2000• Community & Children's Health Award

>> Back to 2000 Awards

TERESA NASEBA MARSH



Teresa Naseba Marsh started her career by completing her registration as an RN and certified midwife.  Soon after, she embarked upon her dream to become a psychiatric nurse.

Within one year she was accepted into the challenging psychiatric program at Groote Schuur Hospital, Capetown, South Africa.  She completed this program with honours and received the class award. 
Teresa then moved into the area of addiction psychiatry where she worked as a nurse manager, initiating, planning and implementing a dual disorder program. 

Particularly during the riots in 1976 and 1978 she became involved in counselling traumatized individuals and their families.  She also counselled and supported clients and staff members who suffered multiple losses.


Teresa then moved into the area of nursing education and initiated an Oncology Nursing Program. This program became internationally renowned, attracting students from across Southern Africa and Asia.  Teresa presented this program at various international conferences.

During this time, she also completed her Bachelors Degree in Nursing Education and Community Health Nursing Science.  Later, in Canada, she completed a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. Teresa immigrated to Canada in 1992. 

In Canada she worked at Mount Sinai Hospital as a Nurse Clinician in Oncology and Medicine and is currently a part-time faculty member at Centennial College, where she has been teaching nursing for the past seven years.
Currently, Teresa is a manager of SAPACCY, a substance abuse program for African, Canadian, and Caribbean youth.  She is the founder of her private practice, Thunzi Umphefumlo.  In this practice she works with clients who have experienced trauma or abuse or neglect.  She also acts as a consultant for many other health care professionals in this field, providing counselling and support.

Currently, Teresa holds an appointment as lecturer in the Addiction Psychiatry Program with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.  She is the author of an oncology textbook for health care professionals published in South Africa, and also the author of several papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Teresa’s career to date, both professionally and as a volunteer, has been marked by her dedication to community projects and the advancement of women’s issues.