Vocational Counselling Services

The Vocational Counselling Service is made up Masters trained Counselling Therapists. We provide counselling for people whose primary barriers in returning to work are the result of their physical and/or cognitive disabilities. Clients are referred from physicians within the QEII Health Sciences Centre.

As a component of the assessment process, we recognise the importance of assisting clients to identify coping skills, vulnerabilities & environmental factors that may trigger negative reactions in the return to work process. Given that work is a central force in people’s lives, unemployment and underemployment can adversely affect not only the economic and social status of individuals with disabilities, but also their self image and well being.

Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre with funding from other partners also offers a Therapeutic Work Program.

Patients we Provide Counselling for:

  • Amputee
  • Brain Injury
  • Chronic Pain
  • Musculo-skeletal / Trauma
  • Progressive Neurologic Disorders
  • Stroke
  • Spinal Cord Injury

Values

  • Facilitation of independence, integration, and inclusion of people with disabilities in employment and the community
  • Belief in the dignity and worth of all people
  • Commitment to a sense of equal justice based on a model of accommodation to provide and equalize the opportunities to participate in all rights and privileges available to all people; and a commitment to supporting persons with disabilities in advocacy activities to achieve this status and empower themselves
  • Emphasis on the holistic nature of human function which is procedurally facilitated by the utilisation of such techniques as:
    • Interdisciplinary teamwork
    • Counselling to assist in maintaining a holistic perspective
    • A commitment to considering individuals within the context of their family systems & communities
    • Recognition of the importance of focusing on the assets of the person
    • Commitment to models of service delivery that emphasise integrated, comprehensive services which are mutually planned by the patient and the counsellor

Scope of Practice

Vocational rehabilitation counselling is a systematic process which assists persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive and emotional disabilities to achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals in the most integrated settings possible through the application of the counselling process. The counselling process involves communication, goal setting and beneficial growth or change through self-advocacy, psychological, vocational, social and behavioural interventions.

The specific techniques & modalities utilised within this rehabilitation counselling process may include, but are not limited to:

  • Assessment & appraisal
  • Administration of interest inventories, achievement & aptitude tests
  • Diagnosis and treatment planning
  • Career (vocational) counselling
  • Individual and group counselling treatment interventions focused on facilitating adjustments to the medical & psychosocial impact of disability
  • Case management, referral and service coordination
  • Program evaluation & research
  • Interventions to remove environmental, employment & attitudinal barriers
  • Consultation service among multiple parties & regulatory systems
  • Liaison with education programs, training facilities, government departments & community agencies
  • The provision of consultation about access to rehabilitation technology