Island Community Counselling Services

We are pleased to welcome Caitlin Leachman to our Parksville office at #204 154 Memorial Avenue (in the Parksville Professional Building).

Caitlin holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from University of Western Ontario. She has an interest in perinatal counselling, helping those needing mental health care during and after pregnancy, but she is available for all clients, of all ages. She is available full-time, and you can book an appointment with her by e-mailing [email protected], or by leaving a message at 250-716-8888.

Welcome Caitlin!

Island Community Counselling Services ICC provides affordable professional therapeutic counselling and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy

People First Radio, a service of Vancouver Island Mental Health Society, interviewed our Executive Director about our work on Vancouver Island.

Making counselling more available on Vancouver Island In conversation with Parksville's Earl Blacklock

Congratulations to our Executive Director Earl Blacklock on being named a recipient of the 2024 BC Achievement Community Award.

Earl Blacklock, our Executive Director, has been named a recipient of the 2024 BC Achievement Community Award.

BC Achievement Community Award 2024 - BC Achievement Foundation The Community Award is the cornerstone of BC Achievement’s mission to honour excellence and inspire achievement in the province of BC.

This is an update on the DBT for Adolescents group which is kindly funded by the Rotary Club of Parksville. Some of the previous information has changed to reflect feedback we've received.

----------------------------------------------------------

When does the program begin?
The program begins the week of April 22.

How has the program been adapted to meet local needs?
We have received feedback from a number of parents. They tell us that, because of the smaller size of the communities we are drawing from, their child does not want to be part of a group session with other young people who are their peers, with whom they may go to school. We have therefore changed the group component to include only the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the young person, to give them the tools they need to help their child. Each young person who is part of the program will receive the tools and skills they need through one-on-one individual therapy including art therapy and a music-based listening therapy. This will be accomplished so as to maintain the young person's privacy as much as possible.

How long is the program?
We will have nine weeks before July, and a tenth week in September to assess the results and to make recommendations for next steps for the young person and her/his parents or guardians.

Who can attend?
Because we are now dealing with the youth participant individually, we can offer a wider age range. Any adolescent, aged 12 to 19, who is having challenges and difficulties in regulating their emotions, dealing with conflict, aggressive behaviour, staying on track in school, social isolation, alcohol and/or drug dependencies, ruminating about past traumatic or difficult events, catastrophic thinking, hopelessness, helplessness, suicidality, ineffective personal relationships, or the inability to tolerate stress and distress. In addition, at least one parent must also be involved.

How many participants will be accepted?
The limit is five adolescents plus their parent(s).

From which communities can participants be from?
Anywhere in the Oceanside area including Nanoose Bay, Enterprise, Coombs, Whiskey Creek, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Qualicum Bay.

Is there a cost to attend?
The Rotary Club's contribution, along with hoped-for contributions from other community groups and individuals, means there will only be a refundable fee of $300. This fee will be returned in full at the end of the program if the participants were involved each of the weeks to a reasonable extent. If either the parent(s) or young person miss more than two of the ten weeks, the fee would not be refundable.

Will there be another opportunity in the future?
The cost to deliver the program is $2500 per adolescent participant. This is therefore not a program we can deliver without a major sponsor such as the Rotary Club of Parksville. We are hopeful we will be able to deliver it at least annually, but there is no guarantee.

What results can this program be expected to produce?
Most "troubled" adolescents are simply trauma survivors who have lost the skills they need in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, conflict avoidance, and mindfulness. This program is intended to restore those skills to them, while providing their parents with the skills they need to more effectively support and help regulate their child. The end result should be a greater likelihood of success in life, greater likelihood of being from from alcohol or drug dependencies, and greater harmony within the family.

How can we register?
Applications to participate in the program will be taken on a first-come first-served basis, and can be made to [email protected] with the following information:
- Name and age of the youth who will participate;
- Name of the parent(s) or guardian(s) who will take part in the Monday evening group;
- The e-mail address of the youth and the e-mail address of one of the parent(s) or guardian(s).

The $300 refundable fee is due by April 15, and can be made by e-transfer to [email protected].

Celebrating that the Gaming Fund has granted us funding for 2024. Thank you to those who sent messages in support.

Through a funding partnership with the Rotary Club of Parksville, we will be offering a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy group for Adolescents 14-17 at our Parksville office Thursdays at 5, starting April 11.

DBT is particularly suited for those who:
1. Have trouble regulating their emotions;
2. Are chronically anxious and/or depressed;
3. Have trouble concentrating and learning;
4. Experience conflict regularly, including with family and friends:
5. View the future in catastrophic terms.

The DBT for Adolescents model involves the teen and at least one parent, and the group size is limited to five adolescents and their parent(s). Thanks to the generosity of the Rotarians of Parksville, there will be a low or no cost for participating. To register, please e-mail your interest to [email protected].

An interesting report card was released in January that received little notice. It was the second annual "Mental Health - Substance Use Health report card" based on polling that took place across Canada in November 2023.

Not surprisingly, respondents gave the BC government an overall F, scoring no higher than a D in any category in its provision of mental health services. But that was a pretty typical response for all governments. Only New Brunswick scored higher, with an overall D.

For those of us trying to meet the urgent needs of BC residents dealing with mental health challenges, this comes as no surprise. The BC government's approach to mental health is similar to other provincial governments: Underfund mental health care needs in the publicly funded health care system, try to adequately fund Indigenous health care (but still fall short), and then scatter money around on an ad hoc basis to try to meet the needs of those who have fallen through the cracks. This is an inefficient and ineffective approach.

The publicly funded health system is not well suited to deal with the majority of mental health issues since it follows a medical model, based on medications and utilizing doctors and psychiatrists as gatekeepers (creating frustrating wait lists). But the majority of mental health issues respond far better to non-medical interventions such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, EMDR, and psychotherapy. But because these interventions take place almost entirely outside the publicly funded health care system, they are out of reach for the majority of people who would benefit from them.

For more than 25 years, Island Community Counselling has been providing these services on an affordable basis, using trained, professional counsellors. We are the third layer of the health care system, meeting the needs of all those whose needs are not met within the publicly funded health care system. (The first layer is the doctor and Emergency Room, the second layer the hospital, and the fourth layer the myriad groups specializing and focusing exclusively on narrowly defined constituencies. We need something in between.)

When third layer providers are not available, mental health conditions worsen and progress. This produces homelessness and high rates of su***de and self-harm, eating disorders, domestic violence, substance use dependencies, and deaths from overdoses.

The groups that are able to access the sprinkling of government support for mental health aren't falling through the cracks. They are falling through a structure missing the necessary third layer entirely. But then, everyone is.

We need our leaders, from every party and every stripe, to agree with the need to ensure there is affordable access to third layer services after the publicly funded system has discharged the patient.

What could we, as Vancouver Island's principal third layer mental health service, offer were we to be adequately funded?
1. In-community, affordable substance use treatment;
2. Perinatal mental health services, improving pregnancy-related outcomes;
3. Adequate mental health support and treatment for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community;
4. PTSD prevention for vulnerable workers;
5. PTSD treatment for trauma survivors, workers, refugees, and Indigenous peoples;
6. Services for children and youth to treat emotional and mental health challenges and behavioural issues;
7. Treatment for those with mental and emotional health issues arising from chronic health problems, including the 25% of cancer patients who have PTSD as a result of their illness;
8. Treatment for the emotional and mental health effects of Covid-19 (long Covid):
9. The development of new mental health professionals, including those from an Indigenous background
10. Provide ongoing support and treatment for those whose lives have been affected by self-harm and suicidality.

And so much more.

How do we know we could do all these things? Because we already are. That's what a third layer agency does. But not at nearly the extent that the need exists. We are already significantly underfunded, receiving far less from government than the cost of one bureaucrat each year.

As we move closer to a provincial election, may we suggest that this be a Mental Health issue election? Those who are hurting because of the lack of accessible mental health support and treatment options deserve no less.

Canadians give governments an 'F' in meeting their mental health and substance use health needs: CAMIMH Poll /CNW/ - Federal and provincial governments are getting a resounding 'F' from Canadians when it comes to providing mental health and substance use health care...

Update: Gaming Fund funding for 2024 has now been received. Thank you to all those who supported us by sending messages to the government.
---------

We have not yet received word of our Gaming Fund funding for 2024. This could mean that the Fund is again planning to deny us funding, which occurred last year and was finally reversed, albeit with a $20,000 cut in our funding levels. While we have managed to survive to this point, a decision to deny us funding again, even if it is eventually reversed, would be devastating for our agency, the only Island-wide agency dedicated to providing professional counselling services at either no cost or at an affordable cost.

In the meantime, to maintain services from Campbell River to Duncan, including Nanaimo, warrants funding levels of $150,000 or more each year just to deliver the kind of care that is needed on the Island. We should be able to provide bridge counselling at no cost to every person discharged from Emergency rooms and Urgent Care facilities in Campbell River, Comox, Parksville, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, and Duncan after a self-harm attempt. We should be helping cancer patients fighting a battle for their lives to avoid PTSD as a complication of their cancer. We should be able to launch perinatal services to help ensure mental health wellness during and after pregnancy. We should be giving options for recovery from drug and alcohol dependencies that do not involve spending 10s of thousands of dollars for treatment.

Why are these "shoulds" instead of "nice-to-haves"? Because we have created the only non-profit, accessible, and affordable agency capable of doing these things. We are the largest counselling agency on the Island. We are the only provider of in-person counselling services up and down the Island. We are the only agency capable of further expanding to fill the enormous needs on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast.

Why are we not receiving the support needed to fulfill this potential, then? The reality is that provincial funding for mental health is not based on merit. We have proved year after year that we offer the best solutions for mental health support anywhere on the Island, and in some respects, anywhere in the province. Our capability has not been rewarded with adequate funding.

During Covid, NO funding was available to us because the enormous mental health crisis caused by Covid also meant that we grew significantly -- and all the funding was for those whose income was harmed by Covid. Funding we lobbied for that was specific for community counselling agencies was instead handed out to groups that were already well-funded, and which did not meet the criteria for the funding. And because the funding was not made directly by government officials, we couldn't even learn the reasons why we were denied the approximately $500,000 in needed funding.

We will learn in the next two weeks whether we have been given any Gaming Fund money for 2024. (UPDATE: The Gaming Fund, for the second year in a row, will not meet its own February 28 deadline for notifications and notifications may take until March 31) If we are not, we will be forced to close our doors, and the 1000 people we serve will have to stop receiving mental health care because they simply will not be able to afford it.

Is this situation acceptable? If it is not, in your opinion, we ask you to e-mail Premier David Eby, Health Minister Adrian Dix, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside, and Minister responsible for the Gaming Fund Mike Farnworth, as well as your local MLA, indicating your support for the maximum funding available for our work.

When you write, please:
1. Give our full legal name: Vancouver Island Integrated Counselling and Community Services Society, operating as Island Community Counselling.

2. Send your email to the following Ministers' addresses:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

3. Send a copy to us at [email protected].

4. Forward this message widely. Facebook rules prevent us from advertising a message that mention shortcomings of government.

We have close to 2,000 followers on this page. If even 10% of you send an e-mail, you will change the world. Or at least our corner of it. The fate of our life-changing service is in your hands.

Thank you in advance.

UPDATE: With support from the Gaming Fund, the first two months of participation for up to ten participants will now be at no cost.

From our previous offerings, it has become clear that there is a strong need for a drop-in on-line support group for those struggling with physical illnesses and disabilities. This will be a mid-day session, scheduled for the day that works best for participants. There will be a cost of $15 per session or $50 per month to cover some of the costs involved, with the agency picking up the difference.

The group leader is Ryan Yellowlees, MC, RCC. Ryan has lived experience as a person with a physical disability who uses a wheelchair. He knows what it is to struggle, but he also knows what it means to greatly exceed expectations. He is the right person for a very needed group.

For more information, please contact Ryan at [email protected].

View Ryan's message at

Ryan Yellowlees - Island Community Counseling

Someone asked me the other day what I thought Island Community Counselling's greatest strength is. I thought of a few in response. There is our affordability. Accessibility. The number and quality of our therapists. The range of our specialties. Our community focus, serving everyone. But above all else, I think, is that we have NO WAIT LIST. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

At a time when there are so many who are struggling, it is the fact that no one needs to wait for the help they need, whether it is in Campbell River, Comox, Parksville, Nanaimo, Duncan, or on-line, that sets our agency apart.

Do you know someone who can use our help? Have them contact us by e-mail at [email protected], giving us their name, phone number, and location. They can also fill out the form at https://islandcommunitycounselling.ca/contact or text or phone 250-716-8888.

🙂

Island Community Counselling Services ICC provides affordable professional therapeutic counselling and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy

Questions and Answers

Q: Who is Island Community Counselling Services?
A: We are a non-profit, affordable provider of professional counselling services. That means our therapists are either registered or certified professional counsellors, or they are moving toward registration or certification.

Q: Where are you?
A: We have offices in Campbell River, Comox, Parksville, Nanaimo, and Duncan, and we provide in-person services on Denman Island and Hornby Island. We are also available on-line. Our mandate is to ensure that the people on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast have access to affordable and accessible mental heath care not available from the public health care system.

Q: Why do you exist?
A: We are facing a mental health crisis in our province. After Covid, 60% of the population are estimated to have life challenges from trauma that affect their day-to-day lives resulting in mental illness, dependencies, family conflict, relationship difficulties, and child and youth emotion dysregulation. This crisis is made worse by the fact that the professional counsellors who are in the best position to help are unaffordable for most people. Our role is to provide, as much as we can, AFFORDABLE professional counselling services.

Q: How long is your wait list?
A: We do not have a wait list. We are the largest counselling agency on Vancouver Island, with 26 therapists, and we have availability in all of our mandate area.

Q: What is the best way to contact you?
A: The fastest way to be connected with one of our therapists is to send an e-mail to [email protected] with the following information: 1) The first name of the person needing help; 2) The phone number and e-mail of that person; 3) Where the person is located; and 4) Whether there is a full-time employment income in that person's household (so that we can assess which of our therapists will likely be affordable for her/him).

Q: How is your work supported?
A: Our clients pay what they can. We are grateful to the Gaming Fund for ongoing funding to partially make up the difference.

Q: How can I help?
A: We are needing volunteers for our Board, fundraising committee, and to help raise awareness about our services. Starting with a fundraising coordinator!🙂

Send a message to learn more

If you or your child wants to creatively explore ways to manage emotional and mental health issues through art, contact our art therapist at [email protected]. Andrea works out of our Parksville location.

Island Community Counselling Services ICC provides affordable professional therapeutic counselling and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy

Our Annual General Meeting is over, but the search for new volunteers to assist with fundraising and awareness, particularly in the Cowichan Valley, the Comox Valley, and Campbell River, remains. If you are interested in advocating for improved mental health services in those areas, please e-mail [email protected].

The limited provincial funding for Level 3 non-profit mental health services means we have an $80,000 gap to fill to ensure we have the people in place to match our goal of providing professional and affordable therapeutic counselling services to the residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. We are only halfway to our goal of being able to ensure everyone in our mandate area has direct access (although we have very capable on-line therapists for those who can't attend our Campbell River, Comox Valley, Denman Island, Parksville, Nanaimo, and Duncan locations in-person).

Can you help?

We are pleased to welcome Ryan Yellowlees to our therapeutic counselling team.
Ryan knows from experience what it is like to have a chronic health condition, and he brings a rare empathy and insight to his counselling role, particularly for those who experience mental health challenges from disabilities and chronic physical health concerns.
Please share this post widely to those who would benefit from Ryan's training and unique experience. His sessions are all on-line, and his per session fee is a flat $63.00 including GST. Ryan introduces himself in the attached video.
To see Ryan or any of our therapists, please send a request to [email protected] giving your name, location, and phone number to be connected with one of our skilled and affordable counselling professionals.
facebook.com/IslandCommunityCounselling/videos/229579353184553

Report to the Residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast

The Good News
We have not been able to get the funding needed to continue our expansion into the Greater Victoria Area (more on funding later). Nonetheless, we understand there is a significant wait list for both practicum and experienced therapists in the GVA, and we are in a good position to take on by Zoom-based therapy anyone who is currently on a wait list.

The Bad News
We have been sounding the alarm about the mental health priorities of the BC government for five years, without success. The bottom line is this: The BC government does not have a pathway for third tier counselling services such as ours to receive funding, except through the Gaming Grants. And this year, our Gaming Grant application was turned down because of late paperwork.

We are therefore trying to make up for the $100,000 minimum funding we need each year to continue providing affordable professional therapeutic counselling services to the residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. That is less than $100 in subsidized care for each person we provide care to.

And since the BC government is indifferent to mental health until it becomes a crisis (overdose deaths, su***de, homelessness, domestic violence, youth crime, chronic sickness, and so on), we need to find a way to find more ways to fund our operations than the unreliable BC government.

We said in another post that the BC government's failures in the most recent budget could mean that we will not survive the remainder of the year. However, we've decided that is not an acceptable outcome. We therefore need support from the business community, the medical community, and community service clubs and organizations.

We have a proven model for ensuring people get the help they need to be able to meet their own needs for housing, emotion regulation, careers, and relationships. We have 30 therapists available in Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Denman Island, Parksville, Nanaimo, and Duncan. We are saving and changing lives every day.

But now we need help. If you can think of ways you can contribute to our mission, please email us at [email protected].

PROVINCIAL BUDGET FALLS WOEFULLY SHORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH

The provincial government's budget has been released, and it is again failing to priorize primary treatment for mental health. The government has instead chosen to try to address the problems that arise when primary mental health is not made a priority.

70% of mental health disorders do not fit the health care system's treatment model, particularly those disorders that arise from trauma. What is needed is a third layer of affordable treatment provided by professional psychotherapists and therapeutic counsellors to help the patient navigate tools and strategies to recover. If that is not provided, people suffer.

Island Community Counselling has been repeatedly denied the funding it requires to fulfill its mandate to provide professional and affordable psychotherapy and therapeutic counselling to the residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. We serve more than 1000 people each year WITHOUT A WAIT LIST. Without our presence, the problems the government is trying to deal with such as homelessness, substance abuse, overdoses, suicidality, violence, crime, and so on can only increase.

We have 1,800 followers on this site. If you believe in our mission, please make your voice heard. Contact your MLA and the Premier to let them know that it is unacceptable that there is no provision for community counselling agencies that serve ALL residents in today's budget. And please demand that Island Community Counselling finally receive the financial support we need to continue operating.

Without your help, it is doubtful that our agency will still be here by the end of the year. We need you now more than ever.

We don't understand wait lists. They make no sense to us. How can the mental health needs of people be met if we ask them to wait months to see a professional counsellor?

Stop waiting. We have no wait lists. We never have. We're a non-profit dedicated to providing affordable, professional counselling in Campbell River, Comox, Denman Island, Parksville, Nanaimo, and Duncan. And in most of those locations, we are adding staff to meet the need.

The fastest way to connect with us is by e-mail. [email protected]. You can also leave a message at 250-716-8888.

This 7 year old is the youngest TED Talk presenter ever. And for those wanting to know how to help kids flourish, she's worth a listen.

Molly Wright: How every child can thrive by five | TED "What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?" asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers. Breaki...

This is the time of year when we unveil our mental wellness programs for the coming year. With our 30+ therapists, we are able to offer many more programs in 2023 than ever before. Please review the lists below and see whether you or someone you know could benefit from what we are offering. And remember, we are a non-profit professional counselling service with the mandate to offer affordable therapeutic counselling to the residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. And WE HAVE NO WAIT LISTS for individual counselling. In-person counselling services are offered at our locations in Campbell River, Courtenay, Comox, Denman Island, Parksville, Nanaimo, and Duncan.

------------------------------------------------------

ADHD / ADD (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Kate Archer
[email protected]
Art Therapy (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Andrea Stenerson (Parksville North)
[email protected]
Lead: Amélie Blanchard (Nanaimo)
Children and Teens Play Therapy (Individual counselling)
Lead: Barb Aronchick-Zachernuk
[email protected]
Coping with Chronic Illness (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Ryan Yellowlees
[email protected]
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Earl Blacklock
[email protected]
Disordered Eating (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Nicole Dudek
[email protected]
Perinatal Mental Wellness (Individual counselling and groups)
Lead: Margaret Guillen
[email protected]
Trauma and Adverse Childhoods (Individual counselling)
Lead: Earl Blacklock
[email protected]
2SLGBTQIA+ Counselling (Individual counselling)
Lead: Sarah Schermerhorn (Nanaimo)
[email protected]
Lead: Tanya Helle (Courtenay)
[email protected]

Other Programs (book through [email protected])
Anxiety and Depression
reThink Autism
Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Bipolarity
Brené Brown Shame Resilience Workshop
Children and Teens
Couples counselling / Family Counselling
DBT for Adolescents
EMDR
Emotion Regulation / Anger Management
Mourning and Grief
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
PTSD / c-PTSD
Suicidality
Teen and Tween Distress and Treatment

Let's talk further about how you can assess whether you need the help of our professional counsellors.

If you've always suspected there was "something wrong" with your emotional and mental health, but couldn't put your finger on what you were facing, scientifically validated assessments can be very helpful.

For example, if your childhood was a distressing one, and you think it may have contributed to later difficulties in your life, take the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean.) It's a 10 point questionnaire that quickly assesses your likelihood of having emotional and mental health issues as a result of your childhood. A score of 3 or higher is predictive of a stronger likelihood of having conditions such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or PTSD.

You can assess your own level of Anxiety with the Beck Anxiety Inventory, found at https://www.mindworkscounselling.com/anxiety-test. Those with a Moderate level of anxiety would benefit from help to better manage the anxiety, which would have the effect of continually moving the person into a fight or flight state.

The Beck Depression Inventory can be found at https://www.mindworkscounselling.com/depression-test. Generally, those with a moderate anxiety level will also have some depression caused by fatigue from the anxiety. A result of Clinical Depression warrants treatment in its own right.

For those who suffered from childhood or early adult emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or who experienced significant trauma from war or natural disaster, an evaluation of your dissociation may be valuable. A result of 10 - 30 indicates the presence of dissociation as part of another emotional or mental health disorder, while a result of 30 or higher is concerning and suggests the need for treatment in its own right. You can take the questionnaire on-line at http://traumadissociation.com/des

These assessments are used by our therapists to assess both emotional and mental health conditions in preparation for treatment and to measure progress over time. We hope you find them useful.

Dissociative Experiences Scale - II Self-assessment tool for Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, DDNOS (OSDD), and PTSD. DES scoring explained. Try it today.