We believe that Victoria Hospice has one of the most comprehensive and extensive palliative care counselling services in Canada. As such, we take a leadership role in promoting psychosocial care of the dying and bereaved, both within hospice palliative care and the broader health community.

Find out more about:

• our counselling team at Victoria Hospice
• our counselling staff training and education
• other counselling opportunities at Victoria Hospice
• counselling job postings at Victoria Hospice
• Transitions in Dying & Bereavement: A Psychosocial Guide for Hospice and Palliative Care, our award-winning textbook for counsellors and social workers
• our Victoria Hospice one-week course, Psychosocial Care of the Dying and Bereaved
• how to contact our Psychosocial Care Services staff
• Learn more about the Victoria Hospice Charter of Values that guides our team.

The Victoria Hospice Counselling Team

 Our Counselling Staff:

We have a full-time Counselling Manager, one part-time Bereavement Coordinator and a number of part-time counsellors. These positions cover bereavement services, the 17-bed palliative care in-patient unit, community consultations and community crisis work (our on-call Palliative Response Team, or PRT).

What Kind of Counsellors Are We Looking For?

We are interested in professionals from a variety of backgrounds: social work, psychology, clinical counselling, child and youth care. Masters prepared candidates are preferred, but a combination of education, related work and life experience will be considered. Experience in hospice/palliative or bereavement care is an asset. Prospective employees require maturity and motivation, strong counselling skills, the ability to work within an inter-disciplinary team and leadership through program development, research, education and advocacy.

Counsellors on the in-patient unit

Victoria Hospice counsellors work within an inter-disciplinary team that includes nurses, physicians, volunteers, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, music therapy, spiritual care and clerical staff. In the Bereavement Office, counselling staff work closely with trained volunteers.

Counsellors in the community

Victoria Hospice counsellors work with Home & Community Care Nurses, volunteers, family members and palliative care physicians. The Palliative Response Team (PRT), our community crisis team, typically consists of a nurse and counsellor, with back up from family and palliative care physicians, as well as trained Victoria Hospice volunteers.

Counselling Staff Orientation and Education:

In addition to the Vancouver Island Health Authority’s staff orientation program, we offer specific Victoria Hospice orientation that includes classroom time (usually with an inter-disciplinary group), community and unit orientation, and opportunities for buddy shifts. The Manager of Psychosocial Care Services provides supervision and discussion time, along with regular departmental meetings for support and information. Ongoing staff education and training opportunities are built into our program; counsellors are expected and encouraged to continue their professional and personal development once employed.

Other Counselling Opportunities at Victoria Hospice:

Most counsellors start in casual positions at Victoria Hospice and have opportunities to work in various areas. Permanent positions are usually filled from within the casual pool. Many counsellors at Victoria Hospice have worked in a variety of positions as well as facilitating our bereavement support groups, offering staff in-services, teaching courses and participating in research and material development.