkker, BA, is our Managing Director. Danielle has been with Shalem since 2005. Danielle graduated from Redeemer University College with a business major and missions minor. Most of Danielle's work experience has been with non-profit organizations. Previously she worked at Mission Services of Hamilton, organizing children's programs, and providing financial management for individuals on Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program.
Danielle provides administrative support to Shalem, and manages the print and web communications for Shalem. Danielle is the intake worker for the Congregational Assistance Plan (CAP) and the Hamilton Clinic.
Danielle enjoys camping, biking and hiking with her family. Contact Danielle at office@shalemnetwork.org
Jennifer Bowen, M.Div, RMFT, is our Clinical Director. Jennifer brings a wide range of experience from both Christian and wider community settings.
She completed her undergraduate degree at University of Toronto, studying psychology and religious studies, and completed a Masters of Divinity in Marriage and Family Counselling at Tyndale Seminary. Jennifer is a registered Marriage and Family Therapist, a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
Jennifer has had the privilege of working with a diverse population of individuals, couples and families of all ages. She has experience working with clients through many presenting concerns, including abuse, trauma, addictions, depression, grief and anxiety. Jennifer's clinical approach focuses on supporting clients through their difficulties, and equipping clients to address their challenges. She does so by helping identify helpful and unhelpful thoughts, emotions and patterns, and celebrating successes and growth. She supports clients in building new stories of hope and health in their lives, and loves her work.
Jennifer balances her days with family walks and camping trips, a healthy pile of novels waiting to be read, and time spent in her garden.
Contact Jennifer at jenniferb@shalemnetwork.org
Betty J.B. Brouwer, M.Sc., R.C.A.T. is our Director of the Linking Lives/Building Attachment program and the Artistic Director of Shalem's RE-create Outreach Art Studio.
Betty has worked with children and parents for over 15 years as a staff member of Shalem. She works with children, teens and their families. She finds it an honour and privilege to enter into people's lives and help facilitate healing and change.
Betty is a registered art therapist with the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the Ontario Art Therapy Association, and she is a certified play therapist with Play Therapy International. Betty is a member of ATTACH (Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children), an international coalition of professionals and families dedicated to helping those with attachment difficulties by sharing their knowledge, talents and resources.
Betty holds a Master's degree in Child and Adolescent Studies from the University of Guelph. She also completed the Master's level program at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Betty has completed the advanced level training with Dr. Daniel Hughes, the leading North American practitioner and trainer in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). She meets regularly with CoPlace, a group of senior clinicians using DDP in Ontario.
Contact Betty at bettyb@shalemnetwork.org
June Zwier, M.Div., is a Marriage and Family Therapist in our Durham office and our Director of Mental Health Resources. As a therapist, June provides counselling for individuals, couples and families. She uses her experience and education to provide a client-centered and holistic approach. Her training includes family systems, solution focused, cognitive behavioural and narrative methods/tools which are used based on individual needs. June has a lot of experience with mental illnesses (including mood disorders, such as depression, bi-polar, anxiety and schizophrenia) and family/caregiver support needs. June offers Shalem/s Linking Lives/Building Attachment services in the Durham region, having completed the three levels of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy offered by Dr. Dan Hughes. She enjoys working with children and their families.
June has worked in the mental health and social services field in the Durham region for over 25 years. Previously she worked for the Canadian Mental Health Association in various roles, including developing a Clubhouse program - a supportive community environment for people with mental illness. June is our resource specialist on mental illness and the mental health field. June has a passion for helping churches become supportive communities around mental health needs.
June has a B.A. in psychology and a Masters of Divinity with a focus in counselling. June is a member of the Ontario Association for Marriage and Family Therapists.
June loves to read and travel. She takes great pleasure in playing with her grandson. She also enjoys fishing with her husband -- he does the fishing she gets to read.
Contact June at junezwier@sympatico.ca
Marg Smit-Vandezande, M.S.W, R.S.W., is the Director of our Congregational Assistance Plan (CAP). Marg graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Social Work degree and the University of Calgary with a Master of Social Work degree. She is a registered member of the College of Social Workers and Social Services Workers.
For most of her career in Social Work, Marg has worked within the Family Services Ontario network, both as a Family Therapist and as a Clinical Program Manager with the Family Counselling Centre of Brant. Of primary interest has been her involvement in the delivery and development of Employee Assistance Plans (EAP), a counselling program widely offered by companies to their employees as a health care benefit. Shalem's CAP program is modeled on the EAP concept but altered to apply to congregational care.
For extracurricular activities, Marg and her husband enjoy going on canoe treks into the interior of Algonquin Park and also enjoy travelling to experience the culture and geography of national and international communities. When at home, she takes pleasure in gardening, knitting, connecting with extended family, and participating in volunteer activities with their church and neighbourhood.
Contact Marg at margsv@shalemnetwork.org
Elske de Visch Eybergen is our Director of WrapAround Services. Elske has worked in Social Services for over 30 years. A graduate of Mohawk College's Social Services program, and the Ontario Management Development Program, she started her career in Young Offender services. She has worked in managerial positions within Child Welfare (foster care); Developmental Services (Residential in Toronto and as a Quality Assurance Manager in Hamilton); Adult Mental Health in Hamilton and WrapAround, as the Coordinator of Wrap Around York (York Region). She has also worked as a Child Advocate at the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy at Queen's Park. A trained and experienced WrapAround facilitator for over 10 years, Elske is working towards her coaching certification through Wrap Canada. She is the Secretary of the WrapAround Association of Ontario and a member of Wrap Canada.
As the Coordinator of Wrap Around York, Elske successfully helped to pioneer the use of WrapAround by churches.
Elske believes in volunteering in the community in which you live and has been the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, North York Women's Centre and facilitated within the Levels Program (Separated and Divorced Network), Hamilton Catholic Diocese.
Elske believes in the healing and empowering effects of WrapAround on the lives of the parents and children who choose to participate. She is also passionate about the use of WrapAround by faith communities and looks forward to supporting churches wishing to explore it.
Contact Elske at elske@shalemnetwork.org
Andrew Debicki, M.S.W., is our WrapAround Development Director. In this capacity, Andrew supports WrapAround initiatives in various locations across Canada. Currently he consults with the Aboriginal Healing and Outreach Program operated by the Hamilton Native Women's Centre, a program that blends traditional healing practices with WrapAround (supported in part by Shalem's three-year grant from the Partnership to End Child Poverty program of World Vision Canada) and he provides training across the country. In a volunteer capacity, he serves as the Development Director of Wrap Canada. Andrew served for over 30 years as a Supervisor with Lynwood Hall Child and Family Centre, a children's mental health centre in Hamilton.
Andrew is a leading figure in the development of WrapAround across Canada. For 15 years he has trained, coached and supported a wide variety of WrapAround initiatives around the country and in Europe. He holds a partnership with Vroon-Vandenberg, a leading WrapAround organization in the United States. With Mark Vander Vennen, he is Co-Director of the Wrap Canada Training and Technical Support Institute.
Andrew walks what he talks. He and his wife adopted four young children with special needs. Partly due to the strength-based approach of WrapAround, three have matured into beautiful adults; their beautiful youngest is in high school and lives at home with her parents in Ancaster. Andrew is passionate about WrapAround and the impact that it has with families who have complex needs, and about developing a diverse, made-in-Canada approach to WrapAround.
Andrew can be reached at awdebicki@aol.com.
Michelle DeBoer, B.A., Grad. Dipl., is an Art Therapist. She has worked with clients of all ages and needs. Her previous experience involved working with children with behavioural difficulties in the school setting, elderly persons in the end stages of dementia, and with adults recovering from brain injury and lengthy hospitalization.
Her work at Shalem has included working with children and families with issues of addiction, divorce and separation, those experiencing grief, anger issues, and children with behavioural difficulties at home and school. Michelle enjoys working alongside parents and families of these children throughout the therapy process and includes them in the art-making experience.
Michelle completed her undergraduate studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. with a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in psychology and criminal justice. She completed her graduate studies at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Michelle's graduate thesis was titled "The Application of Art Therapy in the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Process". She is a professional member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association.
Gord Hope, PhD, provides individual Psychotherapy and Couples Counselling. He will also be heading up Shalem's services for "organizational health".
Gord obtained his PhD in Social Psychology from Carleton University, and followed it up with Post-Doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Experiencial Psychotherapy. He ran a private Psychology Practice in Ottawa before taking on a Management position with the CNIB. He has also worked in Program Development with the Canadian Council Of the Blind, and is now overjoyed to be returning to a Psychotherapy and Counselling practice. He is a member of the Ontario Association of Consultants, Counselors, Psychotherapists and Psychometricians, and of the Peer Resources Network - an international organization providing training and resources for Peer Mentors and Coaches. He has also been trained and certified by Human Synergistics Canada to provide a range of Organizational Development and Improvement services and activities.
Gord is the father of three remarkable daughters, whom he has coached through many years of playing Softball, and whom he has followed into amateur theatre. He is also an active member of his Church, and enjoys playing piano and tandem bicycling. He also continues to be active in the Ontario Softball community, and has been an active volunteer with national charitable organizations as well as with several which are centred in his community of Brantford.
In the late 1950s a number of visionary Christian people began to dream of providing a service in Christ's name for people who struggle with serious mental illness and psychiatric issues. Shalem was originally incorporated as the "Salem Christian Sanatorium Inc.", and in the mid-1960s it received Ontario provincial cabinet approval, with funding, for a 30-bed psychiatric hospital. Many people gave sacrificially towards this end. The original plan did not materialize, but the dream of serving those in serious emotional and psychiatric distress did not fade. Beginning in the 1970s, Salem opened up numerous Christian counseling clinics across Ontario. In the mid-1980s, these clinics were shut down, with the exception of the Hamilton clinic. The organization then supported numerous creative, community-driven, faith-based approaches to mental health through technical assistance and small seed grants. Salem also opened a clinic in the Durham region.
Today, with a new name (see What's In a Name?) and a rekindled vision, the Shalem Mental Health Network offers new, community-based ways of reaching out to the very group of people envisioned by the organization's founders.
Salem, Shalem: What's in a Name?
The following was sent to the Members by the Board of Directors in anticipation of a Special Membership Meeting, held on February 19, 2009.
January, 2009
Salem is on the cusp of becoming a new Salem - a dynamic mental health organization which seeks to equip and empower all of us to meet real emotional and mental health needs. New services, a three-year strategic plan, a Board committed to good governance, all are driven by Gospel values like healing, reconciliation, community for all, restoration, love of one's neighbour and peace, in the service of our Redeemer.
Of course, this is not truly "new". Salem has a long history, reaching back to the early 1960s, of dedication to these Gospel truths. Its original vision, captured in its original legal name, "Salem Christian Sanatorium Inc.", was to build a Christian psychiatric hospital. Many people gave sacrificially-including the gifting of tracts of land-for this dream to be realized. Though the hospital did not materialize, the dream of reaching people with mental health needs never died.
The Gospel values that define what we do are captured beautifully in the name "Salem". "Salem" is a rich biblical word which means "wholeness", "restoration", "peace". It forms the end of the word "Jerusalem", which means "City of Peace". When the Bible says "Love God with your whole heart", the word "whole" is "salem".
Undergirding the "new" Salem is an ethic of partnership and collaboration - partnership with various faith communities and with mental health agencies throughout Ontario. In the last four years remarkable doors have opened into many faith communities and mental health organizations across Ontario. Salem staff have found a greater openness to the perspectives of faith in the mental health world than at any time in the past 20 years. Praise God for this! We view it as God's invitation - even directive - to seize this opportunity and work in this way to help spread the Good News.
In the course of this partnership work, the name "Salem" has become an issue. For almost all people who have been born and raised in Canada, "Salem" is inextricably linked to the witch-burning episodes that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in early American history. That story is taught in grade schools and has become deeply embedded in popular culture. The association of "Salem" to this story is ingrained, visceral, and widespread. It comes up continually and repeatedly in Salem's interactions with mental health professionals - people who are eager to be supportive of Salem but who have an immediate and forceful reaction to the name. Of course, the visionary European immigrants who started Salem could not have known of this association. The sad irony is that some of the so-called witches at that time may have had mental illness.
For the past three years, the Salem Board has engaged in an extensive search for a new name that would express the same life-giving values but would not generate the widespread visceral association to the witch-trials and burnings. To that end, the Board has embraced this solution: to reclaim the word "Salem" by returning to the original biblical Hebrew word "Shalem" (pronounced ShaLAME). "Salem" is the Anglicized version of "shalem". "Shalem" affirms, honours and recaptures the beautiful vision of what God intends for God's people and the beautiful vision of the original founders of Salem. At the same time, it altogether bypasses the popular culture association with witch-burning. It affirms continuity while also positioning us to meet new challenges by means of engagement with others.
The Board is therefore unanimously proposing to the membership that Salem's name be changed to:
Shalem Mental Health Network
Yours in Christ's service,
The Board of Directors
At the Membership Meeting on February 19, 2009, the members unanimously adopted the resolution to change the legal name of the organization to Shalem Mental Health Network. A Supplementary Letters Patent reflecting the new name was approved on February 24, 2009 by Ontario's Ministry of Government Services.