Chilliwack and Fraser Health Rural

Short-term/Crisis Counselling: The program offers short-term crisis counselling available for people still living with an abusive partner or who have been recently assaulted. The program focuses on safety planning and emotional stabilization. Depending on the number of requests, there may be a brief waiting period before your first appointment.

Long-term Individual Counselling: Program provides long-term (24 sessions) individual counselling that focuses on providing information to women about abuse/violence, helping women explore and understand how they have been impacted by abuse/violence, and helping women regain a sense of safety and control in their lives. There is a waitlist for long-term counselling.

Group Counselling: The Group Counselling program offers various psycho-educational groups throughout the year. There may or may not be a waitlist for a specific group, depending on which groups have recently been offered. A variety of topics are offered on a rotating schedule, and include:

• Understanding Abuse in Relationships: This group is for women who have experienced abuse and violence in their intimate relationships. Group participants will be provided with information about relationship abuse and violence, develop skills for staying safe, and connect with other women who have also been betrayed and hurt by their partners.
• Building Resilience: In this group, participants will learn about post-traumatic stress responses, identify their current strategies for coping with past traumas, and explore alternatives for safely and resiliently coping with past trauma and day-to-day stress.
• Self-Compassion: In this group, members will explore what self-compassion means, gain an understanding of how trauma impacts our sense of self, and practice skills to help develop self-compassion and healthy self-identity adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) trauma.
• Boundaries: In this group, participants will explore the topic of boundaries, learn how to identify boundary violations, and develop skills for effectively asserting and maintaining healthy boundaries.

How to Access Counselling Services: Contact the intake counsellor (see below) to request an intake appointment. Every effort is made to return intake messages within two business days and to schedule intake appointments within two weeks of first contact.