A new pilot program out of the Prince George branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is now offering free counselling sessions to those in need.<\/p>\n
The CMHA says the program was created in response to the escalating mental health crisis in the Prince George region. The goal is to ensure no one faces their mental health struggles alone.<\/p>\n
Dr. Elaine Laberge, executive director of CMHA Northern BC, told The Citizen that this program stands apart from others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was critical that this therapy be provided with no barriers,\u201d said Laberge. \u201cThat means no money attached and more than one or two sessions. When you’re going into therapy for just one or two sessions, it\u2019s like pulling the bandage off and then saying, \u2018See you later.\u2019 So we needed to provide ongoing therapy to support folks who are living with mental illness, who have experienced homelessness, who are living with the effects of inflation, the housing crisis, economic downturn, poverty, generational poverty and complex trauma \u2014 those kinds of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program offers 10 free counselling sessions \u2014 including the intake session \u2014 to individuals over the age of 19 who have been substance-free for at least 90 days.<\/p>\n
Sessions are designed to be goal-focused, trauma-informed and culturally safe.<\/p>\n
The pilot program was created with support from Northern Health, which contributed $65,000 toward its costs.<\/p>\n
Laberge said she has noticed significant social changes in the community since arriving in Prince George a year and a half ago, and she hopes the program can help address some of the rising challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen the transformation in Prince George, and it\u2019s not a good transformation,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a sociologist. I know the impacts of all the social injustices, inequalities and inequities that are happening \u2014 they\u2019re trickling down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing the working class become the working poor. We know that affects mental health. This is our way of showing folks that CMHA is a leader in this area\u2014not just for our clients, but for the community as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since launching in June, the program has already drawn more interest than expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s already showing signs of being popular,\u201d said Laberge. \u201cWe just need to get the word out to the entire community. There\u2019s less stigma attached to seeking therapy than there was 30 years ago when I first accessed therapy. We know there\u2019s still stigma \u2026 One of the questions I get asked is: What happens when you see a therapist? There\u2019s still this idea that you\u2019re going to lie on a couch and Freud\u2019s going to come in and talk about your mom issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laberge said the CMHA hopes to demonstrate the program\u2019s effectiveness in order to make it a permanent offering at the Prince George branch.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019ve been in this role, I can\u2019t tell you how many times people have come to the door asking to see a therapist, and we didn\u2019t have one. When you send people away, how do you know if they\u2019ll ever come back?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Canadian Mental Health Association, it only makes sense that we should have a therapist. I hope that if we can show Northern Health and the public how important this program is, we can expand it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counselling sessions are available by appointment only. Both self-referrals and professional referrals are accepted.<\/p>\n
To access the referral form, visit https:\/\/northernbc.cmha.ca<\/a> or email: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new pilot program out of the Prince George branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,9945,259,260],"class_list":{"0":"post-10038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-localfreelatestcanadian-mental-health-association-cmhacounseling-services","10":"tag-mental-health","11":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}