Expanded counselling program brings support to rural communities in Cypress County

The program currently provides services in communities including Redcliff, Irvine, Dunmore, Ralston, while remaining available to residents throughout Cypress County

Outreach services also include Forty Mile County in communities such as Foremost and Bow Island.

Symmonds said bringing counselling into rural communities is important due to several barriers residents can face when trying to access services.

“Oftentimes rural communities are expected to travel into town to get what they need,” Symmonds said.

“But I think that it’s really important that mental health services are accessible in their community where they can access them without a lot of barriers.”

The organization’s counselling sessions cost as little as $8 an hour with no income testing or referral required to access the service.

The rural outreach counsellor is a master’s-level psychologist who is continuing her education toward a PhD. Counselling can be provided in person, online or at another location that works for the client.

Symmonds said the flexibility is intended to make it easier for rural residents to access support without disrupting work, family responsibilities or other commitments.

The organization provides individual counselling, as well as couples and family counselling and group supports, offering trauma-informed services, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, known as EMDR, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy.

Symmonds said the organization has also partnered with a newly built community centre and library in Irvine, where it will have an office for residents to access counselling directly in the community.

She said the response to the rural program has been stronger than she expected.

“I thought it would [be] a lot smaller and [go] a lot slower, but it’s actually built really quickly in your communities,” Symmonds told council at the meeting.

The organization is also looking to expand its outreach to additional rural communities and is inviting interested communities to get in touch.

“We’re always looking to expand that outreach,” Symmonds said.

“If there are other communities that are interested in being a part of our rural programming, they can absolutely give us a call, and we would love to have a conversation.”

Symmonds said reducing the stigma surrounding mental health is an important part of making counselling more accessible.

“It’s a really important time in our communities to really think about mental health differently, and mental wellness differently,” Symmonds said.

“And to really think about the opportunity that we have right now to decrease stigma around mental health and to begin to realize that we all just need help sometimes, and that’s okay.”

The rural expansion is supported by funding from Cypress County through Family and Community Support Services, with the ultimate goal of ensuring people can get help before their problems become more difficult to address.

“It’s unfair to rural areas to say just come to Medicine Hat,” Symmonds told council.

“I want to build a rural program that would actually serve rural people where they live.”

by Jett Schwaier

Expanded counselling program brings support to rural communities in Cypress County

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