Early Intervention Stream FAQs

Young people who access this service will work directly with our team to develop a  plan for recovery. Recovery plans are customized to suit the needs of the young person accessing care. We provide assessments, counselling, peer support, family support, psychiatric consultation, brief group therapy, and help navigating community mental health services. This plan might also include programs and services in the community.

Access to substance use counselling is also available through a partnership with Alternatives For Youth, which is located in the same space as the Youth Wellness Centre.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Youth Wellness Centre is located at 38 James Street South, in the Pigott Building at the corner of James & Main in downtown Hamilton.

Our space has couches, WiFi, art supplies, and an awesome chalkboard wall.

You will first be invited in for an orientation session where you will learn about our services and will be asked to provide some basic information about what you want help with. This orientation will be provided by one of our Youth Mentors, youth on our staff team who also have lived experience of mental health concerns.

After the orientation session, you can book an appointment to meet individually with the mental health professional on our team who will be your “go-to person” throughout your time with the Youth Wellness Centre, or you will be offered low-barrier access options for individual brief counselling or groups.

If you are hesitant about making changes or have difficulty keeping set appointment times, we have low-barrier drop-in options to quickly access services when you’re ready, including weekly drop-in counselling and drop-in groups. Once you are ready to engage more intensely with our services, then you can be set up with a go-to person and follow the process below.

At your first appointment with your go-to person, you will have a more in-depth discussion of your needs and goals. You will be asked about challenges you are facing, and changes you are hoping to make. You and your “go-to person” will begin to create a recovery plan to make those changes possible. This process takes from 1.5 – 2 hours.

We welcome you to bring a family member, friend, or other support person to your orientation or first appointment. Whoever you bring will have a chance to meet our Family Educator. This will give them an opportunity to weigh in on what has been happening and to get some support in helping you as well.

At the Youth Wellness Centre, when we say “family,” we mean family however YOU define it. Our Family Educator can help support parents, guardians, partners, friends, or other important members of your support network.

It may be that the Youth Wellness Centre is not the best place for your care. If that happens, we’ll help you connect with the service that is right for you, working together and following up with you to help you access care you require.

The Youth Wellness Centre is part of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, the regional lead in mental health care. We’ll help you navigate the mental health services available by connecting you with one of our community partners, or referring you directly to another program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

The Youth Wellness Centre is not a crisis service.

If you, or a loved one, is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Crisis Outreach and Support Team’s COAST telephone line at 905-972-8338. The crisis line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also call the Barrett Centre for Crisis Support 24/7 at 905-529-7878 (Toll Free 1-844-777-3571)

You will be matched to a Youth Wellness Centre team member. This may be the Registered Nurse Care Coordinator, Youth Mentor, Occupational Therapist, or Social Worker. You can think of them as your “go-to person” at the centre.

Your “go-to person” will help with the whole process of assessment, treatment, and recovery, and will connect you with other team members and services as needed.

You and your “go-to person” will discuss if it will beneficial for you to see a psychiatrist at the Youth Wellness Centre as part of your recovery plan.

The services offered to youth at the Youth Wellness Centre vary from person to person. This is because individual recovery plans are customized to suit the unique needs of the young person accessing care.

This means that not every youth will see a psychiatrist at the Youth Wellness Centre, but will be connected with mental health professionals on the team that will best help them in their recovery.

Typical appointments would range between once a week and once every 3 months, as needed.

There are opportunities outside of that to engage with the Youth Wellness Centre via our resource library, groups, and drop-in programming. For example, outside of appointments you might choose to come to one of our monthly socials or our weekly peer support group.

It is our goal to remain connected with youth for 2-5 years. The intensity and frequency of our involvement will vary depending on the needs of each person.

No. The services St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Youth Wellness Centre offers are covered by OHIP, meaning that you don’t need to pay—just bring your health card!

No health card, no problem. Come chat with us and we can help.

We do not offer  crisis services. Crisis support is available through COAST. If you need to see your “go to person” before your next scheduled appointment, it is best to call, text, or email first—if you just drop by they are likely to be unavailable and busy with appointments.

We do have weekly scheduled drop-in social programs like our art group and peer support circle.

We also offer weekly scheduled drop-in counselling for youth and for families in partnership with Child & Adolescent Services. These services are for non-crisis situations in a single session format.

Drop In Counselling for youth age 17-25 is available on:

• Wednesday Afternoons from 1:00pm-5:00pm.

These services are located at Child and Adolescent Services – 100 Main Street East, Hamilton.