What you tell us is private unless we hear someone is going to get hurt. Then of course we have to tell someone. We will ask you what you are okay with us sharing with your parents or school. Parents or caregivers are usually fine with just knowing that you came to the appointment and that you are doing okay – we don’t have to share the details of what we talked about. We also realize that sometimes there are good reasons to keep things private, so not sharing might be important. It’s the same if you are on probation. We would only have to share that you attended appointments and are participating in discussions with us.

No, we are not like what’s on TV. They way we work is to help you reach the goals you set for yourself to make change in your life. That might mean quitting all drug and alcohol use or just some drug and alcohol use. It might mean learning to be safer with your use in different ways. We help you decide where you are in wanting to make changes. If you are still exploring (contemplating), we will help you look at things to consider. If you are ready to start making a change like cutting back or quitting, we will help with that too. You’re in the driver’s seat!

We recognize that drug and alcohol use is only one part of your life and it has connections to other parts like school, work, family, health, etc. So, we will look at the whole picture and help you find ways to make things better. We can definitely connect you with resources to find a job or a place to live.

Many of our clients are, or have been, in this situation. We can have a discussion where you can ask specific and hypothetical questions to get a sense of what we are required to report. Our services are confidential, but sometimes we have a duty to report crimes if we hear someone is going to get hurt.

We hear that a lot. We also hear we’re not like normal counsellors. We try to make appointments what work best for you. If you don’t like sitting and talking, we can go for a walk, or do something active. If you enjoy doing art or music, we can bring that into it. We also really try to get to know you first before we dive into the hard topics. We don’t expect you to tell us your life story the first time you meet us. We’ll take the lead from you.

Absolutely. We can explore any changes you want to make.

No. Our experience is that counseling doesn’t work that way. We’ll always take the lead from you. We could talk about why other people think there’s a problem and what you can do about it. We also have a four session package we can work through if you need to show people you’ve had a look at the issue.

We can tell you what those things are like, what’s available, and help you decide what to try. We work closely with the residential programs on the Island, so we can help you get into one if that’s what you want. Sometimes it’s possible to make the changes you want without going into a program and we can help with that too.

There’s lots of different ways we can help, but basically we listen to understand what’s on your mind and give you options for what to do about it. The most important thing for us is that you find it helpful, so we will adjust what we do to suit what works best for you.