AT-A-GLANCE
Adults living on the North Shore, the Sunshine Coast and beyond who do not have an open claim with ICBC, WCB or any other insurance carrier, and who have a realistic potential to benefit from short-term counselling.
COVID-19 Surge Fund
What This Grantee Is Doing for Community Counselling
CMHA North and West Vancouver offers low-barrier, short-term individual counselling with services by a supervised Practicum Student and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. CAI's COVID-19 Surge fund supported the shift towards virtual counselling services at the beginning of the pandemic, and has since continued to support both virtual and in-person sessions.
The counselling provided is client-centered and evidence-based and aims to explore clients' key concerns, identify opportunities for growth and develop strategies for meaningful change. Sessions may include approaches such as:
- Art Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills training
- Mindfulness
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution Focused interventions
CMHA North and West Vancouver offers treatment for anxiety, depression, grief, transitions, stress, anger management and emotion regulation, and chronic illness/pain. Clients who experience more severe issues such as Trauma, Psychosis, Addiction, Bipolar Disorder and Self Harm, are referred to more specialized, longer term care in the community.
Quote
"An unexpected benefit that we have noticed more recently, is the increased stability and efficiency of our counselling team. We have been able to hire some of our best interns to join the counselling team and have now formed relationships lasting almost three years (10months of internship + 2 years of funded contracts to do virtual or hybrid counselling). We have been able to invest in these counsellors and, in return, they have stuck with us through stressful changes and uncertainties. We all benefit from our bi -weekly peer supervision, and from the energy and motivation and learning that the new counsellors are bringing (not to mention their computer skills!). In a time when many organizations are struggling with staff retention, we have the most stable counselling team we’ve ever had."