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Crisis Hotline
Eastside Family Counselling Centre -
No fee, immediate walk-in counselling
255 495 36 St. N.E. Northgate Mall,
Calgary, AB T2A 6K3
403-299-9696
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday – Thursday – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Walk-in Counselling
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This service provides a 50-minute session with a qualified mental health professional.
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No-fee, first come, first served walk-in counselling.
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Immediate relief for concerning issues
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Referrals to other community resources
The Eastside Family Centre offers services for youth and families experiencing emotional upset that may arise from a variety of situations ranging from parent/adolescent conflict and mental health disturbance to domestic violence, financial stress and/or employment loss.
It is a community supported, co-operative group of services provided within the infrastructure of Wood's Homes. It is funded by provincial and civic government grants, contracts, and community contributions.
Service is available on a first-come, first-served basis with no appointment required. It offers no-cost, walk-in counselling, and focused counselling with a qualified professional that may include psychiatric and clinical consultation. It also provides no-cost legal advice in collaboration with Calgary Legal Guidance and outreach and school services based in highly accessible centres throughout the community.
The Centre also provides satellite services, in collaboration with other community agencies and schools.
Focused Counselling
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For youth and their families, this service offers up to five sessions with the same qualified therapist.
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Accessed through the walk-in service
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Appointments in a timely manner
Outreach Services:
North of McKnight: 403-293-0424
School Services:
Erin Woods Elementary: 403-777-8140
Harold W. Riley Elementary: 403-777-8160
Radisson Elementary: 403-777-8070
Training and Professional Opportunities:
Mental Health Professionals support the Family Centre by donating their time and expertise as community therapists. Currently, there are 25 community therapists with graduate-level training in the mental health field.
Certificate Training is a program for post-graduates requiring continuing education credits, supervised clinical placement for graduate students in counselling disciplines, and for candidates seeking clinical hours for professional learning.
Interested in becoming a community therapist?
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a community therapist or doing a supervised clinical placement, or if you are seeking clinical licensing hours, please call 403-299-9696.
A brief history of Eastside Family Centre:
The Eastside Family Centre, founded in 1990, is the first resource in Canada to provide a community-based, walk-in single session model of mental health service delivery.
It is strategically located in a busy shopping mall in a high-needs area of Calgary. At the time of the development of the walk-in service, the east side of Calgary was an area of great ethnic diversity, high density and low socio-economic status.
People who lived in the east side were very concerned about the lack of services and lack of accessibility to these services. Single-parent families were in the majority. Schools, health centres and mental health services were in short supply and government funding was in a phase of cutbacks for medical, educational and social services. Approximately 70% of referrals for child protection services came from this area.
As well, demands were emerging from both the client and professional populations for a therapy that could highlight strengths as well as problems.
Wood’s Homes CEO approached the Alberta Mental Health Board to contribute to the funding for the service. They did so for one position. The program was supported by fee-for-service, agency dollars for a few years before becoming financially solvent. A community advisory committee assisted with the centre’s development in the early years and the City of Calgary officially opened the centre.