Mental Health Week runs from May 4 to May 10. This year’s theme is Come Together, Canada. At Covenant House Vancouver (CHV), we want people to come together to support youth mental health.
Coming together for youth is about making connections. Many youth who access our services have experienced trauma or upsetting events that have negatively affected their well-being. Connecting them to the right people, care, and support can go a long way towards healing.
On site youth mental health counselling
Utku Uçay is a Registered Clinical Counsellor at CHV. His position includes supporting youth in one-on-one therapy sessions and group therapy.
“My role is to support and offer youth a safe, consistent, non-judgmental space where we can explore their past, experiences, emotions and their goals towards the future.”
Each direct session is personalized to meet the needs of the youth, making sure that they feel seen and heard. This is where that important connection happens.
“I try to create a safe, compassionate space where youth feel seen and understood,” Uçay says. “I help them see their experiences and their traumas through a self-compassionate lens. This ultimately supports them in their healing journey.”
Some youth may have difficulty sharing their story with Uçay. “I’ve been working with youth who [have] really struggled to trust adults. I’m modelling a curious, compassionate presence to them.”
That’s why each one-on-one session is personalized to meet that individual’s needs, with a focus on building trust, helping them understand their strengths, and ultimately working with them on establishing goals for their future.
“This [approach] helps them to come to a place of self-expectancy and build resiliency. I feel like that’s the impact of my work, helping them grow bigger than [their] traumas and suffering.”
Inspiration through connection
Working with youth to overcome their trauma is especially rewarding to Uçay.
“The best part of my job is the relationships I have with the youth. Connecting with them, hearing their stories, witnessing how much they’ve been through and [how] they overcame that. Witnessing their growth, that’s the best part of my job, feeling inspired by their stories.”
That inspiration is only possibly by connecting to a young person beyond their trauma. Looking for stronger connections in a youth’s personal life is why seeking out mental health services is so important. But Uçay comments on feeling that he’s working around a system that doesn’t prioritize underserved youth. “The systematic barriers that we’re witnessing, and seeing the impacts of the ongoing oppression, is the hardest part, because you know we both feel like there’s something bigger than us, that we know we cannot fight.”
“These youth are incredibly talented and diverse individuals with potential. They come from many different backgrounds, different cultures, countries, and every single one of them has beautiful insights, creativity, and overall resiliency and strength that I think often people don’t notice.”
To learn more about Mental Health Week and the benefits of connection, visit mentalhealthweek.ca.