Sunshine Coast Health Centre Scholarship

The Sunshine Coast Health Centre scholarship offers a recurring tuition scholarship opportunity to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in Canada for the 2025-26 school year.

Addiction 

Addiction is a condition that results when a person uses a substance (e.g. alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g. gambling, sex, shopping) as part of a continued use/act that becomes compulsive and interferes with life activities such as work, relationships, or health. We relate addiction to the fundamental motivation in humans including the need to make sense of his or her life and pursue a personally meaningful existence. Through a Meaning Therapy lens, we see addiction as a result of an individual’s persistently frustrated attempts to live a personally meaningful life.

Clients in our drug rehab and alcohol treatment programs illustrate what life is like when an individual lacks personal meaning. In spite of having the outward appearance of success such as families, social circles, good jobs, and material possessions, our clients describe their inner world as one beset by boredom, anger, depression, loneliness, and a nagging feeling of emptiness like lost souls wandering without a direction. Our clients also report feeling as if they’re different and do not fit in the world. This sense of separateness and brokenness lies at the heart of why individuals turns to drugs, alcohol, or other forms of addiction.

Application Details and Eligibility

To apply for this scholarship, please submit a 800-1000-word essay in APA format on one of the following topics:

• Explore Meaning Therapy and its advantages to addiction and mental health treatment.
• Discuss how Meaning Therapy supports an individual with trauma and/or PTSD and making sense of their trauma in ways that help them live an improved quality of life.

In order to qualify for this scholarship, you must also be:

Enrolled in a counselling, psychology, medical/nursing, or relevant program

Currently enrolled in the 2026/27 semesters at an accredited university or college in Canada

*Please send proof of enrollment for the 2026/27 semester with your application.