Ode to PSCA
Every year we add a verse to our beloved (and delightfully corny) “Ode to PSCA” song, and sing this at conferences. Lyrics are below – if you’d like to take a walk through our history books, this is the place to start.
Ode to PSCA – The Counsellors of B.C.
A group of B.C. Counsellors was meeting one fine day.
“Let’s form up as professionals” Dick Speed was heard to say.
The group got keen and made a pact to meet each year from then,
But now all that is history! The meetings have been ten.
Chorus:
P.S.C.Aaaaaaaay
P.S.C.Aaaaaaaaaayaaaa
The Counsellors of B.C. (repeat after every verse)
As time went by their numbers grew to sixty-five and more.
Full members and associates kept coming through the door.
Some faces changed, some stayed the same, but one thing was for sure:
They always counselled ethically, to keep their conscience pure.
The conference moved around the land to places near and far.
From Abbotsford to Vancouver, and out to Castlegar.
By boat and plane, by car and train, with warmth and empathy,
The tireless dedication of …the Counsellors of B.C.
Some cynics ask “Where are they now? If this group’s up to task
To celebrate their decade year they ought to raise the cash”.
But some are old, some not so bold, and others are quite frail,
None the less we need them all, to ride the CICA trail.
For years we had the Newsletter in Mary Wilson’s style.
For some things written in it, we may some day stand trial!
Though sometimes weird and off the wall, it keeps us well-informed,
And perchance it ceased to be, it surely would be mourned.
And now it’s time to get right down to things most serious,
Forget about old Esther’s Inn and hard rides on the bus.
We’ve come this far, we won’t be stopped, we’ll confer and renew.
Our dedication and our skills – we are the counselling crew!
Now some of you are fairly new and wonder “What’s the fuss?
These Counsellors are as mixed up as a duck-billed platypus”
So let me say without delay: we’ve thought this matter through,
And if ourselves we cannot love, then truly we are …. stewed.
And now it’s time to end this song before it gets much worse.
We’ve found a sense of history and put it down in verse.
So keep in mind that in this group, with this fine company,
We find the strength to carry on – the Counsellors of BC
In `89 the gang went out to meet at U.B.C.
To ruminate on 3PO and Photo therapy
When evening came the Counsellors curled as if they were deranged
Then Uncle Milty told them how the schools would soon be changed.
In ’90 we called all the gang back to our place of birth.
Some changes were in evidence, especially in our girth.
We trudged in snow, we sang old songs, and danced the night away,
And though the changing waters rage, we know we’re here to stay.
In ’91 out to the coast we anxious Counsellors came.
To seek our proper places in the institutional game.
We held our breaths, we clasped our thumbs, and gurus did beseech
To solve the riddle of our quest. The answer? – Life’s a beach!
In ’92 we headed north to Whistler in the sky.
We dug real deep for meaning , in CICA’s vision high.
We talked about our workload blues, but no one heard a sigh,
We know where we are going, and we’ll get there by and by.
In ’93 we went across the province of B.C.
To Fairmont and its hot pools in the East Kootenay.
The A.G.M. was longest in existing memory.
Line dancing gave us balance, and we finished with CAMCRY.
In ’94 we paddled madly through the Whistler mist.
We learned of massage therapy and career constructivists.
We sang, we ate, we found lost lake, we danced the night away.
We worked on SKILLS initiatives, and still left time to play.
In ’95 at Harrison we found our destiny:
Diversified and gender-free through music therapy!
First Nations style of counselling, and karaoke wail.
And when we’ve issues to debate – we do it through e-mail.
In ’96 we all returned to ol’ Victoria,
And focused on survival and the future of our clans!
We were complete with all the gang and spirituality
And when the day was over, it was self-help therapy….
97 was the year we hit the sunshine coast,
Professional flags a-waving, we’re the service with the most!
With solution talk and narrative, we’re on our vision quest.
To be the most things to students and still remain the best.
Our 20th year in 1998 was really quite a blast,
With looking t’ward the future and learning from the past.
With life review, debriefing too, Art therapy and active engagement,
It wasn’t change that did us in, It was the evening entertainment.
In `99 we packed our bags and went to Lac La Jeune,
Counsellors kept the bears at bay by singing campfire tunes.
While nurturing our nature, we learned EMDR,
We shared our tricks, out in the sticks, and now we’ll travel far.
For conference 2000, we moved outside the box
And planned as a committee tho at times we hit road blocks.
At Whistler we found many highs with T’ai Chi and the rest
Through art and grief and music we learned counsellors are the best!
The piper lead us to our conference In two thousand and one.
We laughed a lot, we danced a lot And we had so much fun.
Through ADD and getting love and Healing voice we’ve been,
While living in the Castle And visiting the Queen.
In 2002, we had some fun and said goodbye to Ron.
We laughed some more and danced some more
and swapped gifts with everyone,
Resilience is our motto and humor is the key,
to keeping neurons firing, and our bodies worry free.
Two thousand three was not to be, as Mother Nature roared
The Whistler sky she opened high, and down the rain she poured
The flooded roads, the highway closed… we cancelled with a tear,
We met one day in Richmond annnndd… we’ll try again next year.
We counsellor are a hearty breed, resilient to the core
A Spring Event when Whistler went, oh-four saw Spirits Soar
The Chateau Spa, a village stroll… a bracing forest hike,
Of sailing ships and teamwork tips, and Evolution Psych.
Two-thousand-five, we all arrived in Kootenay Country
We learned of Coaching, Mindfulness, Attachment Therapy
At Hume Hotel we laughed and played, enjoyed the Nelson beers
We’ll never have to host this for another million years!
Two-thousand-six we all went down to funky Granville Isle
We wanted to go urban and to do it all in style
With DBT and CBT and ECIAD More clinical than cynical,
Pescites now are we!
Two-thousand-seven tempted us to cruise on the Big Isle
With courage and compassion and in “flow” we were to smile
On-line may be our clients, but our skills will overcome
Our prescription for resilience…dance and party till you’re numb!
In two-thousand-eight we made a date. In White Rock oh so fair.
The crazy lady, one-eyed dude and hungry ghost were there.
But in the end the best there was had not come from afar,
But just from old VCC – a gang of pirates who RAZED the bar!
In Fall’09, last one this time, TRU chose the Talking Rock
Enjoyed the family systems, but that cutting was a shock
Depression, yoga, eating right were also well explained
And as we closed…the music and the friendships still remained.
In twenty ten we met again, this time beside a lake.
The wind it blew — it hailed too: the weather made us quake.
But inside we were warm and dry with ACTing in our bones.
We watched a play and magic show…and we laid down our phones!
Then to the Island we returned for ’11 Ebb and Flow
Being With Who Matters most.. ourselves and with a “Ho”
We sang and danced and Slept a bit, Transforming our Satir
Had fruitful Conversations….to be wonderful this year!
In Twenty Twelve we headed to historic old New West,
Paddling the Might Fraser and Open Spaces on our quests…
Being mindful and compassionate, we explored the Borderlines,
and communed with our colleagues… who are caring, passionate and kind.
In May ’13 election dreams were shattered day before
Egg whites, gambling, hot topics on Okanagan Shores
Emotion, activation, Discharging from the heart
Open-mic soiree… Yoga, Mindfulness and Art.
At SFU we learned to work outside our comfort zone.
With geese, contact, release and FACT, we learned testosterone.
We honoured retiring Daniel and talked CIS team.
We unf***ed our s**t in two thousand and fourteen.
2015 brought us to the Island one more time,
Culture and diversity, reflections on our mind,
Differences and parallels, insights and common threads,
With patience and compassion… human nature stands the test!
Sixteen saw us convene at Vancouver’s Robson Street,
“A ‘Show and Tell’ on Being Well, a Mindfulness retreat,
Counsellors and students strive, to make our campus whole,
Postulate and integrate… Body, Mind and Soul.
Back to Quaaout was the scene for Two-O-Seventeen,
A cultural place, a collective space, we learned to “Two-Eyed See”,
Relationships and respect, expand capacities,
Stories are just perspectives, good nor bad are these.
We’re climbing up the mountain to reach the Pinnacle,
With A-E-D-P and yoga, we heal our mind and soul,
To foster health and happiness, in ages digital,
With iCare two zero one eight…. caring for us all
In 2-19 we “hopped the pond” and a Castle we did Scale,
Being Mindful of our Substances, we pledged not to Inhale,
We all engaged in Deeper Dives with Policy and Trees,
Weaving Cultural Approaches…as we Sang for Therapy
For eighteen months we worked from home, our friends we did not see
Our saving grace and nemesis was our technolo-geee
In ’21, we gathered all alone and as a group
Zoom rooms and presen-ta-tions…kept us in the loop
We’re masked and vaxed and making tracks so glad to make it here.
With mindfulness and gratitude we learned to make kefir.
The cedar bundles wrapped with care, the water cool and clear.
In ’22 with Grace and hope replenished and renewed.
Back to New West in ‘23 connecting by the quay
ADHD turned inside out and neurotherapy
We planted seeds of healing and explored the TRC
Mariachi band, drinks in hand, as full as we can be
We gathered at the Haven on the Gabriola shore
The ocean and the cedars ’24 and ever more
Belonging, neuroscience, body inclusivity
Sharing and connecting in the hospitality