When CUPS received start-up funding from Calgary's Mental Health and Addiction Investment Framework to establish new mental health support groups, two circles of opportunity opened up for CUPS and its clients.
The Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) Group and the Grief and Loss Group will launch in summer 2023. These will be added to a roster of existing support groups that include Women’s Trauma, Men and Gender Diverse Trauma, as well as Shame and Resiliency.
Harold Pliszka, Program Manager of Mental Health Services at CUPS, is pleased with how many more people can be helped in a professionally-led group setting than in one-on-one counselling sessions.
“There’s a place for one-on-one sessions, absolutely,” explains Harold. “But when we can welcome 10-20 people in a group setting, we can reduce wait times for counselling services.”
Not only does group healing allow CUPS to help more people in a shorter period of time, well-run groups are known to be as successful as individual therapy, with the added benefit of creating opportunities for community building. Support groups also offer a healing magic all their own. In a safe space, led by a professional counsellor, people share their stories and ease their burden, while helping to show others they’re not alone. Peer groups are also shown to increase positive outcomes and research shows group psychotherapy successfully reduces symptoms for people with anxiety disorders.
While many groups may exist throughout Calgary, there is a need for groups that intentionally offer low-barrier and easy to access support. These groups have been created, both with content and delivery and with the population in mind, appreciating the different experiences that an individual accessing CUPS might have had.
There is a growing demand for mental health support in the community at large. One in four young adult Canadians who needed mental health services during the pandemic felt it was difficult to access these services. The groups CUPS is implementing is directly set up to help support those who want help and haven’t been able to get it.
“The need for our services always exceeds our capacity,” says Harold. “Funding to start up two new groups shows that the community recognizes and appreciates the importance of mental health support and allows us to respond to clients a little quicker.”