One-stop Shopping For Mental Health
Photograph by: CHUNG CHOW , RICHMOND NEWS
By Michelle Hopkins, Richmond News June 8, 2012
Joanne has tried unsuccessfully to beat her addiction issues more than once in the last three years.
“I don’t have a poison of choice, it isn’t one thing, it is the need to escape and “check out” with a variety of options,” she explained candidly.
The last time the 44-year-old mother of two sought treatment was through employee assistance program (EAP) counsellors.
“I’ve tried quitting more than once and I spoke to two different counsellors and it never worked … it was horrible,” said the Richmond mom, who wants to remain anonymous. “I didn’t feel like they really cared and as far as I was concerned, we just didn’t connect at all.”
Then, a month ago, she came across Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VCH) central intake program (CIP).
“I went online and found out about the program,” Joanne said. “I made a call and then within a week I received a call back from Talia, a clinician there. Even though it was extremely emotional I pushed through because I felt Talia wasn’t judging me and she seemed to understand me.”
(Under VCH security policies, clinicians’ last names are not given out).
Because Talia asked questions that were specific to Joanne, she matched her with the right counsellor — one of CIP’s strong advantages.
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