Cybercounselling: A Bend in the Road?

By Marc Verhoeve

Cybercounselling is quickly becoming an acceptable form of professional helping. In 1996 I first coined the term for my Internet-based column hosted on the website of the Ontario School Counsellors Association. I played around with terms such as web-counselling and e-counselling, but chose cybercounselling because it most accurately reflected this new professional vehicle. Three years later, this new dimension of counselling has passed from its infancy into adolescence.

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Counselling the Released Young Offender

By Brigid Murphy

  • Lack of normal life experiences
  • Inadequate role modelling
  • Discrimination
  • Employer attitude’s
  • Inadequate education
  • Illiteracy
  • Poor social skills
  • Cultural differences
  • Perceived reality
  • Negative self concept
  • Poor work attitude
  • Marginalization
  • Identity confusion
  • Values clash
  • Low self esteem
  • No support systems/no family
  • Language barrier
  • Alcohol or substance abuse
  • History of emotional, physical, sexual abuse
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Gender confusion
  • History of failures
  • Emotional instability
  • Young dependants
  • Lack of vocational skills
  • Depression
  • Involved with child and family services
  • Physical appearance
  • Learning difficulties
  • Stereotyping
  • Medical problems
  • Economically and socially disadvantaged

The top three critical barriers noted by NYIC are: lack of education due to early independent living and the need to focus on meeting basic survival needs; no personal support networks – family or otherwise; and no financial resources. For others it is: court ordered client resistance; lack of work experience; confusion about vocational choice; health issues; poor adaptation skills; lack of problem solving skills; low self esteem; lack of trust; and, an unstable home life.

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New Programs and Initiatives

New TV Show Devoted to Career and Work Info for Youth

Parched by the summer heat? Put your feet up and come to Career Café. You may have to provide your own refreshments, but a visit won’t cost any money and all you need is a TV set. Career Café is a new half-hour television program devoted to career and work information. Although it is targeted toward youth 18-30, many of the resources on this program will also be of interest to career-changers and career development professionals working with youth.

Each program features regular segments such as Job News, with all the latest information on employment and labour market trends, new youth programs, and recruitment, and The Toolbox, brimming with practical tips on getting a job. Hosts Derek Miller and Lauren McNabb interview several people per show, including young entrepreneurs, key hiring personnel, industry experts, and individuals working in just about every occupation imaginable — from acting to trucking, and public affairs management to funeral directing.

A review of recent shows turned up the following info:

  • Heavy equipment technicians are in high demand in Canada. And we’re not talking grease monkeys — these jobs are more hi-tech than you’d think! Community college programs may lead to a $50K salary just one year out of school. Read more at www.caed.org
  • Natural Resources Canada runs a volunteer program where youth with an interest in Earth Sciences can gain hands-on experience to complement their theoretical knowledge. Many of these interns go on to find full-time work in the field. http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
  • In a recent survey by Statistics Canada, working college and university graduates said high pay was the first thing they looked for in a job, followed by location, and enjoyment of the work itself. Read the full report at www.hrsdc.gc.ca

Upcoming shows will feature advice on market research for new business ventures, information on Aboriginal Business Canada, an organization devoted to the needs of Aboriginal entrepreneurs, the scoop on jobs in Canada’s National Parks, and information on occupations in fundraising, fashion, and tourism. Move over Starbucks!

Career Café can be seen Monday through Friday on Rogers Community TV and Shaw TV; the French version, Café de l’emploi, is on Canal Savoir Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and CTV broadcasts Career Café across Canada on a weekly basis — check local listings at the show’s website: www.rogerstelevision.com

 

Have you launched a new program or initiative?
E-mail us about it at admin@contactpoint.ca.

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Practitioner’s Corner

By Keltie Creed

I work exclusively online, and have done so since the fall of 1997. I have never met most of my clients. I never make eye contact with them, seldom hear the emotion in their voices. But I do get to know their minds, their way of expressing themselves, their hopes and dreams. We work together on action plans, resumes, interview preparation, decision making and a myriad of other issues. They do find work. On the surface, it may seem like my practice is something far removed from your own, but in reality, the work that we do is probably very similar. The difference is the tools that we use, and the medium of communication.

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Conference Sketches

By Jan Basso

CACEE Conference Draws Employers And Career Educators

In early June, the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers held its annual recruitment and career services national conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Over 200 delegates attended the event which brought career services professionals and co-op practitioners from within post-secondary educational institutions together with human resources professionals who recruit on campuses across the country.

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Upcoming Events

Building Tomorrow Today – Alberta Regional Consultation for Career Development – Alberta Career Development Action Group, Edmonton, AB, April 28 – 30, 1999

Opportunities – ONESTEP Events Management, Toronto, ON., May 6 – 8, 1999

CALSCA National Meeting – Canadian Alliance of Life Skills Coaches and Associations, Prince George, BC., May 21 – 24, 1999

Careers Exploration Showcase – Skills Canada, Kitchener, ON., June 1 & 3 – 4, 1999

The Second Spirituality in the Workplace Conference – Centre for Spirituality at Work, Toronto, ON., June 2 – 4, 1999

1999 CACEE Recruitment and Career Services Conference – Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE), Thunder Bay, ON., June 6 – 9, 1999

Enneagram 99: Making Connections – International Enneagram Association, Toronto, ON., August 5 – 8, 1999

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Academic and Career Choice For Lesbian and Gay Young Adults

By Margaret Schneider and Joan McCurdy-Myers

Over the past few decades, gay and lesbian people have become increasingly visible. This has resulted in a growing awareness, particularly among counselling professionals, of the impact of being lesbian or gay on an individual’s life. The influence of sexual orientation on academic and career choices is an area which has only recently received notice.

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From the Discussion Forum…

Recently, the following request appeared in the “Access to Trades and Professions” discussion:

“good morning to any one may read this message, i just want to inquire about something that i found so confusing, we are applying for immigration to canada, and my husband is the dependent immigrant, but his job is a regulated one, (he is an anesthesia & inhalation technician) the canadian terminology for his job is respiratory technician, any way it is so difficult to find out the address of the regulatory body, concerning his job, who to contact, we went to the embassy to get information, they gave us so many addresses, from the almanac & directory, it is really confusing, so till now one year has passed and we are still asking, do have any address that we can contact, by the way we are from lebanon, but we are living and working both me & my husband in kuwait, sorry for sending this message here but i thought that may be someone out there would advice me of what should i do, thank you any way.”

 

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Publications + Products

Basic Counseling Responses: A Multimedia Learning System for the Helping Professions (CD-ROM, Video, and workbook) by Hutch Haney and Jacqueline Leibsohn, Brooks/Cole-Wadsworth Publishing, 1999.

Canada’s Best Careers Guide, Frank Feather, Warwick Publishing Inc., 1999. ISBN -1-894020-42-1

Developing a Career Information Centre, Canadian Career Information Association, 1999.

The Guide to Internet Job Searching, Margaret Riley Dikel, Frances Roehm and Steve Oserman, VGM Career Horizons, 1999. ISBN – 0844281999

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