We understand that accessing mental health services can be confusing and difficult. We are often asked why we do not maintain a waitlisting list for our services. There are a number of reasons why, including best clinical practices and the prevention of burnout amongst our clinicians. However, the main reasons for not maintaining a waitlist have to do with client care. They are: +++++ We are a centre that tries to match clients with the best possible clinician for them. Each of our clinicians has an unique set of skills, interests, training and client population that they work with. we have a clinical intake coordinator that helps to ensure that we make the best possible match for our clients, with the aim of excellent and timely clinical care. However, this also means that we are not a ‘first come, first serve’ model of case assignment. For example, a clinician who specializes in complex trauma may have a cases that require longer term service, allowing them to pick up fewer clients than a clinician who specializes in short-term anxiety treatment. Further, only a select few of our clinicians are trained to see children, which means at times are able to accept adult referrals and not child/adolescent referrals. We can appreciate that this can be frustrating and disappointing. However, we believe (and research will support) that poorly matched, or untimely service can not only be ineffective but, at times, harmful. What does this mean for me? First, we work hard behind the scenes to match you within our clinic. Please allow us at least 5-7 business days to match you. If you have not heard yet from our intake coordinator we are still working on your file. If we are unable to accept referrals for your specific referral type, our intake worker will let you know immediately. This means we either to do not have the clinical expertise you require, or that we are not able to meet your needs within the next few months. If our intake worker is unable to match you with someone at our clinic, we strongly encourage you to seek services elsewhere. It means that we are not likely to be able to meet your clinical needs within the near future. You are welcome to check back at a later date if you’ve been unable to find service elsewhere. We will try to clarify at that time if it is a lack of a “good match” or a lack of availability within our clinical schedules that prevented us from matching you with a clinician. +++++ We want to provide timely service to our clients. We know that mental health challenges can be extremely painful, and we want to help our clients as quickly as possible. Our intake coordinator position aims to do just that – match clients quickly and well. However, our past attempts to maintain a waitlist demonstrated that a waitlist significantly increased our administrative demands and resulted in longer wait times for all clients. What does this mean for me? If you have been referred to our clinic, please allow us time to try to match your file with the proper clinician. If you have completed our intake form, you will get an initial email indicating the file has been received. Please check your junk mail prior to contacting the centre. Unless we require additional information we will not contact you further until we have completed the matching process. Again, this can take at least 5-7 business days. We receive thousands of referrals each year and try to respond to each one and work hard “behind the scenes” to match you with a clinician. You are welcome to call to check on this process but we do ask for patience. You will hear from us even if we are not able to match you within our clinic.