• Groups and workshops
• Education

Family Services

Our Family Services Program provides counselling and ongoing support in areas of family stressors, parenting, coping and communication. This program helps families work together to solve problems and to learn skills that enable them to create a more positive home environment.

We offer various skill building groups such as:
Healthy Relationship Building
Parenting Programs

• Individual, family, couple, child, and teen counselling
• Healthy Lifestyle series
• Groups and workshops
• Education

Connections

The Connections Worker provides support, advocacy and counselling to women who have experienced sexual assault, spousal assault, or childhood abuse and is available to provide community education on violence against women. This program includes individual counselling, and group workshops in order to facilitate womens' understanding of their own experiences and the emotional impact of the trauma. Past and present coping skills are explored in order to develop new skills. Issues such as depression, anger, and self esteem will be addressed.

Family Support

Our Family Support Program provides in-home services for families experiencing difficulties with parenting, behaviour management, or home management. This service allows for appropriate skill development in their home environment and reaches those who have difficulty leaving their homes or are restricted to their home.

The Family Support worker will work with other services and community agencies for the purpose of establishing referral and support for the family.

Child and Youth Care

Our Child and Youth Care workers provide individual support to children and youth ages 3-18 years who have been referred to the program due to their exceptional needs. 'Exceptional needs' may refer to ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder), or similar conditions. It may refer to children experiencing social, emotional or behavioural problems.

The primary goal of the program is to empower children to make positive changes in their lives by providing a program based on the strengths, needs and interests of each child. Service may include life skills training or individual sessions that assist the child with anger management, conflict resolution, self-esteem, improved communication, or expressions of emotion.

Referrals to this program may be initiated through the Ministry of Children and Family Development, parents, or community professionals.

PEACE 

The Peace Program is designed for children and teens who have been victims of, or who have witnessed violence. Children will develop skills to express feelings of confusion, powerlessness, anger, fear, guilt, sadness, and aloneness. Appropriate anger management, and strengthening of current support systems are part of the curriculum.

The children explore the cycle of violence and are encouraged to relearn feelings of empathy. This program includes both individual and family counselling for children from pre-school age through to adolescents. Mackenzie Counselling Services offers a program for parents that may include individual counselling, support, education and/or groups.

Infant Development Program

The Infant Development Program provides assistance to families with children between the ages of 0 and 3 years who are at risk or developmentally delayed in one or more skill areas.

Recognizing that future physical, social, and/or intellectual development depends in part on a child's early experiences with their family, the IDP Consultant, through regular home visits, helps parents learn how to enhance their child's progress. The consultant develops a program of activities for the child and can refer to other community resources.

Community professionals involved in this program include the public health nurse, doctors, preschool teachers, physiotherapists, social worker, speech and language pathologist, and others.

Referrals to this program may come from any source (parent, doctor, public health, etc.) Participation in this program is voluntary and information shared is confidential.

Supported Child Development

Program support may include consultation, support within a centre or program, resources, child specific training or access to the toy lending library and equipment maintained at Mackenzie Counselling Services. Referrals to the SCD Program must include a diagnosed developmental delay and may be made by parents, daycare providers, or community professionals.

The Supported Child Development workers support children, ages 0 to 12, enrolled in a licensed centre or community programs. Children who require extra support due to exceptional healthcare needs, developmental delays, mental, physical, behavioural or communication challenges may be included in typical settings.

Safe Home Program

The Safe Home Program works directly with women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

The program philosophy includes the belief that every woman has the right to decide for herself the direction of her life according to her own values and needs; that she requires a safe place without fear of abuse to explore the alternatives available to her; and protection of her privacy and confidentiality.

This program meets the needs of abused women and their children by providing emergency shelter and emotional support in time of crisis.

Other services offered include crisis counselling, on-going support, referrals to other community resources and information. In addition, the program is committed to providing preventative and educational services, on the issue of family violence, to the community of Mackenzie.

The Safe Home Coordinator is on call at 250-997-6595, and provides office hours Monday to Friday (9:00 a.m. to noon).