May is Mental Health Month, and Mental Health Week runs from May 6 – May 12. This year, the theme focuses on compassion, and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is inviting everyone to start a conversation about how compassion connects.
With that in mind, we thought we’d share how our team exemplifies compassion and kindness in their daily efforts to support youth who reach out to us for help.
In 2023, through our Core Counselling Program, our team of registered therapists provided over 2,500 counselling sessions to youth aged 15-25.
Since January, the team is averaging a record 100+ mental health sessions per week with some remote counselling being offered to help mitigate barriers to access such as distance, scheduling conflicts, and the difficulty some youth have attending in-person meetings due to anxiety issues.
The increase in the number of clients we serve speaks to our commitment to supporting mental health but also underscores the critical need for accessible mental health services, especially for vulnerable populations.
During intake, each client receives personalized assistance from our team of social workers and outreach workers, addressing various essential needs such as housing, financial support, employment, and medical processes. This wrap around service is tailored to each client’s unique circumstances, and serves as the critical stabilizing process that prepares them to achieve success in counselling sessions.
While there is more we hope to achieve in this space in the coming months and years, our team’s dedication to our collective goals and to our clients demonstrates a strong commitment to uplifting youth facing mental health challenges. The stigma around mental health issues is still a significant barrier preventing many people from asking for help, but when we see this issue through a compassionate lens, we can change the conversation and reduce stigma, embrace kindness, and be ready to support our families, friends and colleagues.
To that end, if you or someone you know is asking for help, they can self-refer here.
To learn more about Mental Health Week and to download the CMHA toolkit, click here