Interested in Counselling?
Residency presents a unique set of stressors. We believe all residents should have access to private, confidential, non-judgmental support services to help them navigate through this critical and demanding point in their careers. We offer a variety of counselling services for residents and their partners.
Types of Counselling
Click the icon below to learn more.
Individual Counselling
Individual Counselling
The most common service offered is 1:1 counselling support between a counsellor and a resident, focusing on the resident’s topics of choice, at their pace, over Zoom or in person.
Couples Counselling
Couples Counselling
Relationship support is available to a resident and their partner and can focus on the challenges of having a relationship in medicine or focus on topics external to residency. Partners do not need to be residents to access this support.
Indigenous Counselling
Indigenous Counselling
This support is offered by an Indigenous Elder, Jean Wasegijig, and focuses on supporting residents mentally, physically, spiritually and emotional using traditional tools and teachings through an Indigenous lens. All residents are eligible to access supports with Elder Jean, though Indigenous residents will be prioritized. Click here to learn more!
Areas We Support:
- Managing Moods (depression, anxiety, burnout)
- Stress & Time Management
- Improving Communication at Work
- Relationship Issues (partnerships, colleagues, family)
- Loss/Life Transition
- Mistreatment/Discrimination at Work
Eligibility
We provide counselling services to all UBC medical residents, subspecialty residents, and identified trainees from the Area of Focused Competency Fellows. There is a small subset of fellows who are not eligible for our services at this time. Please contact pgme.rcaps@ubc.ca to confirm eligibility.
Session Maximum
The maximum number of free counselling sessions available to residents is 10 sessions per academic year, starting July 1st and ending June 30th. Sessions can be used for individual or couples counselling but cannot be used in tandem. The 10 sessions will renew once the academic year resets.
Locations
All sessions can be done virtually, on Zoom, or can take place in person in the following locations.
Gordon & Leslie Diamond Health Care Center (DHCC)
2775 Laurel St
10203 & 10228 (10th floor)
*Mondays to Fridays
Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH)
13750 96 Ave (Critical Care Tower)
Room 3-622 (3rd floor)
*2nd & 4th Thursday of each month
Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
330 E Columbia St
UBC Med. Ed. Centre Room #009
*1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month
Distributed Sites: Counsellors will visit distributed sites including the Island, the Interior, and the North several times per year. The date of these visits is organized by Program Administrators and will be promoted to residents when scheduled. Residents are welcome to schedule a confidential session with a counsellor during these visits and many find it helpful to meet individually with the counsellor in person to provide an added level of comfort to Zoom counselling if residents choose to access that resource in future.
Community Referral Network
It is common for residents to see a private counsellor without a core understanding about residency training. After receiving feedback related to the frustrations of explaining residency, the RCAPS Office trained 25 counsellors across BC who understand the complexities of medical training. The Community Network counsellors come from varied backgrounds and expertise areas which include; Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) counsellors, neurodivergent, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) /Autism specializations, and counsellors from the Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) community. For residents seeking Black counsellors specifically, click here. Our Network has flexible evening and weekend availability to accommodate busy resident schedules. Download our Community Referral Network.
