Indigenous Counsellor

Emily Carr University of Art + Design invites applications for a permanent, part-timeIndigenous Counsellor(tenure-track, non-teaching). Situated on unceded, traditional and ancestral xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil‑Waututh) territories in Vancouver, Canada, Emily Carr University is a world‑renowned learning and research community dedicated to the education of artists and designers. SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES Reporting to the Director, Counselling + Wellness Services, the Counsellor provides counselling to the student body that may include intake and assessment, crisis, suicide and violence intervention, personal counselling and development, therapy, student success strategies and referral advice. Counselling is often complex and may be delivered in one-to-one or group formats. Typical duties associated with this role:
- Provides a full range of personal counselling and therapy to students to assist them in dealing effectively with personal, educational and societal pressures. These may include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, stress management, suicidal or violent ideation, career uncertainty, relationships, family problems, and mental health conditions and disorders.
- Provides assessment and appropriate referral for students requiring psychiatric and longer-term assistance.
- Consults and adheres to ECU Counselling Office protocols; and existing ethical guidelines and standards of practice, provincial and federal statutes, and local mental health guidelines for the counselling profession in the provision of counselling services.
- Develops and delivers programs and services relevant to Indigenous students.
- Provides appropriate interventions for students using either Indigenous healing modalities and/or other clinical approaches to mental wellness, based on student need and preference.
- Provides consultation services to faculty, staff and administration to reduce the emotional labour of Indigenous students.
- Develops and maintains internal and external partnerships with local community supports and on-campus Indigenous resources (e.g., the Aboriginal Gathering Place) to build a network of services for Indigenous students.
- In collaboration with internal and external partners, develops relationships that reflect and support Indigenous perspectives and service needs.
- Participates on internal and external committees dealing with counselling and student success agendas.
- As appropriate, supervises Master’s level students from University Graduate Counselling Training Programs.
- Consults with public and private agencies which provide service to students.
- Provides leadership to the ECU community on matters of a counselling-related nature.
- Maintains current knowledge of best practices in the counselling field, with a focus on the post-secondary context.
- Performs other related duties as required. Required Qualifications QUALIFICATIONS A successful candidate will have the following education/experience:
- Master’s degree in counselling psychology or social work.
- Minimum five years’ experience in a counselling setting, preferably in a college, institute, university or mental health setting.
- Experience working with an art, design and media student population an asset.
- Demonstrated effectiveness in crisis, short-term, long-term and group counselling, from a perspective that respects Indigenous ways of being and knowing.
- Thorough knowledge of and experience applying DSM framework.
- Demonstrated effectiveness in using a variety of theoretical approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, experiential, somatic, sensorimotor, and/or emotion-focused.
- Knowledge of developmental theory of the adolescent and adult.
- Experience with public presentations and workshop design and delivery.
- Lived experience and understanding of Indigenous ways of being and knowing, values, needs, and culture.
- In-depth knowledge of the experience of Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the ongoing processes of colonization, discrimination, and structural violence, and the effects on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities.
- Professional membership with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors as a Registered Clinical Counsellor, or membership with another professional counselling regulatory body required. A successful candidate will have the following skills and abilities:
- Must possess excellent individual and group counselling skills, interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
- Demonstrated ability to intervene in crisis situations, using sound professional judgment, maturity, ethical practice and common sense.
- Ability to perform an accurate assessment of a client’s presenting problem and to plan effective treatment for a range of complex cases.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with faculty, administrators, staff and students as well as external agency representative