The Master’s project of a recent University of Northern British Columbia student has led to a place where Prince George residents can go for affordable counselling. UNBC grad Ryan James used the idea for the Community Counselling Centre as a way of fulfilling a project component of his graduate degree in Educational Counselling. The Calgary-native has worked as the Clinical Supervisor at the downtown site since it began operations in January.

The Community Counselling Centre is a pilot teaching and training facility that offers personal counselling services on a referral basis. “UNBC has a need for a place graduate-level Counselling and Social Work students can gain practical skills and apply some of what they learned in class,” says James. “Counseling can be really expensive, and this program is for anyone in the community who needs such a  service, but might otherwise not be able to afford it.”

Professional counselling can cost up to $150 per visit, while the Community Counselling Centre charges a relatively inexpensive $10 an hour. The on-site counselors are all at the graduate-level and possess a variety of skills and levels of experience.

“The response so far has been very encouraging,” says James. “Word of the services we offer is definitely spreading through town, and we hope that anyone out there who thinks they might benefit from this type of treatment will consider us.” The Centre is located in the UNBC Downtown BMO Bank of Montreal Centre at the corner of Third Avenue and Quebec Street in Prince George.

The Community Counselling Centre is a collaboration between UNBC's Education and Social Work programs and is funded, in part, by the College of Arts, Social, and Health Science. The Prince George Community Foundation supplied a grant to augment the project with workshops and training programs.

For further information about the Community Counselling Centre and it's services, please call 250.960.6457 or email: ccc@unbc.ca

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Click on a thumbnail  to access a high-resolution image of UNBC grad Ryan James.