A. Ka Tat Tsang

Through his work with the China Project, professor and researcher A. Ka Tat Tsang has spread his valuable knowledge of social work throughout the world.

A. Ka Tat Tsang completed his PhD in social work at the University of Toronto, where he now teaches master’s and doctorate classes at the Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work. As a PhD student, whose prior master's degree  in clinical psychology and bachelor's degree in social work were completed in Hong Kong, Tsang learnt many integrative and diverse ways of providing social services once he arrived in Canada. After years of research and practice in social work, Tsang now wishes to share his expertise with social workers in China as a part of the China Project. The China Project seeks to develop social work education in China by cooperating with different institutions, including China’s Tsinghua University, Beijing Institute of Technology and Shandong University. Through this cooperation, Tsang also seeks to shed light on ways to provide better social services for Chinese residents in Canada as well.

A. Ka Tat Tsang’s research is as diverse as his field of study, but Tsang commonly overlaps his interests in psychotherapy, culture, diversity, spirituality and sexuality to create innovative models and approaches to social work. Examples of such models include the Strategies and Skills Learning and Development (SSLD) System, which is applied to a wide range of human service contexts internationally; the Multiple Contingencies Management (MCM) approach, which sheds a contemporary light on classical psychotherapy; and the Integrative Cross-Cultural Psychotherapy (ICCP) Model, which provides an alternative to traditional cross-cultural practice approaches.

Not only is Tsang an impressive academic writer, with 10 books and over 40 journal publications under his belt, he is also the author of many non-academic works of fiction and non-fiction, such as his picture book My Granny Was a Pirate. Tsang writes in both English and Chinese and has also completed many column articles for newspapers and magazines.

Tsang seeks to spread his knowledge as much as he can, whether it is through his many publications and books or through the lectures he commonly delivers all around the world. For his countless efforts to improve the field of social work, within Canada and also within China, the University of Toronto would like to celebrate the achievements of A. Ka Tat Tsang, an esteemed member of our Asia-Pacific Community.

Published Nov. 27, 2013