When it comes to providing meaningful therapy to clients, it helps to know who you’re dealing with. That is why Brunswick Creek Psychology Services makes a point to understand the unique healthcare needs of Swift Current and southwest Saskatchewan. By embodying everything it means to be a local clinic, it can provide the best and broadest help possible.
“Because we live in a rural area, we have a very generalist approach to what we do,” explains Dr. Conor Barker, Clinical Director and Registered Doctoral Psychologist at Brunswick Creek. “We understand what it’s like to live here, and we understand what it means to be connected to members of this community. So we provide professional services, but also services that are connected to community resources.”
Oftentimes, that means filling in the gaps that often occur in public systems, be they healthcare or school systems or even employee assistance programs.
“When there’s a gap, we tend to fill those gaps,” says Dr. Barker. “That’s what we’re able to do in our clinic.”
Brunswick Creek has offices in both Swift Current, and Bedford N.S.
Unique approach
Dr. Barker points out that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to therapy. Assessment expertise and treatment planning are required, and what makes he and his colleagues unique is that they are able to do both.
“What makes us different is that we’re a psychological practice, so the types of interventions we use are evidence-based and designed to treat specific conditions while helping people live their healthiest, most productive lives,” he says. “When we choose a therapy for a particular client, we look back at the literature to see how that therapy has been used in different populations, and we’ll choose therapies that have the best chance of creating the outcome folks are looking for.”
Brunswick Creek Psychology Services also employs an on-site Academic Strategist who specializes in working with children.
“If children come and get assessed with us and we find they have a particular kind of learning disability, we can tailor a tutoring program to fit their specific needs,” says Mark Brooks, Academic Strategist and Clinic Practice Manager. “I do general academic tutoring as well, but it’s the tailoring that sets us apart from other tutoring services.”
Brooks’ academic strategy has moved from Swift Current to the Bedford office.
Counselling services
Psychology, explains Dr. Barker, is the study of the mind and of how behaviour comes from a result of thinking (cognition), feeling (emotion) and the body (psychology).
“How we work is we dive really deeply into how a client processes things cognitively,” he says. “We look at how they interpret certain situations and how they perceive information.”
In some cases, a counselling psychologist can treat and even change cognition. Dr. Barker highlights the research inroads made in neuroplasticity, which involves training the physiological brain.
“You can actually see a brain physically learning something,” he says. “What we do in terms of our therapies is grow new neural pathways so we can help the brain become more efficient at doing the things it wants to do.”
Practically speaking, that means meeting clients where they’re at in terms of age and life situation, whether tending to issues around academic performance for children and teenagers, helping adults reach certain goals, or working with older clients who might be experiencing difficult lifestyle transitions.
Dr. Barker, for example, specializes in school, clinical and counselling psychology and has zeroed in on helping people who are going back to school or work. His clients might be in college or university, employed in the trades or looking to overcome a disability or addiction before returning to work. Even though he is trained as a child psychologist, more and more he works with clients with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, which were not identified until adulthood.
The Brunswick Creek staff also includes a full team of psychologists, psychometrists and social workers who can support individuals experiencing trauma, grief, depression and substance dependency and deliver Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Motivational Therapy, Eye-Movement Desensitizing and Reprocessing Therapy and Accelerated Resolution Therapy, among other treatments.
Brunswick Creek clinicians
“We have a great roster of clinicians working for us,” says Dr. Barker. “In southwest Saskatchewan, like in most rural areas, you have to know a little about a lot. You have to really be able to provide a general level of practice for the community.”
Ralph Aman, an Associate Social Worker with Brunswick Creek Psychology Services, says he really appreciates being able to work in such a tight-knit community.
“I think one of the greatest things about my work is the ability to help people make some changes they would like to in their lives,” he says.
Another Associate Social Worker, Carrie Chambers, echoes Aman’s comments.
“Working through Brunswick Creek has provided me the opportunity to work with people of all ages,” she says. “I work with children all the way up to adults, as well as with couples. I have the opportunity to help a wide range of people.”
The team boasts two new psychologists. Dr. Jeremiah Bohol recently immigrated from the Philippines.
“His background is actually in clinical and in forensic psychology,” explains Dr. Barker. "He was called on it as an expert witness in the Philippines for a number of years. He is currently starting as a counselling psychologist and clinical psychologist.”
Bohol says an interaction with a military veteran instilled his passion for his work.
“When I told the veteran that I was thankful for their service, they told me that they were also thankful for the service I gave to them, and that, for me, cemented my passion to continue being a psychologist and extending a helping hand to other people.”
And Rachel Yolland isn’t new to the team, but she did recently become a provincially certified psychologist. She has a Masters in counselling, expertise in ADHD coaching, experience working with people with addictions, and does a general therapy practice where she looks at somatic processing.
It is a well-rounded group of clinicians at Brunswick Creek Psychology Services, and their individual profiles can be viewed online.
Next steps
For anyone considering counselling, psychology or tutoring help for themselves or their child, it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a bad question. Addressing mental health and developmental issues has become easier to talk about in the last few years, and
Brunswick Creek has already helped more than 2,000 clients in and around Swift Current, and recently opened their Bedford office.
“One of the first things I would ask myself if I were considering therapy is, ‘Am I actually working towards my goals?’ and ‘Am I coming up to some real or perceived barriers?’” says Dr. Barker. “One of the most common things folks might notice is they’re just not terribly happy doing what they’re doing. They might end up with some level of frustration, whether that’s in relationships, in the workplace or in other settings.”
A good first step is to reach out to a Client Care Coordinator at Brunswick Creek. This can be done online, by calling (306) 700-3141 or emailing contact@brunswickcreek.ca. The clinic’s website also has additional information that could be helpful.
Dr. Barker says the best part of his job is connecting with clients some months after they’ve accessed his support.
“They tell me about a change they’ve made, and hearing that is my favourite part of my work,” he says.
Brooks, meanwhile, takes particular joy in helping children learn.
“I love working with kids and I love seeing them learn,” he says. “I love that I can play with LEGO and make it into a math lesson.”
At the end of the day, Brunswick Creek Psychology Services exists to help its clients be the best people they can be.
“It’s not just about feeling better,” says Dr. Barker. “It’s also about optimizing your human experience.”