Vancouver Community Resources (Teen/Youth focused)
Crisis Support
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Crisis Lines BC Centre 24/7 support by phone – 1-800-784-2433 and 24/7 online youth chat - http://youthinbc.com/
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Youth in BC Crisis Centre 24/7 support by phone 1-800-784-2433 Online youth chat - http://youthinbc.com/ Mental Health Support - 604-310-6789 Online Chat Services for Youth: bc.com/
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Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 24/7 Toll-free, confidential and anonymous telephone and online counselling and referral service for young people up to age 20. Online chat www.kidshelpphone.ca
Suicide
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Vancouver Coastal Health Provides counselling for individuals who are in a suicidal crisis, have made a suicide attempt, or are survivors of a suicide death. 604-675-3985 9:00am-4pm #301-1669 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5N1V9
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Vancouver Child and Youth Mental Health Referral For suicidal children and youth (18 & under) at risk to suicide. Intake: 604-709-4111Crisis 24 hrs: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
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Toolkit for people impacted by an attempt: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2018-0/suicide_attempt_toolkit_eng.pdf
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Toolkit for people impacted by a suicide loss: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2018-05/suicide_loss_toolkit_eng.pdf
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Our Side of Suicide, a blog for survivors:
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See apps (under Phone Applications): My3app; Hello Cruel World; Suicide Safety Plan
Free Counselling Services
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Scarfe Counselling - UBC - 604-827-1523 http://ecps.educ.ubc.ca/cnps/scarfe-counselling-clinic. Counselling provided by counselling psychology graduate students, supervised by a psychologist. Clinic runs from September to April.
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Broadway Youth Resource Centre – City University Community Counselling Clinic604-709-5729 (counselling & support services for youth & family; supervised interns)
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Qmunity - Free Counselling Program - 604-684-5307 Counselling for members of the GLBTQ communities.
***Please note that there are other free counselling services depending on the challenge******
Reduced Cost Counselling Services
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Art for Change Art therapy and clinical counselling offered on a sliding scale of $65-125. www.artforchange.ca info@artforchange.ca
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Oak Counselling Services Society 604-266-5611 (fees range from $10-$65/session)
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Family Services of Greater Vancouver 604-874-2938 (fees based on household income)
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Adler Centre – Counselling Clinic (student-run) 604-742-1818 (sliding scale; individual & couples counselling)
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Jewish Family Services 604-637-3309 (sliding scale counselling for the Jewish and non-Jewish community)
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Living Systems Counselling Centre 604-926-5496 ext 0 (sliding scale based on income - interns $15-$50/session)
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Dragonstone Counselling Services 604-738-7557 (sliding scale available for individuals facing significant financial barriers)
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Stewart Associates Counselling & Coaching Services 604-687-7171 (sliding scale starting from $30)
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Mood Disorders Association of BC - 604-873-0103 Counselling and Wellness Centre Individual therapy with intern ($50 hour). Group therapy also available.
Group Therapy
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St. Paul’s Outpatient Psychiatry Groups - 604-806-8004 Group therapy for depression, anxiety, personality disorders. Mental health assessments. Referral through your family doctor or via a walk-in clinic.http://www.vch.ca/403/7676/?program_id=13407
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Vancouver Coastal Mental Health Groups - Vancouver Hospital - 604-875-4794 Group therapy for depression, anxiety, stress. Individual mental health assessments. Referral through your family doctor, or via a walk-in clinic.
Distance & Online Services
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Bounce Back Program – Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) 1-800-639-0522 (telephone coaching for people with mild-moderate depression and/or anxiety; FREE; doctor referral necessary).
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Bring to Balance – Online therapy, counselling and coaching. Sliding scale available. www.bringtobalance.com
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Youth Space Online and E-Counselling for free. Chat with a counsellor and book (chat) appointments. http://youthspace.ca/
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Antidepressant Skills Workbook is an online workbook that explains how depression can be effectively managed according to the best available research, and gives a step-by-step guide to changing patterns that trigger depression. http://www.comh.ca/antidepressantskills/adult/index.cfm
Community Resources
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BC 211 This website and telephone line provides a wide range of resources and confidential help to referral lines in BC. Phone: 211 www. Bc211.ca
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YMCA offers classes, information, fitness, and community engagement. Membership is reduced (based on your income and what you can afford).
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Fetch (For Everything that’s Community Health) www.divisionsbc.ca/provincial/fetch
Eating Disorder
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Eating Disorders Resource Centre Mental Health Building 4500 Oak Street Vancouver, BC 1-800-665-1822
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Kelty Health Centre offers programs, treatment and support for eating disorders https://keltyeatingdisorders.ca/
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The Looking Glass Foundation is prevention and support from those suffering from eating disorders. https://www.lookingglassbc.com/
Programs/Courses
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Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents 8-week program to help teens cope with stress and anxiety. BC Children’s Hospital Dr. or Therapist referral required. Contact Program Secretary at 604-875-3472 or Email: youthhealthprogram @cw.bc.ca
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YMCA Teen Mindfulness Group 6 week program to help teens cope with stress, worry, and anxiety. Free! teenmindfulness@gv.ymca.ca
First Nations
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Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA)
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Outreach, counselling, drop-in, school support, prevention services and more. www.unya.bc.ca 1618 East Hastings St 604-254-7732
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KUU-US Crisis Line Society is the only Aboriginal Crisis Line in B.C.Crisis 24 hrs: 1-800-588-8717 KUU-Uscrisisresponse@shaw.c
LGBTQ
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Qmunity BC’s Queer Resource Centre http://www.qmunity.ca/ 604 684-5307 ext. 100
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Prideline BC One-to-one support and information about services and resources around BC, for LGBT (and questioning) youth and adults. 7:00pm-10:00pm nightly. 1-800-566-1170 or 604-684-6869.
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Won't Get Weird Non-judgmental, youth-friendly, sex-positive services. 1.800.739.7367 www.bc.wontgetweird.com
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PFLAG Canada 24/7 support. Provides information and resources to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning people, as well as to their families and friends. For support on gender identity. Call toll-free 1-888-530-6777 ext 226
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Trans Lifeline This line is for transgender people experiencing a crisis. This includes people who may be struggling with their gender identity and are not sure that they are transgender 1-877-330-6366
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Qmunity - Free Counselling Program - 604-684-5307 Counselling for members of the GLBTQ communities.
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Family Services of Greater Vancouver, - 604-731-4951 Professional counselling for LGBTQ individuals and couples https://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/providers/family-services-of-greater-vancouverlgbt-service-options
Mindfulness
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Mindfulness Vancouver has twice monthly free meditation gatherings at Phap Hoa Temple, 3730 Boundary Rd, Burnaby, BC V5M 4A8 mindfulnessvancouver.org
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Vancouver Shambhala Centre has free Wednesday night meditation groups www.vancouver.shambhala.org 208-256 West 7th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1M1
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Udemy offers both free and paid Mindfulness courses: https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?q=mindfulness%20&src=ukw&p=1&price=price-free
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Mindfulness for Teens http://mindfulnessforteens.com/
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Free Teen Mindfulness Program teenmindfulness@gv.ymca.ca
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Free Mindfulness Tools http://www.freemindfulness.org/
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Free Meditation in Vancouver
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Every Tuesday @ 6:30pm PICS WorkBC Centre, 8153 Main St. 778-239-4838
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Every Thursday @ 7:00pm Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, 2305 West 7th Avenue
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Yoga
Explore Yoga in your community and surrounding area. Some studios offer exchanges of volunteer hours for free yoga!
Karma teachers offers free or by donation yoga classes. 45 West Hastings, Downtown Vancouver.
Lululemon store on Robson Street offers free, all-levels yoga flow class on Sunday mornings. Other stores sometimes offer yoga classes as well, keep an eye on their Community Events pages. 970 Robson St, Vancouver, BC
UBC Yoga Club offers classes to members that cost $2 a session. Membership is $10 for students, and $20 for the general public (for the year)! Classes are held daily in the Student Union Building. www.ubcyogaclub.com
Rooftop Yoga is an intimate, donation-based studio located in the heart of Downtown Vancouver. Classes are by donation. 1058 Nelson St, buzzer #79 https://www.facebook.com/RoofTopYoga-140526745988921/
Yaletown Roundhouse Karma Yoga offers karma yoga for $5/drop-in classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. These classes are drop-in only and is a smooth, flowing class of Vinyasa yoga. 181 Roundhouse Mews
Unity Yoga Karma Classes Unity Yoga Tea House, located on Commercial Drive offers classes for $17 drop-in, but also host weekly Karma Classes that only require you to bring a non-perishable donation for the Vancouver Food Bank.. 2nd Floor, 1672 East 10th Ave www.unityyoga.ca
Moksha Yoga offers hot yoga with a minimum donation of $5. The weekly classes are typically held on Friday night from 9:30-10:30pm. 242 – 2083 Alma Street, or at different nights at other locations
Yoga Apps (see below)
Phone Applications (Free)
Anxiety
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Stop, Breathe Think take small moments for ourselves throughout the day to stay mindful and present.
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ink.com/
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Breathr Cope with stress, worry and anxiety.www.keltymentalhealth.ca/breathr
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ACT Companion is the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy App by Dr. Russ Harris http://www.actcompanion.com/
Depression
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Mindshift uses cognitive therapy to support you in turning around your thoughts and feelings. https://www.anxietybc.com/resour ces/mindshift-app
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SuperBetter App Lift your spirits with this app.www.superbetter.com
“Virtual Pal” Apps
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Booster Buddy A supportive friend to help you cope. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.viha.boosterbuddy&hl=en
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is an AI internet bot that chats with you, remembers your responses, and helps you stay positive (all confidential)!
Meditation
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Headspace Get Mindful and meditative. www.headspace.com
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Insight Timer offers 4,000+ meditations and is one of the most popular free apps around the world.
Emotion Regulation
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diaphragmatic breathing skill-building to help with anger management, mood stabilization and anxiety reduction.
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improve their mood by engaging them in over 200 mood enhancement activities like thought-checking and journaling.
Suicide
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is a safety plan tool that helps people who are at high risk for suicide to develop a written list of coping strategies and sources of support. http://my3app.org/
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Hello Cruel World is an application for iPhone and iPad offering 101 alternatives to suicide. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hello-cruel-world/id396044348?mt=8
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Suicide Safety Plan is an application that guides you through your customised safety plan until you feel safe. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/suicide-safety-plan/id1003891579?mt=8
Yoga
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Simply Yoga: Fitness trainer for workouts and poses https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinymission.dailyyogafree
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Daily Yoga – yoga fitness plans https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azazqureshi.yoga
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5 Minute Yoga get in the habit of doing 5 minutes of yoga 5-7 times per week with his app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/5-minute-yoga-workouts/id362093404?mt=8
Other Helpful Apps:_________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Online Resources
Kelty Mental Health www.keltymentalhealth.ca
Anxiety BC http://youthinbc.com/
Mind Your Mind www.mindyourmind.ca
WalkAlong www.walkalong.ca
Dealing with Depression www.dwdonline.ca
Teen Mental Health
Open Mind BC www.openmindbc.ca
Podcasts
Dear Hank and John talk show that covers wide range of topics based on questions that teens write in http://dearhankandjohn.libsyn.com/
Stuff You Should Know is a show about interesting things about the world around us. https://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/
411Teen covers topics that a pertinent to teens. http://news.wfsu.org/programs/411-teen-889-wfsu-fm
Life as a Teenager (3 part BBC podcast) http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/lifeasateenager.shtml
Mic Drop is a podcast where teens speak about their dreams, embarrassments, ideas, frustrations, depression, and anxieties http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/mic-drop
Metaphors for Life encourage psychological flexibility and uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy https://player.fm/series/metaphors-for-life
Other Helpful Podcasts:_____________________
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Helpful Videos (YouTube)
3 Happiness Myths https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=3+happiness+myths
The Happiness Trap https://youtu.be/kv6HkipQcfA
Struggle Switch https://youtu.be/rCp1l16GCXI
Sushi Train (An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Metaphor)
Values vs Goals Lead a values-based life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q
The Choice Point https://youtu.be/tW6vWKVrmLc
Other helpful videos:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Helpful Books for Teens
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson, 1996. (Spiritual)
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff, by Jack Canfield, 2012 (Comfort)
Don’t Give it Away, by Iyanla Vanzant, 1999 (Girls/Female identifying)
Non-Violent Communication, by Marshall Rosenberg, 3rd Edition 2015 (Practical)
Stuff That Sucks: A Teen's Guide to Accepting What You Can't Change and Committing to What You Can, by Ben Sedley, 2017 (Life Skills)
You Don’t Have to Learn Everything to Hard Way, by Laya Saul, 2007 (Life Skills)
Other helpful books_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Further Supports
Vancouver Youth Clinic Services
East Van Youth Clinic 1669 East Broadway (at Commercial Drive), Vancouver, BC, V5N 1V9
604-675-3986 Hours: Mon, Tue, Wed 3:00 – 6:00pm, Fri 2:00 – 5:00pm
Foundry North Shore “One-stop-shop” for mental health and substance use needs for youth and their parents. 211 W. 1st St. North Vancouver, BC V7M 0E3 Hours 9:00-6:00pm Mon-Fri 604-984-5060 www.foundrybc.ca/northshore
Vancouver Youth Health Centre
Wide range of youth/parent services, including mental health and substance use needs. 1260 Granville St, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1M4 604-806-9415 Hours 9:00-6:00pm Mon-Fri www.foundrybc.ca/Vancouver
Assessment and Resource Centres
Vancouver Coastal Health Access and Assessment Centre (VGH) Assessment, treatment, consultation, therapy (individual, group, and family) & psycho-pharmacological 604-675-3895
Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre
Professional support and resources for mental health, substance abuse and eating disorders
Advocacy, Coaching & System Navigation
Treehouse CYAC 1616 West 7th Avenue Vancouver, BC https://treehousevancouver.ca/FamilySmart
Youth in Residence (YiR) Program – offers support, advocacy, coaching, help navigating the system, & education/resources 604-875-2084
The Ministry of Children and Family Development To report a abuse of a person under the age of 18 and to access free and helpful services Vancouver 604 660-2421
Youth Substance Use Treatment and Support
Watari Youth, Family Community Services
7-week alcohol and drug day treatment program for youth aged 13-24. www.watari.org 604-438-3755
Peak House – Pacific Youth and Family Services Society 10-week, coed, residential alcohol and drug treatment program for youth aged 13-18. www.peakhouse.ca 604-253-6319
PLEA Community Services Society of BC
Community based detox service for your aged 16 and under. www.plea.ca or youthdetox@plea.bc.ca 604-708-2616 Youth D-Talks Intake: 9:00am – 7:45pm daily 1-866-658-1221
Raven Song CHC 2450 Ontario St (2 blocks west of Main on Broadway) 604-709-6400
Pacific Spirit CHC 2110 West 43rd Ave (43rd & West Blvd) 604-261-6366
12 Step programs in your neighbourhood with Alcoholics Anonymous https://www.addictioncenter.com/treatment/12-step-programs/
Narcotics Anonymous https://www.na.org/
Cantonese/Mandarin
Success BC has a Cantonese Help Line, 10 am – 10 pm: 604-270-8233, and a Mandarin Help Line, 10 am – 10 pm: 604-270-8222
Food Banks
Greater Vancouver Foodbank 1150 Raymur Ave. Vancouver contact for dates and locations 604-876-3601
Safe Houses/ Shelter
Directions Youth Services is a safe place to hang out, shower, do laundry, access computers, counselling and other supports https://directionsyouthservices.ca/drop-in-centre/
Covenant House Vancouver Shelter and place to stay for young people at 326 West Pender Vancouver 604-647-4480
Advocacy, Coaching & System Navigation
FamilySmart Youth in Residence (YiR) Program – offers support, advocacy, coaching, help navigating the system, & education/resources 604-875-2084
POV Net Resource to connect youth with advocates in BC www.povnet.org/find-an-advocate/bc/children-and-youth
Support for Parents
Family Smart Parent in Residence (Pir) Program – offers support, advocacy, coaching, system navigation, and education for parents raising youth with mental health and substance use challenges 604-878-3400; info@familysmart.ca http://www.familysmart.ca/
B.C. Friends for Life Parent Program. Information, tools and resources to help parents support children in their anxiety. www.friendsparentprogram.com
Parents Together/Forever is the Boys and Girls Club parent support group for youth with mental health (Parents Together) and substance use challenges (Parents Forever). 604-325-0556; or www.bgcbc.ca
Information Parenting has a Parent helpline for all parenting concerns, troubles and struggles. It’s confidential and non-judgemental 778-7823574 http://www.informationchildren.com/parent-support/parent-helpline/
TransFamily Services (BC) Parents and loved ones transgender information/discussion groups. Gender issues demystified. Meets once per month in Abbotsford. Lukas Walther, Gender Diversity Consultant 604-996-8169
Family Services of Greater Vancouver offers support groups, educational programs, and counselling for parents. https://fsgv.ca/find-support/parenting-and-families/ 301 – 1638 E Broadway Vancouver BC V5N 1W1 604-731-4951
Helpful Books for Parents
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 3rd Edition, by Marshall Rosenberg, 2015.
Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood, by Lisa Damour, 2016
The Illustrated Happiness Trap, by Russ Harris and Bev Aisbett, 2014.
Helpful Tips for Parents
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Remember that every time your child acts in a way that you do not like, it means they have some need they are trying to communicate to you.
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Get curious and try to understand their need. This will help them experience care and trust that they matter, and help both of you find ways to attend to both your needs.
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Tell your child what you want, instead of what you do not want.
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Be as specific as possible.
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If they say “No”, try to find out what they need, instead of using consequences or rewards.
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There is always a need that is in the way when a human being says “no”.
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Look for a way to meet both your needs, instead of focusing on getting your child to do what you want.
Adapted from Nonviolent Communication For Children & Youth, By Inbal Kashtan, © Copyright 2008
Crime
Crime Victims Assistance Program - Victim Link BC 1-800-563-0808 (available 24/7) financial/ Counselling for victims of crime, their immediate family members and witnesses. Contact for eligibility.
Victim Services Unit Vancouver Police Department 2120 Cambie St Vancouver, BC V5Z 4N6 604-717-2737
Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) 212-3665 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC Phone: 604-660-2141
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