Counselling Centre

Practicum Site Description

Camosun's Counselling Centre provides professional, personal, and career counselling to registered Camosun students, and limited career services to "prospective" students from our community. Our purpose is to promote healthy academic and psycho-social functioning among students as well as removing barriers to academic success through individual and group counselling.

Practicum students will participate in activities and roles typical of college counsellors at the counselling centre. The emphasis will be on training that encourages a responsible, competent and ethical counselling practice. Counselling Centre service hours are 9am-4pm weekdays.

Core Activities

The following are considered the core activities in the practicum.

Activity	Approx. time	Description
Orientation	16 hrs	Students will participate in an orientation to the counselling service. The orientation will occur in the last week of August and the first week of September.
Counselling	6-8 hrs/wk	The Counselling Centre is a training site for students already possessing advanced helping skills. Our work is loosely based on a short-term intervention model. Practicum counsellors may engage in a limited number of longer term counselling relationships as well (for example, meeting bi-weekly over a semester). Direct service may include individual and group counselling sessions, as well as workshops.
Supervision and Case Consult	3 hrs/wk	The supervisor is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with expertise in short term counselling interventions with a college population. Direct video review is required for individual supervision. Recording and preparation is the responsibility of the student. Peer support and case consultation will also take place.
All-Staff Meetings	6 hrs/semester	Practicum counsellors are expected to participate in routine all-staff meetings.

Selection criteria

Candidate interviews will take place between March 6-17, 2017. During the interview, candidates will be asked to discuss their interests and qualifications and to take part in a role play.

Qualifications assessed will include such things as:

• Related experience
• Counselling knowledge, skills and clinical approach or style
• Case conceptualization, theoretical framework and ethics
• Personal suitability (e.g. judgment, flexibility, sensitivity to diversity, openness to feedback, teamwork) and "fit" with team

Program Application Requirements

Application Deadline: 4pm on Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Practicum eligibility

Positions will be reserved for those persons who:

• Are graduate students currently enrolled in a Master of Arts or Master of Education degree in counselling at a recognized university
• Have completed an initial counselling program practicum
• Demonstrate mastery of advanced counselling skills and graduate academic coursework
• Can make a commitment of 8 months - September to April
• Participate in all practicum core activities

Preference will be given to those students with previous counselling-related clinical and/or practical experience.

Application requirements

Interested applicants should submit:

• A letter of intent describing your interest in and suitability for a practicum at Camosun
• A current resume
• Two signed letters of recommendation with current contact information - one letter from a supervisor who has observed your clinical/practical experience and one letter from an Instructor/Professor commenting on your academic performance.
• A 30 minute recording of a "mock" counselling session (DVD or USB)
• An official copy of your Master's-level transcript (sealed)

Deliver this package to Counselling Centre, Camosun College (Attn. Practicum Committee), with a confirmation email to Laura Paetkau.