Dr. A. Ka Tat Tsang
Founder of SSLD
Dr. Tsang was trained in social work and clinical psychology in Hong Kong during the 1970s. He practiced as a clinical psychologist and taught at the University of Hong Kong during the 1980s. Dr. Tsang was active in introducing Social Skills Training (SST) to human service and healthcare professionals in the seventies and eighties, and designed specific applications to adults with severe mental health problems, infantile autism, and also for the areas of couple counseling, school social work, addiction counseling, psychiatric rehabilitation, interpersonal relationships training and community development.
After many years of active practice, with ongoing revision and modification to the original SST model, Dr. Tsang realized that a more learner-oriented, flexible and robust system had emerged. Upon careful review, he found a few distinctive features of the system he was developing. The system was renamed Strategies and Skills Learning and Development (SSLD) in 2005.
Learning to Change Lives: The Strategies and Skills Learning and Development System, authored by Dr. Tsang, and published by the University of Toronto Press, is a text that introduces the basic principles and methods of SSLD.
Dr. Ka Tat Tsang is currently Professor of Social work at the University of Toronto, and he holds the Factor-Inwentash Chair in Social Work in the Global Community. He has been full-time faculty at the university since 1993.
Dr. Tsang's other research and practice interests include psychotherapy process, sexuality, identity politics, and cross-cultural issues. One of his ongoing projects is the development of a multiple contingencies model for clinical practice.
Contact: k.tsang@utoronto.ca
Website: http://www.kttsang.com