Paraklesis Counselling in Niverville Unites Local Medical Clinic In Support of Mental Health
A new counselling service in Manitoba, Paraklesis Counselling, was launched on Sept. 20 and takes an innovative approach to supporting those with medication-related mental health issues, an approach which is strongly supported by the local medical community.
Drs. Chris and Mairi Burnett, from Niverville Primary Health Care Centre, were the keynote speakers at the free dessert event which was attended by members of the local community. After the counselling practice was introduced, the two doctors spoke about the physician-patient-counsellor triangle.
“It’s more like a ‘stew’ than a triangle,” said Dr. Chris, “There are many pieces and treatment options that need to be discussed which are subjective to each patient’s individual struggle.”
The move toward uniting counselling and the medical world is being welcomed, especially by one Niverville community member, Jean Harms, who attended the launch.
“I am a 39-year survivor of depression,” said Harms. “I was in a place where it wouldn’t have mattered how much support I got or how much I talked it out with people. I was worried about being right with God all the time. I needed medication to correct my imbalance before I could even have the ability to enter back into relationship.”
“Thirty to 40 per cent of the patients I see day to day have serious mental health issues,” said Dr. Chris, “and I’m told by experts that I’m missing as many as I’m catching.”
According to the Manitoba Mental Health Association, one in every five Canadians will have a mental health problem, and only one in three depression sufferers seek help. Dr. Mairi described a list of depression-type symptoms that doctors may use to diagnose a patient, including lack of motivation, lack of energy, and sleep disruptions (either sleeping too much or too little).
“Counselling treats the mind, medication treats the brain,” said Dr. Mairi. “I know that there is less chance of relapse if one has received some sort of counselling or other help in addition to their doctor’s treatment.”
“The pure medical model is not enough,” said Dr. Chris. “You need a team. And the patient’s needs must be at the centre.”
The launch of Paraklesis Counselling comes right before Mental Health Awareness Week, which seeks to ‘end the stigma associated with mental illness, and ensure better understanding and access to diagnosis and treatment.’ Dr. Mervin van der Spuy, the founder of Paraklesis Counselling, is committed to this goal and is excited to be able to extend the counselling service’s reach beyond Niverville or even Manitoba—through an innovative service called online counselling (E-Therapy), including email consultations, chat and video counselling, the agency’s counselling services are affordable and available all over the world.
“It is interesting to see people from the United Kingdom and South Africa, for example, visiting the website and participating in counselling issues and discussion,” said Dr. Mervin.
One question asked by a community member was if there are truly more cases of mental illness right now, or if it is just more common for people to be talking about these issues.
“Certainly the burden on society has never before been felt as it is now,” responded Dr. Chris. “If you require psychiatric treatment, it is a shorter wait time to see a cardiologist than a psychiatrist.”
“Those who go on and off their medication, called yo-yoing, seem to be driving up the frequency of bi-polar disorder,” commented Dr. Mervin.
Paraklesis Counselling will continue reaching out to the community to promote discussion of mental health issues through a free community seminar offered on Oct. 6, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., called The Gos-Pill Truth About Prozac and You, which focuses on anxiety, depression, counselling and medication, and other issues.
