Programs

Program List and Overviews

The following two programs are delivered in partnership with Ilisaqsivik Society, of Clyde River, NU:

  • Our Life’s Journey: The Inuit Counsellors’ Training and Mentorship Program 
  • Train the Facilitator Program

If you wish to have more information on these programs, please Contact Us.

OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY: THE INUIT COUNSELLORS’ TRAINING AND PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM

Overview  

This program provides certificate training in Self-Actualization Therapy, Traditional Inuit Therapy, Individual and Group Therapy and Client-Centered Therapy to Counsellors. The program provides Counsellors with the knowledge, skills and abilities  to counsel clients suffering from addictions, trauma, loss and grief, abuse and violence and suicide ideation.

The topics and program outline will be reviewed and adjusted according to the guidance of the elders and students.  This program is Student-centered and determined.  The students are already the experts in knowing what will be most helpful for the people and how they can provide the highest service within their communities.

This program invites all Elders, students, interpreters and translators, and facilitators to share their collective wisdom within the context of Inuit Social Values in developing effective Counsellors.  The summary of this process is documented and transferred on media that can be shared:  digital print, such as the Our Life’s Journey: The Inuit Counsellor’s Training and Mentorship Manual by Terry Garchinski (et al), photographs, posters and videos.

The students will focus on the selected topics and develop usable culturally appropriate skills. 

This program is divided into four phases.  Each phase will involve a range of 80 to 120 hours of coursework, which will be followed with 6-10 hours of practical work assignments, teleconference calls and a peer support program:

Phase 1: Becoming an Effective Counsellor

Phase 2: Addictions Counselling Skills, Impacts of Alcoholism and Other Addictions on All Members of the Family (Family Disease Model) and Assessment and Intervention

Phase 3: Factors That May Create Imbalance That May Lead to Addictions and Factors That Help to Create Balance

Phase 4: Inuit Cultural and Societal Values and Beliefs; Traditional Knowledge, Survival Skills, Ceremonial Practices, and Culture-in-Transition

In-between the major instructional phases, each Student will be involved in a small peer support group.  Students can further increase their effectiveness by sharing and learning from peers, within a structure of giving and receiving feedback, evaluating self and the other, and reporting back to the larger group. Students will meet as a working unit to do projects, review caseloads and offer peer support.  Each Student will be required to do a certain number of hours of practical work assignments.

Throughout this program, peer support relationships will be established, as a way of bringing people together, from various communities, with different backgrounds, positions, experiences, resource accessibility, and positions of influence.  Students will be required to respect and trust the confidentiality of their interactions with one another.  They will be required to have frequent interactions during and in between each phase of the program,  with the intent of building networks, and developing professional and community capacity building. Networks will help to strengthen the students capacity in building skills, knowledge and competencies, and in developing leadership qualities and partnerships. It allows them to engage in a process of sharing with one another, and with other affiliated organizations or groups.

Each Student will be acknowledged with a Certificate of Completion of the Program at the Closing Ceremony.

Each Student will receive a wallet-size Graduate Card stating Completion of the Program.

TRAIN THE FACILITATOR PROGRAM

The Train the Facilitator Program is the next stage in professional development for counsellors. It trains counsellors to co-facilitate workshops such as:

1. Healing from Loss and Grief

2. Trauma Recovery

3. Take Charge of Your Life!

4. Employment Readiness Modules: Time Management, Communications, Addictions and Family Issues that Impact Retention of Employment, Money Management, Stress Management

The Program Objectives are:

  1. To train the counsellors to be professional facilitators on sensitive topics as noted above;
  2. To deliver the Train the Facilitator Course, in a structured, hands-on setting, utilizing  booklets, materials, tools, and the Facilitating Participant-Centered Healing Workshops Manual, for each of the five listed workshops;
  3. To mentor participants throughout the Train the Facilitator Program;
  4. To learn facilitator self-care.