Counsellor - Student Wellness Services

University of Calgary; Calgary; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Calgary is seeking two 13-month Contingent Term Counsellors to provide individual and group counselling to its students. This role reports to the Associate Director (Counselling) within Student Wellness Services and emphasizes brief counselling, collaboration with campus partners, and scholarly activity.

Successful candidates will hold relevant clinical credentials, bring extensive counselling experience, and demonstrate cultural competence.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Counselling Psychology or MSW with clinical specialization.
• Professional designation as a Registered Psychologist or Registered Social Worker in Alberta is required.
• Minimum five years of counselling experience; supervising provisional psychologists is preferred.
• Experience with diverse groups using an intersectional lens; strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide 1:1 and group counselling to undergraduate and graduate students.
• Supervise graduate trainees in practicum or internship (optional).
• Consult with SES staff and faculty in an inter-professional model.
• Respond to urgent mental health situations and refer to appropriate resources.
• Maintain timely case notes within 72 hours.

Skills

Empathy & interpersonal skills

Crisis intervention

Cultural competence

Group counselling

Education

Graduate Degree in Counselling Psychology

MSW with clinical specialization

Registered Psychologist or Registered Social Worker in Alberta

Minimum five years counselling experience

Job description

Description

The University of Calgary Student Wellness Services, Student Experience and Support (SES), is seeking two 13-month Contingent Term Counsellor (with the possibility of extension) to provide individual and group counselling to University of Calgary students. Student Wellness Services including Student Health, Mental Health Services and Health Promotion work together to support wellness in body, mind, and spirit to support student academic and personal success. We support the University of Calgary by providing integrated and expanded health and wellness services promoting the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of students within a supportive community. Mental Health Services' mission is to support positive mental health by providing students direct care and connection to accessible services through collaboration and consultation with other campus and community partners. This position reports to the Associate Director (Counselling). This position provides access to 50-minute individual counselling sessions to both undergraduate and graduate students to meet their personal, career and academic counselling needs. The Counsellor must work effectively with a diverse inter-professional Wellness Services team and must build relationships with a diverse community of students and other SES units. This position, as an academic position, is required to maintain their professional competency through research and professional development on an annual basis.

Qualifications

• Graduate Degree in Counselling Psychology or Clinical Psychology
• MSW with clinical specialization
• Professional designation as a Registered Psychologist or Registered Social Worker with the ability to practice in Alberta is required
• Minimum five years of counselling experience required; ability to supervise provisional psychologists is preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups of people using an intersectional lens
• Highly developed oral and written communication skills
• Timely completion of case notes within 72 hours
• Experience in one at a time and brief counselling format is preferred
• Experience in one or more of the following would be an asset: counselling in a post-secondary setting, working with trauma in a brief context, and/or addictions counseling
• Strong critical thinking, ability to successfully navigate change management and fast paced environment
• Designation as a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) will not be considered for this position

Duties And Responsibilities

The Counsellor provides services primarily in the areas of personal counselling. The workload assignment for this position is summarized below:

• The emphasis/weightings of duties and responsibilities of individual Counsellors (Instructor) are set at 80% Counselling, 10% Scholarship, 10% Service.
• Reporting to the Associate Director, Counselling, Student Wellness Services, the primary purpose of this Counsellor (Instructor) position is to provide Counselling/Teaching through one-on-one sessions to students. Group counselling to students is also considered, in consultation with the Associate Director.
• Direct service delivery is defined as: Individual counselling, group counselling (approved workshop/psychoeducational group delivery), Student Supervision (group, individual). The mandate of this position is to provide 1:1 counselling support to students.
• Guidance and direction on scheduling and coordination of counselling services procedures are provided by the Associate Director, Counselling to support consistent client experiences and operational coverage for the Center's needs.
• Please note that workload expectations for this role can change annually. Please see the Collective Agreement (see the link below).

Counselling (80%)

• Provide individual and group counselling for undergraduate and graduate students. Demonstrate range, depth and flexibility in responding to client needs for preventative, developmental or therapeutic counselling within a brief counselling model, including single session format. Issues might include educational, vocational, personal, interpersonal and social concerns.
• Function as an independent, responsible professional in accordance with professional codes of ethics, and consult and collaborate with Student Wellness Services staff and faculty/staff on campus within an inter-professional model.
• Respond to urgent mental health situations, as appropriate.
• Receive referrals and refer to students to other on/off-campus resources.
• Provide information to students to facilitate the appropriate use of on-campus and off-campus resources.
• Show diplomacy and good judgment in interpreting various aspects of university policy and procedures to clients and members of the campus community.
• Optional: provide clinical supervision for graduate trainees in practicum and internship experiences within Student Wellness Services (Counselling).

Scholarship (10%)

• Scholarship shall be defined as compilation, dissemination, evaluation, creation, and organization of material.
• Scholarly activity includes the creation, organization and dissemination of knowledge to peers in the academic/professional community. Scholarship may take many forms and the nature of SES work calls for scholarship, which combines traditional approaches with innovative and culturally sensitive strategies.
• Examples of traditional approaches include: the presentation of seminars, colloquia, workshops, talks or papers for academic/professional audiences; abstracts, reviews, reports and papers published in the academic/professional literature; the publication of books or monographs; addition to data bases, computer programs; the publication of manuals or handbooks; participation in research or program evaluation; or activity as an editor, referee, program or conference chairperson.
• Within SES the development of workshops, websites, outreach and programs, as well as the development of research and grant/project proposals, will be considered scholarly work.

Service (10%)

• Service shall be measured by the academic appointee's record of active participation in academic governance and development in matters relevant to the progress and welfare of the department or unit, the Faculty, and the institution.
• Faculty members are expected to do their share of service, internally within departments, SES, and the University and externally, where appropriate, in professional organizations and the community. The University is a collegial system, and it depends on the participation and contribution of its members.
• Service activities can include participation on institutional committees, policy consultation, unit process development, external professional and community outreach, internal hiring committees among a variety of other activities.
• Service activities should not exceed the prescribed allocation throughout the academic year.

Salary and Benefits

Commensurate with qualifications and experience, at the Counsellor (Instructor) level. For salary and benefits information, please refer to Schedule A of the Collective Agreement (pg. 146) at: www.ucalgary.ca/hr/tucfa-ca

About The University Of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The university's commitment to the Indigenous Strategy is evident through the oversight of 18 Elders serving on the Circle of Advisors and the many unit-based circles working towards implementation of the strategy including the Faculty Advisory Circle and teams such as the Office of Indigenous Engagement, the Writing Symbols Lodge, and the Indigenous Research Support Team. Many Indigenous-based events and processes are impacting curriculum, programming and polices at the University of Calgary.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy ii' taa'poh'to'p committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Institutional Commitments ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to People & Culture ([email protected]).

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The terms and conditions of this appointment, including salary, are governed by the collective agreement between the Faculty Association of the University of Calgary and the Governors of the University of Calgary. Detailed information is available here.

For a listing of all academic opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Academic Careers website. For more information about the Student Experience and Support, click here.

About Calgary, Alberta

Calgary is one of the world's cleanest cities and has been named one of the world's most livable cities for years. Calgary is a city of leaders - in business, community, philanthropy and volunteerism. Calgarians benefit from a growing number of world-class dining and cultural events and enjoy more days of sunshine per year than any other major Canadian city. Calgary is less than an hour's drive from the majestic Rocky Mountains and boasts the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America.

With a growing urban Indigenous population of approximately 50,000 people, there are several Indigenous organizations and many events and ceremonies taking place in the city throughout the year.