Mandate

Counselling Services, as part of Student Wellness (SWEL), supports student success, engagement, and well-being through clinical services, crisis response, consultation, training, and program development.

The Indigenous Counsellor will provide culturally responsive individual and group counselling to Indigenous students at the University of Victoria who present with concerns in the personal domain (e.g., mental health; suicidality; relationship; intergenerational trauma; cultural/identity concerns; colonization), career domain (e.g., identity and value exploration; academic major/program selection; navigation of a mainstream academic setting), and learning domain (e.g., procrastination; time management; managing emotionally challenging course materials). The indigenous counsellor works with individual student clients from a diverse Indigenous post-secondary student population through using culturally responsive intervention models. Services are delivered using a brief intervention model and are informed by student development theory to meet the needs of a diverse post-secondary student population.

In addition to direct clinical services to students, the indigenous counsellor will provide consultative and outreach services to the Indigenous and non-Indigenous University of Victoria campus community. The indigenous counsellor will have an opportunity to work with Indigenous para-professional student staff and volunteers, and other Indigenous student mentors. Depending on experience, the indigenous counsellor will contribute to clinical supervision of graduate students through Counselling Services’ training programs at Student Wellness Centre.

It is very important that the indigenous counsellor works collaboratively with the Office of Indigenous and Academic Engagement and Counselling Services and develops effective working relationships with other university members. As a member of the interdisciplinary Student Wellness team,



the Indigenous Counsellor works collaboratively with the administrative, clinical Counselling and clinical Health teams.

The Indigenous

Counsellor develops effective working relationships with faculty, staff, and campus partners in support of coordinated student care. The role contributes to institutional risk mitigation, student retention, and a campus culture of well-being. 70% of the time is dedicated to service provision; the remaining 30% includes administrative and clinical meetings, record management and clinical documentation, and professional development and other duties as appropriate.

Objectives

- Provide ethical and culturally responsive individual and group counselling to a diverse indigenous student population.
- Support crisis assessment and intervention within established clinical and institutional protocols.
- Contribute to campus-wide wellness and health promotion initiatives through consultation, outreach, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Where appropriate and qualified, contribute to the supervision and mentorship of graduate training programs.
- Maintain regulatory compliance and professional standards in clinical documentation and practice.

This position requires a level of education, training, and experience equivalent to:
- A graduate degree in Counselling, Psychology or Social Work from a recognized institution, or a graduate degree in a related discipline that is appropriate for university counselling centre clinical practice.
- Three (3) years of post-degree professional practice providing individual and group counselling for indigenous individuals with mental health challenges,




- Demonstrated record of receiving training for, and delivering, brief counselling
- Affiliated with a professional association and/or registered in good standing with a professional regulatory body.
- Demonstrated ability and commitment to reflective counselling and professional practice, including receiving and integrating feedback, and engagement with critical self-reflexivity and cultural humility.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities Include

- Demonstrated commitment to principles of truth, reconciliation, equity, diversity and inclusion
- Cultural awareness of the Indigenous peoples of British Columbia, including Indigenous perspectives and practices of health, healing and wellness
- Familiarity with challenges faced by Indigenous students in the public post-secondary education, health and mental health care systems
- Familiarity with challenges to accessing appropriate care and support faced by students of diverse identities and backgrounds, including (but not limited to) those who identify as Indigenous (including two-spirit), international, racialized, transgender, gender non-binary/non-conforming, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, first-generation, and/or persons with a disability.
- Outstanding clinical assessment, crisis management, and intervention skills.
- Knowledge of student development theory and the mental health needs of post-secondary populations.
- Ability to exercise sound professional judgment and maintain strict confidentiality.
- Ability to be creative, resourceful, flexible and to take initiative
- Demonstrated engagement with principles and practices of anti-oppressive counselling and supervision
- Ability to build strong interpersonal relationships and to communicate and collaborate effectively within interdisciplinary teams.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills, including giving and receiving feedback, conflict resolution, and change management.

📌 Indigenous Counsellor (Victoria)
🏢 University of Victoria
📍 Victoria