Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees - VICCIR

Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees - VICCIR VICCIR assists immigrant and refugees who are suffering from the psychological and emotional wounds

Many immigrants, especially refugees, have suffered from overwhelming experiences, including loss of country, loss of loved ones, and exposure to violence. At VICCIR, we understand the complexity and unpredictability of the effects of such experiences. Our professional counsellors have the tools to guide clients towards healing. Their overall objectives are to help each client make sense of her or

his experiences and emotions, increase self-mastery and resilience, and restore a sense of meaning to life, relationships and membership in the community. The Centre offers a variety of counselling programs, each eight to ten weeks in length. A fee is established in the first session, though no one will be turned away because of an inability to pay.

VICCIR is pleased to announce a series of workshops focused on providing practical well-being tools for Chinese seniors....
05/01/2026

VICCIR is pleased to announce a series of workshops focused on providing practical well-being tools for Chinese seniors.

In partnership with Broad View United Church, VICCIR will be hosting four workshops looking at the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of health.

All interested participants aged 55+ are welcome to join us at Broad View United Church on May 7th, 21st, June 4th and June 18th to come together over food, friendship, and a spirit of lifelong learning.

For further information contact: hmckenzie@viccir.org

A short note to wish everybody a happy Easter and to mention that the office will be closed from Friday, April 3rd to Mo...
04/02/2026

A short note to wish everybody a happy Easter and to mention that the office will be closed from Friday, April 3rd to Monday, April 6th and will reopen 9am, Tuesday, April 7, 2026

The ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ is a free, confidential phone service in British Columbia (1-833-457-5463) that connects pe...
03/26/2026

The ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ is a free, confidential phone service in British Columbia (1-833-457-5463) that connects people who have experienced or witnessed racism with trained professionals who can help them navigate local supports and resources, in over 240 languages.

It operates Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (PT) and is not a substitute for emergency services like 911.

Dial 1-833-457-5463 for the Racist Incident Helpline. Speak with culturally safe, trauma-informed professionals. Youโ€™re not aloneโ€”get help now.

03/25/2026

This last Sunday, March 15th, we were delighted to experience a wonderful benefit concert for VICCIR, featuring the Arabic music of Jordie & Habbous along with the Klezmer stylings of Kvellโ€™s Angels.

The coming together of so many people from across our community truly highlighted the harmony and warmth of the event, as people of Syrian, Jewish, Christian and many other backgrounds from Victoriaโ€™s diverse spiritual, cultural and ethnic communities gathered, without distinction, to support VICCIRโ€™s critical work.

Many thanks to Liam Bartie for his excellent video production.

We are deeply grateful to the Public Employees Community Services Fund (PECSF) for their generous support of VICCIR. ๐Ÿ’™Th...
03/12/2026

We are deeply grateful to the Public Employees Community Services Fund (PECSF) for their generous support of VICCIR. ๐Ÿ’™

Thank you, PECSF, for helping us make a difference. Your donation brings us one step closer to creating stronger, healthier communities.

03/05/2026
Enhancing Wellness โ€“ M4Y research project is calling for focus group participants in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Sou...
03/05/2026

Enhancing Wellness โ€“ M4Y research project is calling for focus group participants in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, South Vancouver Island or the Okanagan to develop an application to improve support & safety for immigrant communities experiencing violence or abuse. Participants will receive a 'thank you' gift card.

To Register: https://ewm4y.ca/focus-group-registration/

BC Newcomer Services Program (BCNSP)'s Free Wellness Coffee Corner, is a supportive, art-based group to build stories of...
03/05/2026

BC Newcomer Services Program (BCNSP)'s Free Wellness Coffee Corner, is a supportive, art-based group to build stories of resilience and a collaborative effort between VIRCS and VICCIR.

To register, email either bcnsp@vircs.bc.ca or info@viccir.org

Dr. Jaswant Guzder is an internationally recognized transcultural psychiatrist and Professor (Ret.) of Psychiatry at McG...
02/23/2026

Dr. Jaswant Guzder is an internationally recognized transcultural psychiatrist and Professor (Ret.) of Psychiatry at McGill University, as well as Clinical Professor and Co-Director of the Social & Cultural Psychiatry Program at UBC. She is a consultant psychiatrist and trainer with VICCIR (Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees), where she supports child and family mental health for immigrant, refugee, and high-risk communities through holistic and creative approaches to healing.

To register, please contact: info@viccir.org

๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐…๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐จ๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ญ ๐’๐š๐š๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฐ๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐žCommunity members acr...
02/02/2026

๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐…๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐จ๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ญ ๐’๐š๐š๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฐ๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž

Community members across Greater Victoria are invited to celebrate Family Day at the 3rd Annual DAC Dance Along, a free, all-ages multicultural community event hosted by the Greater Victoria Police Diversity Advisory Committee.

The event takes place on Family Day, Monday, February 16, 2026, at Saanich Commonwealth Place in the Garry Oak Room. Doors open at 11:45 AM, with programming beginning at 12:00 PM. Guests are welcome to arrive at any time and enjoy the afternoon at their own pace.

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/3rd-annual-dac-dance-along-tickets-1981441555030

So grateful to be part of AMSSAโ€™s recent SWIS Forum 2026, bringing together Settlement Workers in Schools from across B....
02/02/2026

So grateful to be part of AMSSAโ€™s recent SWIS Forum 2026, bringing together Settlement Workers in Schools from across B.C. who walk alongside newcomer children, youth and families every day.

At VICCIR, we deeply value SWIS workersโ€™ role in creating safe, welcoming school communities and are committed to standing with them through trauma-informed mental health support for immigrants and refugees.

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Victoria, BC

Telephone

+17784041777

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