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| December It's been a busy fall and everyone is looking forward to the winter break. At our January counsellor collaboration, we will meet in person to discuss increasing cultural competence in our practice with the Intercultural Association and the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre.
We would like to thank Pam Halverson for her support and leadership as she enters retirement. We wish you all the best Pam!
To all of you, enjoy your time with friends and family and have a restful break!
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Our theme for this year is "Healthy Relationships through a Trauma Sensitive Lens."
Our Counsellor meetings offer an opportunity for connection, professional development, and consult and collaboration around individual students and work. We value this time to connect and have received your feedback about which resources and community agencies you would like to hear more from.
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Wednesday, January 18 1-3pm In Person Location: Tolmie Boardroom Representatives from the Intercultural Association (ICA) and The Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR) will lead a conversation in culturally responsive counselling practices. Please bring questions and case examples. | Wednesday, March 1 1-3 pm Virtual Link will be sent out.
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Thursday, April 13 9-11 am In Person Location: Tolmie Boardroom | Tuesday, May 30 1-3 pm Virtual Link will be sent out.
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Follow up to counsellor collaboration: Thank you to Janet Krenz and Katty English from Island Health for their in service on Eating Disorders. Resources from the presentation have been emailed out to all counsellors.
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| Updated in 2021. The Executive of the BCSCA recognized the need for an updated resource that would serve to inform school counselling roles and practices within the province, and which could serve as a quick reference guide to many of the resources that are regularly used by school counsellors. Note: School districts in BC hold the final decision regarding standards and practices of counselling in schools.
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| We know the number of families that are experiencing food insecurity continues to grow. This is a resource for you to offer parents when the need is recognized.
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| Kristen Neff Self-Compassion for Caregivers
The website has a wide range of meditations and resources.
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Safety First: Real Drug Education for Teens is the nation’s first harm reduction-based drug education curriculum for high school students.
The free curriculum consists of 15 lessons that can be completed in a 45- to 50-minute class period. |
The Safety First curriculum:
- Easily integrates into Google Classroom
- Allows for asynchronous student learning
- Contains learning activities that can be completed collaboratively as a class, at home individually, or with a family member, parent or household member
- Encourages media and health literacy skills, relying on vetted learning techniques such as the CRAAP test
- Maintains a trauma-informed approach.
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| A wealth of recommended resources for substance use education K-12 are available on this page. Autonomy, Belonging and Competencies are important protective factors that promote youth wellbeing and positive mental health. The ABCs increase resilience and prevent, delay and reduce substance-related harms.
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Technology is here to stay, whether we like it or not. The digital reputation of today's students, or how they choose to represent themselves online, is being evaluated and assessed by future employers or admissions departments. The goal of this parent guide is to help introduce the major social media platforms, video games, and relevant trends that are either being used already or have the potential to be used by our children.
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| Excellent online resources, videos, learning modules, and strategies for the classroom and home.
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Y Mind Groups for Teens (13-18) We are pleased to offer the Y Mind Groups for teens (13-18) on an ongoing basis under provincial funding in 2023. This winter and spring, we will be offering our Victoria-based groups at the Y Downtown.
The YMCA-YWCA Y Mind Groups are a free, weekly psychoeducational support group for teens 13-18 experiencing stress, worries and anxiety. Participants learn healthy coping skills through mindfulness and the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) process to manage their anxiety, connect with other young people and receive support all in a safe and supportive community environment. The program is designed to provide tools and support to folks who experience mild to moderate anxiety and is funded by the Ministry of Health as an early intervention program. During the program they get a Y
membership and if they attend all sessions a two-month extension.
Programming is supervised by two trained facilitators (one or both are clinical counsellors) and is available to young adults and teens who experience mild-to-moderate anxiety. No referral is necessary for participation, however interested participants must register in advance for an online information session which is followed up with an intake meeting with one of the group facilitators. | Y Mind Teen Upcoming program information
All in person programs will be located at the Downtown Victoria YMCA-YWCA 851 Broughton St.
Information & Intake Sessions: Wednesday February 1st and 8th, 2023 5:30-6:15pm (Online)
Program Dates: March 1 – April 12th, 2023 Weekly on Wednesdays 6:00-7:30pm (In person)
Online via Zoom (offered through partner and other Y sites across BC) Dates TBD based on interest
For more information email Lana at
lplillott@vancouverislandy.ca * Please note your interest in an online group.
Online registration for information/intake sessions is available
here: YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island Online Services
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In our first episode, hosts Michelle and Bryn are joined by Jen, a parent of a youth living with OCD, and Dr. Evelyn Stewart, Psychiatrist and Director of BC Children‘s Hospital Provincial OCD Program, as they discuss practical strategies on how to support your child at home with tips on how parents can play an active role in recovery.
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| Family Smart Events
December - ADHD - The Real Deal Speaker: Dr. Don Duncan Join us to watch a video and talk with other families about what helps. Monthly Online Events for Parents & Caregivers. Join us to watch a video by an expert speaker and talk with other families about what helps. Online events are facilitated by FamilySmart Parent Peer Support Workers. Dates: December 5, 13, 14, 15, 20
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| Stigma Free Society - Student Mental Health Toolkit An engaging online website for promoting mental wellness education to youth while providing resources for educators, school counsellors, and parents/guardians.
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| Child Mind Institute: Help for Cutting and Self-Injury
The impulse a teenager feels to harm herself is almost always triggered by a specific event in her life. The most common 'trigger' for cutting is feeling rejected: by a boyfriend/ girlfriend, close friends, or by a general feeling of being left out or criticized. What You'll Learn - Why do young people cut or hurt themselves? - What are signs of self-injury? - How can you help someone who is injuring themselves?
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Upcoming opportunities Lindsay Johnson, Kevin Blecic, and Bonnie Alexander are always eager to collaborate and work together to connect students to opportunities. Please reach out with requests and ideas you may have for a classroom, school, or individual student.
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District Mental Health Team Our work focusses on supporting schools and families with students who present with complex profiles that may include emotional, behavioural, mental health, and substance use concerns. We collaborate with district levelled teams and school teams for the purpose of complex problem solving and integrating supports. This also includes collaboration with community agencies (i.e Discovery, CYMH, Police) to develop consistent interventions to offer increased wrap around support to the students and families that we serve. Professional learning opportunities, snapshots, and newsletters are created to promote ongoing education and resource sharing with colleagues, students, and families. Additional work includes VTRA (Violent Threat Risk Assessment) and CIRT (Critical Incident Response Team) response when these needs arise in our school community.
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District Counselling Team Contact Info: Middle District Counsellor: Monique Moore mmoore@sd61.bc.ca
Elementary District Counsellor: Maureen von Tigerstrom mvontigerstrom@sd61.bc.ca
Youth & Family District Counsellor: Jen Aston jaston@sd61.bc.ca
Indigenous District Counsellors Secondary Joanne Mitchell jomitchell@sd61.bc.ca Middle David Davidson ddavidson@sd61.bc.ca Elementary
Pam Russ pruss@sd61.bc.ca
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Additional Members of the District Mental Health Team: District Principal: Pam Halverson phalverson@sd61.bc.ca Deputy Superintendent: Harold Caldwell hcaldwell@sd61.bc.ca Mental Health Resource Coordinator: Marnice Jones mjones@sd61.bc.ca
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