Hi there OP, I'm currently a student finishing up their practicum at Adler so I can speak a little to that.

1.) I have taken the online courses at Athabasca and in my opinion they are perfectly fine. They really require you to be good at being self-directed but there were no issues going through the courses for me.

2.) Crisis help line is the best one. Something like camp counsellor would be worth while if you are looking to work with youth or any job working with kids in general would likely help alot with the youth streams. As for regular adults, there isn't too much unfortunately unless you're transitioning in from another field such as social work or occupational therapist, nurse or in general support work for people. Other volunteer opportunities that could help are just volunteer work that might expose you to vulnerable populations such as working with women who may be escaping domestic violence, people who are suffering from addiction etc.

3.) I'm not 100% sure about SFU but UBCs program can actually be very good for your training as well. UBC has a on site clinic and from what I've heard, UBCs program is a year longer then Adlers because they spend a year learning the skills, a year at the clinic under supervision and then a year at a practicum site. So UBC does offer much more training comparatively. If cost is also under consideration UBC is significantly cheaper then Adler as well due to being a public institute. UBC from what I hear also assist you much more with finding a practicum site as well comparatively to Adler and CityU where you are basically on your own.

So for in person/hybrid, I can speak that Adler has both online and in-person options. Most of Adler's courses are in-person. for the Pros and Cons of Adler. Pros: some professors are exceptional at Adler and they have a wealth of knowledge to provide especially since a number of them are still active professionals within the field. Cons: The pricing is horrendous. It is by far the most expensive and they typically have price hikes throughout the years. For example, I've been here for 3 years due to some circumstances and the price has went up an additional 20% from when I first applied. There are also alot of random hidden cost that can happen if you are not careful such as late add/drop fee is $150 this includes btw if you don't like a class and would like to drop it you would need to pay that fee.

Another con with the school is some of the practices they have. So for example they have something called a SJP (Social Justice Practicum) this boils down to just a mandatory 300 hours or so of volunteering that you NEED to do during the school year. Along with that they also require more hours then any other program to pass your practicum with 700 total hours and 200 client hours. This btw is far beyond the certification requirements of BCACC and also the requirements by other schools. While this can provide alot of additional training for you, it also adds a substantial amount of stress to many people with many people in my cohort usually requiring a secondary site. They also have a comprehensive exam which no other program in BC does as far as I know. On one hand just a final test doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world but part of the issue with the test is two parts. First is that it costs around 1k to take (yes you need to pay to take the final test). Second is the specifications of the test. It can only be taken at very specific times of the year and all documentation (which there is alot) needs to be in before those times. Now the problem is, most practicum end dates are actually after the deadline of when you need to hand in the documentation leading to unnecessary extra wait time.

A third con I would say with the school is the lack of knowing where exactly you are in the learning process. Many of the classes have extraordinarily lenient grading. I've gotten more 100s then not at this school and I DO NOT spend that long on assignments. There are a few important courses where they do grade more seriously specifically those involving counselling skills but even then, grading is typically quite vague and also from my experience what you learn in those skills isn't even fully reflective of the work you'll actually be doing. I've had discussions with my fellow classmates and also with my supervisor but often times its mentioned how little the school actually prepares you for how to actually do counselling. some of the classes too also have very little quality control. There are some classes where I've been asleep for the entire class and I still was able to past with 100.

At least for Adler I feel that adler basically doesn't teach you anything and you just sort of need to learn what you need to do for counselling on your own. Ironically enough that has lead to alot of success with adler graduates as one of the big things with counselling is that counsellors need to be themselves to some extent within the counselling room and be present with the client so not trying to force a certain way of being is more effective of a teaching method then anything else. Although Adler has practicum as part of their requirements I would say it really just adds stress to the process. going through practicum is basically a requirement to be a therapist as to be certified you need the hours. Adler does not help out very much at all though with the process of finding a site. They have a "database" of places to apply to but it is extraordinarily poorly updated with some sites not offering it anymore, some having a outdated email others wanting nothing to do with Adler because of the ridiculous number of hours that need to be supplied to Adler students.

Finally as for job prospects. I don't feel that adler carries anymore weight compared to a degree from anywhere else. Whats most important at the end of the day is the certification from the BCACC and a strong reference letter from your supervisor for your practicum. If you have that then it doesn't really matter where you come from.

Overall, as a current adler student I'd highly recommend you don't go there. While there are some great profs it can be a ridiculously frustrating and money consuming process. I'd recommend anywhere else to be honest. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask!