How can you help create a workplace where you want to work? Your–Workplace is on a mission to make work better. It’s a Canadian multimedia company, that delivers cutting-edge information on managing, wellness and work culture through an award-winning magazine and events. This interview was recorded at the Imagine Your Workplace 2019 conference. It was held at the gorgeous, Toronto Botanical Gardens. 

I had the opportunity to sit down with Rob Elkington, Caprice Stokes, Moe Poirier, Kristen Harcourt and Laura Appleton during the 2019 conference  I had the opportunity to talk about if the world these days is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (AKA VUCA), how do you lead yourself and others, with Rob Elkington. I spoke with Caprice Stokes about how can an organization walk its talk? Moe Poirier gives us his insights on the skill of facilitation, how can it help you in your career and life, and how do you get better at it? Listen in as Kristen Harcourt and I discuss and debate the case for elevating soft skills to power skills or human skills which power up your workplace. Laura Appleton talks to us about, how do you design an organizational culture? 

 The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association is a national bilingual association of professionally trained counsellors.  CCPA’s members work in diverse fields of education, employment and career development, social work, business, industry, mental health, public service agencies, government and private practice. The 2019 conference was jointly presented with the Int’l Association for Counselling. It was held May 13 – 16, 2019 at the Delta Beauséjour Hotel in Moncton, NB. 

I had the opportunity to speak with  Stel Raven, who talks with us about deconstructing the Western view of gender. Stel’s keynote was called Queering and Decolonizing Trauma Work: A Path for Two-Spirit Wellness. Stel Raven is an Indigenous queer, trans, two-spirit individual with a Master of Social Work. They work as a clinical therapist in private practice specializing in queer, trans and two-spirit wellness as well as recovery from complex trauma. We have a opportunity and obligation to learn what our Western upbringing has hidden from us. 

There has been an explosive growth of technology in recent years, and with it we’ve seen an equal growth in the use of technology in counselling and psychotherapy. Sherry Law is active on the  CCPA’s Technology and Innovative Solutions Chapter and joined us to talk with us about her experience with technology and what the future of counselling might look like using these tools going forward. It's not just about the computer these days. 

 Amy Rubin is a yoga therapist. She’s worked with hundreds of clients suffering from anxiety, depression, addiction, and chronic pain.  Here conference session was called, Yoga Therapy: Basic Frameworks and Therapeutic Techniques for Counsellors and other Professionals.

Christina Gentile  holds a M.A. (Counselling Psychology) and works as a voice and yoga teacher. Her session was called, Pranayama: Yogic Breathing Practices as Forces for Transformation in Counselling Psychology. I got a chance to speak with them both regarding their journey to using yoga in their practice, and their journey about using yoga. This will really flex your mind. 

 The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association is a national bilingual association of professionally trained counsellors.   CCPA’s  members work in diverse fields of education, employment and career development, social work, business, industry, mental health, public service agencies, government and private practice. The 2019 conference was jointly presented with the Int’l Association for Counselling. It was held May 13 – 16, 2019 at the Delta Beauséjour Hotel in Moncton, NB.  

 Rebecca Hudson Breen  is an Assistant Professor in Counselling Psychology at the University of Alberta. She is the current President of the Career Counsellor's Chapter of  CCPA.  Breanna Lawrence is an Assistant Professor in the graduate counselling program at Brandon University. She has worked with children and their families for 10 years in educational and clinical settings.

Their session was called, Career Matters: Exploring Social Justice in Career-Life Counselling Across the Lifespan.