The following services and supports are provided:

Individual Counseling

Short term: less than 6 months – may address issues around a specific event (e.g. grief/loss, significant change, traumatic event)
Long term: more than 6 months – intended to provide support to individuals who are experiencing ongoing difficulties due to persistent mental health or other complex issues.

Consultation

Consultation between staff teams and any or all members of the Resource Team can occur at any time and can be either a formal or informal. Consultation may involve; advice, guidance, participation in planning activities, recommendations for appropriate interventions and services, exploration of appropriate community resources, liaison with other professionals, advocacy, etc.

Assessment

Resource Team members are skilled in conducting formalized assessment in a number of areas including; AISH, guardianship, suicide risk, general mental health (e.g. dementia, depression, etc.), intelligence tests/assessment of adaptive functioning, disability tax exemptions, etc.

Groups

A variety of groups are offered by members of the Resource Team on an ongoing basis. Groups may be either:
Time limited: most groups will run for approximately 10-12 weeks depending on the participants and the topic, although some may be shorter or longer in duration. Time limited groups have both a structure and a curriculum and can be educational as well as therapeutic.
Long Term: Ongoing groups also have a therapeutic focus and generally include consistent members, although from time to time, some members will leave and others will join.

Staff Training/Resource Sharing

Providing information, resources and training to staff and teams is an important role of the Resource Team and may include; written information about a particular topic, workshops or training sessions, etc.

Psychology Interns & Social Work Practicum Students

Provisional Psychologists: Up to three Provisional Psychologists may be at VRRI at any given time. They are required to complete at least 1600 hours of supervised clinical practice during their internship and depending on their area of interest, may be involved in individual counseling, consultation, assessment, groups and training. Provisional Psychologists are supervised by the VRRI Psychologist.

Social Work Practicum Students: Social Work practicum placements are offered to graduate or fourth year students from the University of Calgary during the fall and spring sessions. Practicum placements last approximately 3 months and provide students with practical, hands on work experience. They may also be involved in counseling, consultations, assessment, groups and training and are supervised by the VRRI Social Worker.

For more information, contact the Director of Services.