Hey, I’m Chandra! I’m the mental health therapist at Terra Centre. This is a new role for Terra and it’s a dream come true for me. I see my job as a way to create a safe environment where participants can work on and better understand themselves. Together, we explore ideas, talk about challenges and develop healthy coping strategies.

Having my office located at Braemar means that students can come see me during their free block. They don’t face wait-lists, high costs or limits on number of sessions, as they might if they sought counselling in the community. Participants can drop in or schedule regular appointments with me in a way that meets their needs. If they require crisis counselling and I’m booked, they can slip a note under my door or text me, and I’ll see them as soon as possible. I also have the opportunity to support our outreach and housing programs by seeing participants in the community and working with partners in couples counselling. This helps to lift barriers toward accessing mental health supports.

For the average person of any age, being a parent is the hardest job they will ever have. Our young parents are dealing with so much more — completing high school, growing little humans, maintaining safe housing, supporting themselves financially and being a teenager all at the same time. I think the fact that Terra can provide an accessible, on site mental health therapist is really important for our families.

I’m grateful to be in this role and to have the unique opportunity to get to know our incredible participants in this way. That they trust me with their stories is humbling, and I hope to always find ways to help them find and honour their resilience.

Chandra’s profile is one of many that we’ve been sharing on social media. If you’d like to learn more about the work of our team, visit instagram.com/terracentre or facebook.com/terracentre.