Counselling and Mental Health 

“Even in recovery I’ve changed counsellors because that person didn’t work for me.
Like, she was good, but I just didn’t feel like I had a connection to disclose when I was struggling, so I would say everything was fine and my anxiety was fine, when in fact I was still really fearful of things. The counsellor I see now is really good. It was about finding the right person to work with me, who I felt comfortable talking to.” (Parent)

“I used drugs and alcohol to cope with the trauma of my childhood, experiencing violence, bullying, abandonment and domestic violence as I got older. It soon became a way of life.
It got so out of control to the point where I had to be scheduled into a mental health hospital. Once discharged, I had to straighten my life out. I needed to sort things out to get my child back. I couldn’t afford counselling, and I didn’t want to see a different counsellor every week. It took me 7 months to find a counsellor who would see me on a regular basis and who did not give up on me. I had counselling 5 hours a week for most of the first year. It then dropped back to once a week as I was learning to deal with childhood trauma and the issues from my past. I learned new coping skills. It’s been almost 5 years and I now see a counsellor every so often to maintain my emotional wellbeing”. (Parent)