For the first time, Squamish has a one-stop shop of counselling services with a collective of six clinical counsellors and psychotherapists.
Many people, in the recent past, were compelled to drive to Vancouver for counselling services, according to local psychologists, either because they wanted the anonymity of the city or because Squamish therapy that fit their needs or schedule was unavailable.
The Squamish Counselling Clinic, located behind Garibaldi Village, will officially celebrate its opening Sept. 27. Three of the counsellors work with children and youth.
For many years Squamish didn’t have many options for youth counselling, said psychotherapist Stacey Shelby.
“That was a huge lack in Squamish,” she added.
“I had lots of friends that wanted to send children [to counselling] and I was in a conflict of interest so I sent them to Vancouver up until pretty recently.”
The clinic also has a certified clinical sexologist, Daniele Doucet, and Shelby is a depth psychologist, who works with underlying patterns of behaviour and dreams.
Because the therapists at the clinic are all registered, patients can access various funding mechanisms including extended health care benefits and First Nations Health Authority benefits to help cover their fees.
Squamish is ready for such a clinic devoted to therapy, Shelby said, because the demographic of Squamish has changed, as have attitudes toward seeking help. Psychotherapist Sarah Jeffrey added people today put more of a priority on self-care than they did a generation or two ago.
“Counselling is becoming a little more normalized and people are adding it to their repertoire,” she said.
While most of the reasons Squamish residents seek counselling are universal – relationship struggles, anxiety, depression, addiction – some themes unique to the corridor include sport psychology needs and body image issues, the therapists said.
“I do see the body image stuff, but again that is pretty universal. I just think the bar is really high in this town,” Shelby said, adding the standard of fitness in Squamish is higher than what is likely in most of the rest of the country.
While it is much more common to talk openly about seeking counselling than it was a generation ago, some people still are hesitant.
“For some people there is still a stigma,” Jeffrey said.
“The way I talk about it… I liken it to a massage. I go for a once-a-week massage, or chiropractic work. It is just another part of ourselves that we are giving some attention to.”
Shelby said in a smaller town like Squamish some people may feel awkward about running into their therapist after an appointment.
“As people come in for the first session, I say… I will see you around town. I go to the market, I have an 11-year-old son. How do you want me to greet you because technically I am supposed to ignore you and that feels pretty awful for me, so I imagine it feels worse for you. Inevitably people just want us to say hi,” Shelby said, adding she wouldn’t acknowledge she is the person’s therapist in a greeting.
Similarly, in the waiting room, the counsellors ask that if people see other patients outside the clinic they respect each other’s confidentiality.
The clinic officially launches on Sept. 27 with an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information go to http://www.squamishcounsellingclinic.com/
