Calgary Counselling Centre sees record-high demand as economic slump drags on

October was a record-setting month for the Calgary Counselling Centre.

October was a record-setting month for the Calgary Counselling Centre.

“When you look at last month alone, we received 1,128 requests for service — which is a lifetime record. So, in our 57 years, this has been the highest month ever,” said CEO Robbie Babins-Wagner.

While the centre is used to fluctuations in boom and bust, Babins-Wagner explains why this economic slump stands out.

“I think it's been the length of time of the uncertainty, of the economic uncertainty,” she said.

Response times are slightly slower due to the spike in demand, but Babins-Wagner says they've hired more staff to accommodate. 

She says the centre did recently suffer a funding cut, but clients and the community have been supportive.

Although the length of this economic slump has been particularly tough, she says, a lessening of the social stigma around mental health problems has made it easier for people to ask for help.

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Meghan Schmidt can attest to that, having reached out to the centre several times over the past 10 years.

“Even in the last, like, five years, the amount of discussion around mental health is huge and it helps people understand that, you know, this is an illness, this is a disease and you can go to someone, just like a doctor, and get help for that,” she said.

The Calgary Counselling Centre is a non-profit organization that provides individual and group counselling with a multidisciplinary staff including psychologists, registered marriage and family therapists, registered social workers, pastoral counsellors and dietitians.

It's located at 105 12th Ave S.E.

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