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Five Year Plan

By Ciona Thompson
001166996

c.thompson@uleth.ca

CAAP 6699 Project

For Professor Toupey Luft

University of Lethbridge
Master of Counselling Program

Date Submitted: February 27th, 2024

Assignment Deadline: March 1st,2024

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I worked as a Grade 4/5 classroom teacher when I started the program. I

thoroughly enjoyed this role but knew I had a passion for mental health and wellness

education and knew that becoming a teacher counsellor would be a good fit. The

teacher counsellor role can be hard to find within the school division, and I applied for

the role at various schools over five times and eventually accepted the position as an

elementary teacher counsellor. I have enjoyed working with young children outside of

my practicum and noticed my skills have significantly improved over the past few

months.

I am a lifelong learner, and I am excited to enter this new chapter and obtain my

CCC designation upon graduation. When I envision my practice in the future, I plan to

one day have my own practice and eventually become a provisional psychologist. I

would like to practice in Lethbridge. However, there has been discussion among my

family to move to a more rural setting, but I do not believe this would deter me from

opening a practice.

Goals

Foundations: Diversity 1.5B – Adapting the counselling therapist’s approach to

meet culture-specific needs

As a novice counsellor, it is important for me to continue to enhance and adapt

my counselling approach, techniques, and interventions to meet culture-specific needs

effectively. I believe it is essential to remain open-minded, be willing to learn new

interventions and approaches and tailor them to meet the client's needs. This goal also

aligns closely with FACTBC's stance that encourages counsellors to develop indigenous
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cultural competencies. As a Métis educator and counsellor, I have a unique opportunity

and background to understand the importance of bridging cultures and striving to create

a culture of understanding. I also hope to foster this goal within my peers and future co-

workers because we can all learn about different cultural needs from each other.

I plan to attend workshops about Indigenous cultures and how to cultivate safe

spaces through various indigenous organizations. I also see the benefit in gaining a

clear understanding of Indigenous history through the University of Alberta Indigenous

Canada course. Finally, I see value in reflecting on my practice often and seek

feedback.

Communication and Relationships 2.3A – Create and Sustain Working

Relationships with Other Professionals

My second goal is to continue to develop and sustain collaborative relationships

with other professionals to enhance holistic care and promote interdisciplinary

understanding, cooperation and partnership. In my roles as a teacher, addiction support

worker and victim service advocate, I have seen firsthand the importance of community

relations and understanding how different organizations and services function to serve

clients best. In order to promote positive and collaborative partnerships, counsellors

need to ensure they engage in clear and effective communication as well as be willing

to seek out other organizations and understand their role and function with the

community. As a counsellor, understanding various community resources can also help

me serve my clients better by giving me the knowledge, skills and understanding to

provide accurate and helpful referrals.

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To achieve this goal, it will be vital for me to engage in community discussions

such as school division town hall meetings, which bring together various stakeholders or

attend monthly case consults that often include a community member presentation. I

also plan to participate in conferences in the future to allow me to network and connect

with other professionals.

Professionalism Ethics 2.3D – Resolve ethical dilemmas in a Manner Consistent

with Legislation and Professional Standards

Ethics are a critical component of the counselling profession. I plan to continue

developing the skills necessary to navigate and resolve ethical dilemmas while ensuring

alignment with legislation and upholding the highest ethical standards. Adhering to

legislation and professional standards promotes integrity within the profession,

minimizes the risk of harm, and ensures clients receive appropriate and high-quality

care. As a novice counsellor, I plan to continue to consult with professionals when faced

with an ethical dilemma while ensuring my client's confidentiality is respected. It is also

essential to engage in continuing education with it comes ethical practices such as

attending professional development, seminars and workshops as well as ensuring I am

up to date about any changes in legislation.

Professionalism Reflective Practice 3.4B - Undertake Self-Evaluations and

Identify Goals for Improvement

It will be vital for me to continue actively engaging in the self-evaluation process

frequently to identify areas for personal and professional growth. As I previously

mentioned, counselling is a career that centers around life-long learning and in order to
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enhance my skills, I must be willing to engage in reflective practice and have a high

level of self-awareness. I aim to take a client-centred approach within my therapeutic

practice, and one way to promote this is to engage in self-evaluation and seek feedback

to serve my clients best. One approach that proved to be quite helpful in gathering

feedback during my practicum was to request clients to complete the Scott Miller

Session Rating Scale. It was a simple and efficient way to receive valuable feedback

that I could easily integrate into my practice. I also would like to continue scheduling

times for self-reflect through journaling, notes or surveys.

Counselling Therapy Process 4.4A – Adapt Therapeutic Process to Meet Specific

needs to Client

My final goal centers around adapting and changing my practice to meet client

needs. I believe effective counselling interventions involve a tailored and responsive

approach that adapts to the client's changing needs. I am committed to helping my

clients achieve their goals and improve their overall well-being by continuously adapting

and refining my practice. Two therapeutic approaches that are important to me are

client-centered and integrative; this goal demonstrates my commitment to those

approaches since both these approaches prioritize the unique needs and experiences

of the client. To obtain this goal and enhance my abilities to provide a more tailored

approach, I plan to pursue eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

therapy training and somatic experiencing (SE) training. By seeking out these trainings,

I will have the opportunity to provide more tailored and effective therapy.

Competencies Goal Benefits and Key Steps Support and When Will I
Advantages That You Resources – Do This?
of Achieving Need to Take Consider Give Yourself
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Each Goal Time, Money, Deadlines

Motivation,
Contacts etc.
Foundations Diversity 1.5B -Helps me -Attending -Effective -Would like to
– Adapting the understand workshops, supervision attend some
counselling clients seminars, and -Finding training this
therapist’s -Allows me to training meaningful year
approach to tailor my -Self-reflection training -Attending
meet culture- approach to -Seek opportunities Métis
specific needs each client feedback -Paying for wellness
-Allows for -Completing training workshops in
increased my own March, 2024
ethical research
practice
-Allows me to
learn new
interventions
to support
cultural
aspects
Communication Collaborative -Promotes -Stay updated -Networking -Ongoing
and Practice and interdisciplinar on community and -Attend
Relationships Referral 2.3A y resources developing monthly case
– Create and understanding -Attend connections consults
sustain -Positive community within the
working impact for the events and community
relationships counselling engage in -Continue to
with other community stakeholder build
professionals -Allows for meetings community
effective connections
referrals and when possible
understanding
of resources
for clients
Professionalism Ethics 2.3D – -Provide an -Stay updated -Paying for -Attend
resolve ethical ethical with changes training training next
dilemmas in a practice to legislation -Finding and year (2025)
manner -Be able to -Attend paying for
consistent solve workshops on quality
with problems ethical supervision
legislation and -Upholds a practice -Finding
professional high standard -Consult and meaningful
standards for the seek training
counselling supervision opportunities
profession -Engage in
the ethical
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decision-
making
process when
able too
Professionalism Reflective -Promotes -Develop self- --Paying for -On going
Practice 3.4B ethical reflective supervision -Check for
– Undertake practice practices -Developing CAP and
self- -Allows for -Consult and effective self- other
evaluations personal and seek reflective regulations
and identify professional supervision practices monthly for
goals for growth -Reflect often -Purchase changes
improvement -Increase self- -Continue to note books to -Attend ethics
awareness make goals engage in workshop in
-Promotes for self self-reflection 2026
client-centred
approach
Counselling Therapeutic -Meets client -Develop self- -Paying for -On going
Therapy process – needs reflective training -EMDR
Process 4.4A Adapt -Increase self- practices -Paying for Training (end
therapeutic awareness -Consult and supervisions of 2025)
process to -Promotes seek -Consultation -SE Training
meet specific client-centred supervision (2026)
needs of client approach -Continue to
seek out
training