1. Child and Youth Worker Program Takes Practical Approach
That Includes Regular Curriculum Review
In a range of settings, professionals work with one of society’s most vulnerable
demographics — children and youth. According to Wikipedia, these professionals, known as
child and youth workers, possess a special knowledge base and skill set that includes:
behaviour, emotions, mental health, development, environment and most importantly,
therapeutic relationships. These child and youth workers provide therapeutic interventions
that promote the growth of valued characteristics, self-esteem and self-efficacy; offer
opportunities to heal and experience positive relationships; provide opportunities for
children and youth to feel connected and have a sense of belonging; work through the
resistance of trusting, and being cared for; and more.
At Centennial College’s Child and Youth Worker in Canada, students become familiar with
the principles, philosophies and characteristics of relational child and youth work practice
such as co-creating relationships, working developmentally and understanding professional
boundaries. This is achieved through three years of training that includes specialized field
placements in all three years that vary between two and four days per week as well as
supplemental training in Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour (UMAB).
Here is a look at some of the specific courses that students attend. It is worth
noting that the program’s curriculum is reviewed and revised annually to ensure
that courses and assignments are based on current research and best practices.
Introduction to Child & Youth Work: To offer students a base, this course
examines the history of the profession, the unique roles of child and youth
workers, and how these roles have evolved, a framework to view mental health
and mental illness, exploration of students’ professional identity, managing
therapeutic relationships, and developing appropriate boundaries and ethics as a
professional.
Working with Traumatized Children & Youth: Traumatized children understand the world in
a different way. As such, to build trust and therapeutic relationships, professionals must be
privy to this understanding. As such, they learn how traumatized children interact with
others, how their issues manifest themselves in their behaviour, and other ongoing
challenges they face with anxiety, trauma triggers, mental health issues and relationship
struggles.
Multimodal Therapies in Child & Youth Work: A cognitive behavioural based framework is
examined and includes diverse modes of treatment such as art, children’s literature, music,
movement, television and other media. Through a unique approach, students spend three
hours of classes per week, plus one hour of independent study that will result in the
completion of an assigned project.
Advocacy & Law in Children’s Mental Health: Ensuring that the rights of all children are
protected is a huge part of the profession. This course looks at: advocacy, current
protective legislation, youth justice, children’s rights, the rights of children in care, laws
that govern children’s mental health, laws that govern the Education Act, and other current
issues that govern the profession.

2. Evidence Based Programming: To ensure that programs lead to the positive outcomes they
were designed to achieve, students learn to make informed choices about adopting the
“best” programs for developing the core social, emotional and life-long learning skills
children and adolescents need to become productive and contributing members of society.
For More Ifnformation Visit http://www1.centennialcollege.ca/