The Youth Counselling Support Journey

CVYS accepts referrals from all sources - from schools, other service providers, family members, doctors, friends, and directly from you!

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How to Make a Referral: 

1. Call our office at 250-748-0232

2. Complete our Referral Form, here

3. Come visit us at 294 Coronation Avenue, Duncan

4. Send us an email at office@cvyouth.ca

5. Send a text message to 250-510-1023

Once we have received your information, our Intake Coordinator will reach out to make an intake appointment. Intakes can be done  at our office, in schools, over the phone, or by video call. 

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Intakes are 30-60 minutes in length and are our opportunity to get to know you, understand what your goals are for counselling and what challenges you are currently facing, so we can assign you a counsellor that will best suit your needs. ​

 

Please plan to come 10 minutes early for your intake appointment in order to complete some basic paperwork and get to know our lovely space!

Following your intake appointment, you will be placed on our waitlist until a counsellor can be assigned to you.

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As a community-based agency that provides free counselling support throughout the entire Cowichan region, the demand for our services is high. In addition, our services are not session limited, meaning clients stay connected with us from a few months to a few years! Due to these factors, we cannot guarantee how long you will remain on our waitlist before being assigned a counsellor.

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What we can guarantee is that we will remain connected with you while you wait! ​​

What You Can Expect While You Wait:​

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Bi-weekly check-ins: 

After your intake appointment, with your permission and while you remain on our waitlist, our Intake Coordinator will reach out to you once every two weeks to check-in and see how you are doing. They will reach out based on your preferred method of communication (call, text, or email). 

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If you are experiencing urgency:

In the event something occurs and you're feeling the need for support more urgently, you are encouraged to reach out to our office and request a session, which can occur either in person or over the phone. 

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If we can't reach you: 

If we have not been able to make contact with you for a period of four consecutive weeks while on the waitlist, we will close your file. Don't fret! You can always call us back and re-start the process where you left off. 

Cowichan Valley Youth Services is thrilled to have partnered with Greenspace Health, a digital Measurement-Based Care (MBC) platform that helps to inform our work with you with data and insights about your well being. 

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What is Measurement-Based Care?

MBC involves tracking client progress throughout the counselling relationship, using self-assessments completed by our clients. This provides an additional opportunities for our clients and counsellors to check in with each other, reflect on the change they are experiencing (or not experiencing!), and uncover insights and patterns that can inform future goals and approaches. 

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After your intake appointment, you will be sent a invitation link to join our MBC platform. Here you can update your contact information, share more about yourself including your goals for counselling, and complete self-assessments to help you - and us - understand more about your current well-being. 

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Learn more about Greenspace Health and MBC here. 

When a counsellor has been assigned to you, they will reach out to you directly to introduce themselves and set up your first appointment. From there, you can work together to determine how often you would like to have sessions. ​

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Counselling is offered both in-office and via mobile outreach. During your intake appointment, please let us know if you have preferences for what type of service you would like to receive, as well as any ideal days of the week and times of the day. We will do our best to find a counsellor who is right for you and who can fit your scheduling needs.