OVERVIEW

• Support Services & Sexual Misconduct Policy
• Dispute Resolution Policy
• How Do I Start?
• Why VCCT Counsellor Training?
• Who is a Typical Participant?
• Is VCCT Designated?
• How Can I Begin a Career as a Professional Counsellor?
• What Financial Assistance is Available?
• Who Can Benefit from Counsellor Training?
• How is Professional Counselling Different?
• How Do I Earn an Income as a Professional Counsellor?
• Client Referral Service?

Support Services & Sexual Misconduct Policy

Support Services ensures that students are assisted in all areas of their studies while enrolled at VCCT including job search once a student has graduated and also to help register students with an association e.g., ACCT or CPCA, explaining the procedure needed. Students enrolled in distance education can contact support services for guidance with any assignments that need clarification.

Support Services ensures that the Sexual Misconduct Policy guidelines are adhered to.

How Do I Start?

Go to the Admission page and request the catalogue package and application forms by sending your background information. You can also receive the application forms by email or regular mail and return them by email to info@vcct.ca, by fax to 1-604-688-9001 or by regular mail.

Why VCCT Counsellor Training?

Training in counsellor skills is unique compared to many other types of career skill training. It focuses on simultaneous development of you as a person, you as a professional, and your acquisition, at a high level, of the most transferable set of career skills - counselling skills - which will benefit you in all interpersonal settings. VCCT programs do this through indepth instruction while emphasizing skill practice and offering almost twice the hours in any similar courses offered in a university setting.

Counsellor training offers you the opportunity to build on your own self-knowledge, growth and abilities in order to counsel in ways that are intentional and effective. VCCT courses are just the beginning of the lifelong development and use of these skills.

Who is a Typical Participant?

Participants at VCCT are mature individuals who may have been away from a classroom setting for several years. They tend to be people who have had a variety of life experiences and who have found that friends and acquaintances often feel safe to approach them with their problems.

They view VCCT training as an opportunity to acquire both background theory and practical skills in order to become professional counsellors who can earn an income from their heartfelt desire to help others.

Is VCCT Designated?

Vancouver College of Counsellor Training is designated by the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) under the Ministry of Advanced Education in British Columbia.

How Can I Begin a Career as a Professional Counsellor?

Counsellors are needed in all communities and regions of Canada. One of the most gratifying ways to provide counselling services is through private practice. You may also be interested in the many examples of career outcomes of graduates given on the Testimonials page on this site.

Many graduates of the Vancouver College of Counsellor Training are members of ACCT (Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists) www.acctcounsellor.com who respect human dignity and diversity and promote deliberate practice and the continuous competency development of counsellors.

What Financial Assistance is Available?

Financial assistance is available to qualified applicants.

Examples of funding sources are:

• Canada Student Loans and Provincial Student Loans
• Bank student line of credit
• Workers' Compensation Board
• Human Resources Development Canada
• Labour Unions
• Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour
  (Vocational Rehabilitation Services)
• Native Band sponsorships

To determine total tuition and to arrange for financial assistance, contact the Admissions Department.

Who Can Benefit from Counsellor Training?

VCCT courses and programs have been designed by practicing Psychologists, Family Therapists and Counsellors to balance state of the art theory and practice with accesibility and interest to the widest spectrum of students. The result is a set of courses that both beginners and practioners can benefit from. Some students who come to VCCT may have no background in counselling theory, some are interested in a career transition and use VCCT as a stepping stone to university programs, some are working already in helping roles in their communites and want to formalize their training, some are interested in personal growth and personal recovery, some want to enhance interpersonal and communication skills generally, and some want to enhance their exsisting practioner skills.

How is Professional Counselling Different?

Professional counselling is different than normal communication, because it is a process of interacting with others for a predictable helpful or therapeutic outcome. The profession of counselling is more than knowledge of processes and skills. It involves working within a framework of standards of ethics and practice, which are designed primarily to protect the interests of the person seeking help, and sometimes others related to them. Usually a counsellor is an accountable member of a professional association who requires that certain procedures will be followed by the counsellor.

How Do I Earn an Income as a Professional Counsellor?

Because of the challenges faced by human beings, professional counsellors are needed to help people find support and healing. Depression, as an example, is one of the leading problems faced by people everywhere. Professional counsellors make a living by providing a valuable service for people seeking help. Counselling services are provided in three major sectors: government positions, private non-profit agencies, and private for-profit services. Requirements for positions in counselling may be a certificate or diploma from a professional training institute such as VCCT, or a university degree. The most important factor contributing to the success of a counsellor, is the quality of the service provided to each and every client. After quality of service, the greatest challenge for counsellors in private practice is to network and develop their reputations.

Client Referral Service?

Graduates of the Vancouver College of Counsellor Training, who are recommended by their clinical supervisor, may receive client referrals from our counselling department at the college. The Client Referral Service helps counsellors to build their clientele based on word-of-mouth referrals when clients who are benefiting, tell others about the counsellors, helpful services.