Counselling Psychology

Our Mission

The Counselling Psychology Program at UBC is committed to cultivating socially just, culturally responsive, and community-engaged practitioners, scholars, and researchers. We prepare graduates to address pressing challenges in mental health, education, and wellness by integrating Indigenous knowledges, equity-centered approaches, and innovative, evidence-based practices. Our mission is to foster lifelong learning, compassion, and collaboration, empowering our students and each other to create meaningful change locally, nationally, and globally.

Our Philosophy & Core Values

We believe that counselling psychology is both an academic discipline and a transformative practice rooted in relationships, social justice, and care. Learning is a reciprocal process between faculty, students, and the communities we serve. We centre dignity, equity, and cultural humility, recognizing that the well-being of individuals is inseparable from the health of their communities and the land. Our philosophy emphasizes the core values of the field of Counselling Psychology including prevention, strength-based approaches, and continual growth in response to evolving social and environmental realities.

Core Values

1. Social Justice – Embedding equity, anti-oppression, and decolonization in all aspects of teaching, research, and practice.
2. Community Collaboration – Building authentic, reciprocal partnerships in research and practice with local and global communities.
3. Prevention – Emphasize the preservation of health and recognize the impact of intersecting systems of oppression in creating dis-ease and barriers to wellness. Utilize primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention approaches to respond to and dismantle systems of oppression.
4. Indigenization – Honouring Indigenous knowledges, land-based learning, and the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.
5. Integrity – Aligning our actions with our values through accountability, transparency, and ethical practice.
6. Lifelong Learning – Remaining adaptable, innovative, and responsive to emerging needs in the field.
7. Dignity of Persons – Valuing the worth, voice, strength, and agency of all individuals.
8. Love in the Work – Approaching teaching, research, and practice with care, compassion, and a commitment to collective well-being.

Our Mandate

• Deliver graduate education that integrates social justice, Indigenization, and evidence-based practice.
• Prepare students for professional practice, advocacy, and leadership in counselling psychology.
• Advance scholarship that addresses the intersections of mental health, community wellness, and systemic change.
• Create spaces for cross-cultural dialogue, critical reflection, and community engagement.
• Strengthen connections between academic learning and real-world impact through practicum, research, and service partnerships.

Our Goals

1. Graduates will demonstrate critical understanding and competence in planning, conducting, evaluating and disseminating counselling psychology research.
2. Graduates will have mastery of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base of counselling psychology, as well as demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning.
3. Graduates will be prepared for entry to practice in counselling/counselling psychology.
4. Graduates will understand and demonstrate ethical and professional conduct in counselling psychology.
5. Graduates will understand and demonstrate their knowledge of the role of diversity and intersectionality in all areas of counselling psychology research, practice, and advocacy, and a commitment to advancing social justice issues.