Youth & Family Counsellor I​/II - Bowness Casuals

Youth & Family Counsellor I / II – Bowness Casuals Job Description

Posted Friday, December 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM

We're a not-for-profit mental health centre based in Calgary, with locations across Alberta. Our mission is to build good mental health and well-being so everyone can thrive in their community.

The Therapeutic Campus-Based Care continuum serves children with a range of mental health and medical needs, providing intensive supports and services to reduce the impacts of complex trauma, disruptive attachment, extreme behaviors, and emotional disturbances. By offering a safe, caring, and therapeutic live-in treatment environment with on-site support, children have opportunities to heal and develop skills that help them transition to less intensive and more independent environments with an increased capacity to cope, connect, and be safe.

Working from a multidisciplinary approach, Youth and Family Counsellors, along with Clinical, Nursing, and Mental Health professionals, provide day-to-day support within the program, school, and campus settings. Youth and Family Counsellors play a key role in each child’s healing journey by responding to individual needs, fostering goal setting and skill development, facilitating individualized treatment, and ensuring overall care and well-being. The team also offers ongoing recreational, pro-social, cultural, and therapeutic opportunities within the program’s milieu, creating a structured environment for growth and connection.

The Therapeutic Campus-Based Care continuum includes Cottages 1, 2, & 3, as well as the Under 12, Phoenix and George Wood Learning Centre programs.

You will have access to paid training in Wood’s Academy, a comprehensive onboarding experience that prepares staff to support high-acuity, trauma-responsive programs. Casual staff benefit from a collaborative and supportive environment with guidance from experienced team members, clinical staff, and program leadership. Working within the TCBC continuum offers meaningful experience in therapeutic interventions, structured milieu work, and trauma-informed practice, with opportunities to grow into part‑time or full‑time roles within Wood’s Homes.

Wood’s Homes is seeking Casual Youth & Family Counsellors to provide flexible, on‑call support across the TCBC cottages. Casual staff play an important role in maintaining safety, consistency, and stability during staff absences, increased acuity, and times of higher activity within the programs.

Casual Youth & Family Counsellors report to the Team Lead and receive direction from the Senior Worker and Program Leadership of the cottage they are supporting for that shift. They work alongside full‑time staff and contribute to the daily routines and therapeutic structure that support children’s healing and well‑being.

Casual staff must complete required training and demonstrate due diligence in meeting the expectations of the Health and Safety Management System, COR Certification, and Practice of Wood’s Homes.

• Maintaining predictable routines and a structured milieu that promotes safety, regulation, and connection.
• Engaging children in attuned, trauma‑responsive interactions using Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and Three Pillars of Transforming Care.
• Supporting daily living routines, including room organization, chores, personal routines, meal support, and transitions throughout the day.
• Participating in on‑campus recreational, educational, cultural, and therapeutic activities that foster regulation, belonging, and healthy coping.
• Assisting in responses to dysregulation or crisis, following individual safety and high‑risk plans and using TCI strategies within the scope of the role.
• Accurately completing shift documentation, including communication logs and incident reports, in alignment with program standards.
• Helping maintain a clean, safe, and welcoming environment, ensuring program spaces meet Licensing and COR expectations.
• Communicating safety concerns, child presentation, and important observations to Senior Workers, Team Leaders, and Supervisors.
• Participating in mandatory training and refreshers…