Barbara Waterfall

Instructor / Faculty of Education and Professional Studies - School of Social Work - Social Work

Position

Part-time Faculty

E-mail

barbaraw@nipissingu.ca

Office

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Extension

4724

Website

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About

Barbara is recently retired from her full-time faculty appointment at Algoma University, where she served as the Director of the School of Social Work for two years, and also was an Associate Professor in the School. Barbara started her counselling career in 1985, working in the areas of crisis intervention and counselling services with victims of sexual assault and child hood sexual abuse. Upon graduating with her social work degree in 1992 she worked for the Nickicousemaning First Nation on a Healing team, and then took on a Family Counsellor position with Weechi-it-te-win Family Services. She became the Family Treatment Team Lead of the Training and Learning Center that was affiliated with Weechi-te-win Family Services. While teaching full-time Barbara continued her clinical social work in private practice, and was involved in community development work. Her areas of practice have been in addictions and eating disorders recovery, trauma, and healing work, and in the Anishnaabec culture-based practices of drumming and singing, and ceremonial and healing practices.

Education

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Research

In 1995, Barbara was recruited for her first full-time faculty appointment in the Native Human Services Program, (HBSW) School of Social Work at Laurentian University. Barbara taught full-time for 25 years. Barbara has been passionate about bringing to center Anishnaabec culture, methods and worldview in her teaching and social work practice. Barbara’s doctoral thesis focused on Decolonizing Anishnaabec Social Work Education, and her academic research and writing addressed the topics of Indigenizing the academy, decolonizing education and practice, (inclusive of child welfare practice) culture as intervention, reconciliation in social work education, and the employment of spirituality in teaching and practice. Barbara has published on these topics and has a forthcoming chapter Theorizing spiritual ontology and ethics in transformative social work practice. In LeFrancois B., & Shaikh, Sobia. (Eds.). Social Work Theory: Critical Praxis. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. Barbara is currently in private practice and is engaged in research pertaining to Social Work Practice in the Quantum Field. In October of 2021, Barbara presented on this topic at the Ontario Association of Social Workers Opening Plenary, in the Fall Seminar Series. Barbara is teaching SWRK 3316 Structual and Interpersonal Violence and SWRK3506 Anti-Oppressive Theorizing. She has previously taught SWRK 3406 Indigenous Perspectives in Social Work.

Publications

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