Orca Institute 

Thorough, professional and so supportive - I cannot recommend this school highly enough!

My counselling education at Orca was a very positive experience. The staff were supportive and the education and supervision were high level.

I considered several programs prior to choosing Orca, but what set Orca apart (besides their excellent & responsive customer experience), was that their courses are exceptional and relevant, their supervisory component provides timely support and their practicum makes the program not only one that provides personal growth (essential in the field) but growth as a student counsellor. The quality of students graduating this program is second to none. Highly recommend.

I completed the Counseling Skills Program with Orca Institute and loved it. The program is extremely flexible and the team is organized and lovely to work with. Thank you to Diane, Sheldon, and my fellow classmates for the great experience!

It was great experience to complete the course, as it was tough but did pushed me out of my comfort zone. School staff's avaibility to attend when support was needed I rate them #1.
There communication and being honest to support me to complete the couse, made me grow in many directions in life. Thank you Orca staff for your ongoing support to help me succeed

The instructions held amazing space for self-reflection, growth and learning.

Curriculum was great, support from Supervisors were great, user friendly website makes self study that much easier to navigate and learn. This institute is awesome and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to study and become a counsellor. Thank you all for helping me in my journey, I am grateful to each one of you I have met in this process. I plan to return to do another course soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences at Orca. The teaching is excellent, generous, and compassionate, and I learned a great deal. I feel confident about my next steps.

Orca is getting a so much right. Having attended a larger, more impersonal university prior to Orca, I enjoyed the more intimate experience a smaller school offers. Exchanging counselling sessions with peers, while also attending regular supervision sessions, allows one to build counsellor skill while also working through personal dilemmas that could hinder effectiveness down the line. Thanks Orca :)

Completing the Counseling Hypnotherapy Diploma program was a combination of practical and academic skills and knowledge. As it is an online course the requirements were itemized in a reasonable format. The content of the course ranged from video sessions, practical client hours and academic information. It covered a wide variety of different angles within the subject material. The quality of the video audio technology could have used an update. Some of it was very hard to listen to due to the dated audio system from that time in history that they were recorded. I thoroughly enjoyed the 6 weekend sessions on the zoom call where students and the Instructor joined together to discuss specific items in a practical sense. This aspect of the course to have human interaction was very important. Due to the structure of an online course, talking with others is valuable. My favorite material was learning about the Hawaiian Shaman techniques of Hypnosis and their ancient knowings and practices that are very effective and alive in today's world. I would recommend
Orca Institute for the Counseling Hypnotherapy Program.

I loved that the Counselling Skills Diploma program was focused on equipping counsellors for a heart-engaged practice. I appreciated the encouragement, the compassionate feedback and guidance. The feedback and leadership was personal. The community of fellow students that the staff create and guide is supportive of the learning process as well as supportive of the deep inner development of the student counsellor. Highly recommended.

I am a graduate of the Counselling Skills Diploma Program. I found the education enriching and appreciated the flexibility to work around my schedule. Thank you Diane Auld for your guidance and opening me up to the value of Carl Roger's style of Therapy. Thank you Sheldon Bilsker for all your support throughout my studies. I feel I am a better person because of the program.

Great one to one support from experienced and kind instructors. A comprehensive curriculum. Flexible and individualized format (as far as pacing is concerned). User friendly online experience overall. Exams/Assignments evoked a deep dive into the learning material.

The instructors and supervisors at Orca Institute go above and beyond to make sure you graduate their programs with the knowledge and confidence you need to start your career. I would recommend anyone looking into a future as a counsellor to reach out to them. An amazing program!

I took the counselling skills diploma here and it helped me quite a bit to get the foundations for counselling. A lot of the course material is do it yourself, with biweekly supervision hours and opportunities to gain counselling experience with other students, eventually moving onto real clients outside of the school.

I felt the program overall was pretty decent as it gave opportunities to practice, provided 40 hours of supervision for students to get feedback on their counselling skills as they grow throughout the program.

Currently in the process of registering with ACCT so I'm not too sure what will happen next. I am hoping this will open more doors to better jobs and to help make a change in Canada when it comes to mental health.

As for the staff of Orca Institute, Diane is pretty knowledgeable, although we do focus on different modalities and have different approaches to counselling. She is open to questions and provides thoughtful answers supervision questions and feedback on assignments. The admin staff were extremely quick to help when technical issues occurred, or the server was down when the website was being updated. Sheldon, the program director was always open for calls and answering questions.

As I can't speak for everyone who went here, I thought it was worthwhile. Upon graduation, Sheldon + Diane provided feedback on what happens next and outlined the steps to register with ACCT. I thought that was nice.

Now for the cons. There's a lot of reading. If you're not too fond of reading, this program may be a challenge for you. I did aim for digital textbooks so I could use them as audio books since I'm quite busy and I process things quicker through listening than reading. Some of the books limited in my opinion when it comes to counselling. It doesn't mean they are horrible or terrible, just not my cup of tea and did not mesh well with my modality and view of psychology. The Narrative Therapy book and the Foundational Counselling one (CS100) were extremely dry for me. I can't make that decision for everyone since we all have different definitions of "common sense," and come from different experiences.

I graduated from the Counselling Hypnotherapy program in 2023. The program exceeded my expectations. So many Hypnotherapy programs I looked into focused simply on ways to guide people into trance, where this program was wholistic. Teaching us that from the moment the client walks in the door the therapy has started. They taught us to ask the deep "Whys" of someone's desire to be hypnotized to do the best and most therapeutic trance work.

I enrolled in both the Counselling Hypnotherapy and Counselling Skills courses at Orca Institute, and it turned out to be the perfect decision for me, especially as a mother of three, including a young autistic boy. The flexibility to learn and complete assignments at my own pace was invaluable. Throughout my journey, I felt exceptionally welcomed and supported by the entire team. The director and instructor are truly amazing and they have a genuine care for student outcomes , and are dedicated to seeing their students succeed.

Orca Institute not only enhanced my understanding and experience, equipping me to better assist my clients, but it also facilitated personal growth. Undoubtedly, it's the best self-investment I've made, and I wholeheartedly recommend them. Whether someone is seeking to enter the field of counselling, learn about hypnotherapy, or simply enhance their skills and self-awareness.

Very helpful, warm and professional school, instructors and directors.

The course work and the instructors have made this program priceless. I have learned so much and could have not picked a better school. They have been patient, kind, informative, and professional throughout my journey. Thank you Orca!

This diploma program was without question one of the most gratifying academic journeys thus far. Not only was the curriculum outstanding in teaching and learning the skill needed on multiple levels for various therapy modalities, but the support from the director Sheldon and instructor Diane was unwavering. With ample amounts of compassion, insight, and just enough challenge to encourage as much growth academically and personally with each student. I highly recommend Orca to anyone wanting to achieve a diploma in professional counselling and or hypnotherapy. Both Sheldon and Diane come with years of experience that reflects their high levels of competency and professionalism, and anyone thinking of embarking on this journey will not be disappointed. Overall it was an absolutely amazing experience!
Brianne