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HISTORY
In 1943, the Toronto YMCA established its Counselling Service for young men and youths. "Applied psychology", as counselling was then called, was not an established course of study in Canadian universities at the time. For Gerald P. Cosgrave, however, a professor in the University of Toronto's psychology department, it was a subject of abiding interest and passion.
Cosgrave had contributed significantly to the development of tests used to assess aircrews, as chair of the Committee on Aviation. A quiet, unassuming loner with a postgraduate degree in philosophy, Cosgrave had opted to leave the CPA project in 1941. Conscientious, highly meticulous and fussy, he simply was not cut out for experimental work, according to some of his colleagues. Shortly thereafter, however, when the YMCA offered him a position as the director of its new Counselling Service, it was precisely the sort of challenge in "applied psychology" Gerald Cosgrave had been looking for.
Cosgrave's approach to vocational counselling began with a one-on-one interview. The process evolved over a series of sessions, which included testing and assessment. All test results were interpreted by a counsellor and subsequently reviewed by Dr. Cosgrave, then presented to the individual in a personal interview and a written report.
Frank G. Lawson
Founder & Chairman, 1959-1984
It was little more than a year later when Frank G. Lawson accepted the chair of the YMCA's Counselling Service, in the process turning a corner that would ultimately lead to a very different future. "I had no idea when I became chairman," the Toronto businessman and stockbroker later recalled," that this was to be the focus, largely the focus of my life for the next 20 years."
In Frank Lawson, Cosgrave's view that psychological counselling was an integral part of vocational guidance found a happy match. Lawson was convinced that young people needed guidance in three different aspects of their lives. First, he felt they needed what people in the vocational guidance movement advocated - to discover the kind of work they were able to do and would enjoy. Second, many also required education or training to strengthen their abilities. Finally, he said, young people often needed help in dealing with negative attitudes that might otherwise hold them back.
Working with Cosgrave, Lawson quickly became a fervent supporter of the counselling process. Before they were finished, the two would spend all of 20 years together at the helm of The Toronto YMCA Counselling Service, forging a partnership that would contribute even more to the development of career counselling theory and programs in Canada over the two decades beyond that.
Donald G. Lawson
Chairman, 1984-present
In 1984, the venerable Frank Lawson died, and his son, Donald inherited the chairmanship of the family foundation and established an active board of directors to govern it. The Foundation's board became active in ways it had not been before. "We took over a foundation that been a private giving fund of father's," recalls Donald Lawson. "And the first thing the board had to do was set its own goals and objectives, and then set out to find some projects that fit within those."
Gerald Cosgrave
Counselling Director, 1959-1980
When Gerald Cosgrave retired in 1980, Elizabeth McTavish was named Counselling Director and carried on the work that he had begun. Her retirement marked a 15 year tenure, which witnessed some of the greatest advances in the field of counselling.
Elizabeth McTavish
Counselling Director, 1980-1995
Since 1995, Jean Faulds has served as Executive Director of the Counselling Foundation of Canada.
Jean Faulds
Executive Director, 1995-present
