Resources

By Alia Chan

As my time at the Looking Glass Foundation as a practicum student nears its end, I wanted to take the time to reflect and think about the impact working with the organization has had.

While at the Looking Glass, I was given the opportunity to dip my toes in different areas of the organization. From receiving in-depth training about eating disorders and the various support platforms, to working on volunteer training handbooks and reviewing all the amazing scholarship applications, my favourite role has to have been helping out at the Starry Night fundraising gala.

To begin, I want to acknowledge first how much organization and preparation is put into this night. Being part of the planning and getting a front-row seat to the workings of this evening was inspiring and is evidence of the power of a small group of people with a good cause. It is with this type of drive and spirit that organizations like the Looking Glass Foundation are created in the first place, and so I feel grateful to have been part of such magic.

What inspired me the most about that night however, was seeing it come to life, seeing the community of Vancouver come together for such a special cause, and seeing first-hand how those efforts touch the lives of those individuals struggling with eating disorders. I was lucky enough to have been paired with a former client of the Looking Glass Residence that night. Being only a practicum student, the Residence was not an area we were introduced to much as it is outside our scope of expertise, and so working with this individual that night was truly amazing. I got to hear parts of her success story, see her interact with the staff of the foundation, and see the impact they have made on her – and the impact she had made on them. It was during this part of the evening that I felt true gratitude that I was able to complete my practicum at an organization that builds such strong connections within the community and makes it its purpose to ensure help is given to those in need.

The welcoming and kind energy the Looking Glass fosters as an organization is the type of essence I hope to bring as a future counsellor. The team at the Foundation is warm and passionate, and I believe this is how they genuinely help those in the eating disorder community to recover.

So, I thank the Looking Glass Foundation family for allowing me to be a part of the organization and assisting me in my journey as a counsellor. I hope our paths cross again.

Alia Chan is a Master of Counselling Psychology Student who has a passion for learning about people and their stories – the struggles and the resilience. She has enjoyed working with the Looking Glass for her Social Justice Practicum and is excited to take the knowledge and insight she has learned to her professional practice. Alia loves hiking in the Summer and snowboarding in the Winter and is known to be incredibly happy whenever there is a dog around, especially her two pups Timmy and Preston.