Walk-in counselling works better than traditional appointments, learns KWCS

When KW Counselling Services (KWCS) launched their walk-in counselling clinic 10 years ago, they had no idea what was in store for them.

This month, they celebrate the10-year anniversary of the clinic, which has seen more than 15,000 people in that time.

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In 2007,the agency had more than 900 people on a wait list and was looking for a way to make their services more accessible.

"We didn'thave a clue what to expect," Leslie Josling, executive director of KWCStold CBC's The Morning Edition host, Craig Norris on Tuesday.

It took off.

The clinic saw on average 30 people a week in the early days and the numbers have been going up since. In 2016, the walk-in clinic saw a record number of 96 people in one day. Last week theysawabout 85 people a day,Josling said.

She adds they felt at the time a walk-in clinic approach would be more effective than the traditional counselling model. It would eliminate the wait list and their no-show problem, which was costing the clinic a lot of money, said Josling.

They had seen from years of experience and from data that many people who seek counselling mostly get what they need in one session.

"There was something about the accessibility of it and just being able to show up in your moment of need that made sense to us," said Josling.

Benefits of walk-in

Over the past 10 years, the clinic has also been part of large research projects with Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

Key findings from thoseresearch projects showed people who access the walk-in counselling clinic do better than in traditional counselling.

"Folks arrive with very high levels of distressand at four weeks they're doing better than they are when they've gone to traditional counselling," said Josling.

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She admits she was also surprisedthat the walk-in approach was also more effective for individuals with complex trauma.

"When we first launched the walk-in, I thought it would be the 'worried well' who would do best and it turns out, that's not true. It's people who have an awful lot going on in their lives who have very complex history of trauma and abuse that fare best at walk-in."

Though it was not part of the research, Josling said she has noticed that the walk-in counselling clinic has also been beneficial for men.

She said half of the individuals who access the clinic are men, compared to37 per cent of men who access traditional counselling.She suspects it may have to do with accessibility and the fact that there is no commitment with walk-in counselling services.

Going forward

Going forward, Josling said they are looking at ways to expand their services to meet the needof the community.

"The community uptake on walk-in exceeded our wildest expectations," she said.

In the last couple of weeks, they compiled 52 pages of feedback from people who have accessed their walk-in services in the past year, with the majority expressing that the walk-in model has given courage to access counsellingand other services.

Josling adds they are looking to secure funds from local and provincial sources to further explore the role of the walk-in counselling clinic approachsoother municipalities might consider it as a way to address their mental health needs.