During the intake process you and the counsellor will meet, and through discussion, the counsellor will get an overview of your experiences as it relates to abuse, both current and historical. The intake provides an opportunity for you to discuss challenges/struggles you may be having in your day to day living such as difficulty setting boundaries, unhealthy coping, or feeling “stuck”, all of which can be symptoms of unresolved trauma.

At HNWS, we provide service through a trauma informed lens meaning we understand that impacts of trauma and the importance of working with women “where they are at”. During intake, safety planning is covered and a plan of action for healing and support is developed by connecting you to appropriate programming both at HNWS and other community agencies, as needed. If you and the counsellor decide that counselling would be beneficial to you, there are several options available.

The urgent care counselling (UCC) program (up to 6 sessions) offers short term solution focused sessions that can also include practical needs, such as assistance with housing applications, in addition to counselling. UCC can also act as a bridge to help close the waitlist gap for the longer term counselling programs. When determining whether to refer to the women’s counselling program (up to 12 sessions) or therapy program (up to 24 sessions) several things are taken into consideration including but not limited to: whether the abuse is current or historical (childhood), concurrent disorders, complexities of trauma, immediate needs, safety.