When children and youth face depression and anxiety they experience all the same symptoms that adults do, but they do not have the mental ability to acknowledge it for what it is. And that makes it far more dangerous.

Young Albertans facing emotional struggles come from all walks of life. They face school pressures, bullying, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, family and relationship conflicts, or grief over the loss of a loved one.

Sarah* is one of these kids. At 10, she began to worry about situations and things she could not control. This worry began to affect everything in her life including her grades, her relationships with friends, how she got along with her parents and her self-esteem. Heather*, Sarah’s mom, realized that her little daughter needed more support; she needed the help of a professional counsellor. Heather called Calgary Counselling Centre and Sarah began to see Natalya, one of our counsellors.

Together, Natalya and Sarah wrote a three-act play to work on self-affirmation, techniques to lessen anxiety and changing how Sarah sees herself. Sarah presented the play to her family, showing them how she saw her situation and what they could do to help her “stand up to worry” (a term she used with Natalya). It was eye- opening for Sarah’s parents. They realized anxiety can impact the entire family and they all needed help to change.

“I have realized that my behaviour has an impact on Sarah,” says Heather. “Sarah has been doing better overall. I now realize I need to focus on how I can work with her behaviour and not look at it as a thing she needs to change.”

It was a turning point for the family.

A few months later Sarah’s younger brother, Jack, began to show signs of extreme anxiety. Heather called CCC and Jack began to see a counsellor.

Today every member of the family has a better understanding of each other. They spend quality time together—something that was difficult to do in the past. Sarah and Jack are creating happy memories with their parents.

Every day the employees at Calgary Counselling Centre work with children and youth who are experiencing critical mental health issues and their families.

Today, consider making your holiday donation to help children, youth and families access the services they need with no wait list and without financial barriers. Your donation will make a huge impact to the families we serve.

Your donation will change lives:

• $25 supports the purchase of one board game for children in a play therapy program

• $50 supports new interactive and imaginative toys for play therapy

• $720 supports four play therapy sessions for a child

• $1,500 supports eight family therapy sessions

 To make a donation online click here. 

You can also mail a cheque to:

Calgary Counselling Centre
Suite 1000, 220 12 Avenue SE
Calgary, AB
T2G 1A1
Attn: Fund Development

Please ensure that your envelope is post-marked no later than December 31, 2017.

*names have been changed to protect client’s privacy