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Heather Rivers

The Brantford Expositor
Date Published: Wednesday, July 4, 2012
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A local agency is hoping to tackle the ever-increasing issue of child’s mental health with a free walk-in counselling service.

The Oxford-Elgin Child and Youth Centre has announced that starting on Monday, July 9 they will be offering the no-fee service to local families who would like to meet with a therapist and receive suggestions and resources.

The service will be offered children, youth and their families aged 0 to 18 on a first come, first served basis at their Woodstock location at 912 Dundas Street.

The service will be offered every Monday, excluding holidays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Hopefully this will reduce waitlists and allow us to be more accessible to the community,” said therapist Jennifer Schnekenburger. “Being in a rural community it limits people’s access to resources.”

The children’s mental health facility currently has eight therapists who address children’s mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, self-esteem issues and parenting support.

“If we can have resources available to the family, we can address those issues before it escalates to a family in crisis,” Schnekenburger said. “So they know what’s available and who they can turn to.”

No referrals are needed to utilize the clinic and children over the age of 12 can walk-in on there own and receive services.

“It’s a newer model, that a lot of agencies are going towards,” Schnekenburger said. “So they can better manage and cope with their mental health concerns.”