Protem is a Didsbury-based professional counselling service founded on Christian principles. Since being established in 1990, Protem has positively impacted thousands of people's lives.
Protem offers impartial and non-judgemental counselling to all - Christians, people of other faiths and people of no faith. We believe in the uniqueness of each individual, and respect each person's right to form their own values.
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Services Offered
Individual Counselling for Adults
Each counselling experience is unique, but typically counselling offers a safe space to help you to make better sense of what's happening in your life.
Counselling can help with many of the following life issues.
- Depression - Anxiety - Bereavement - Low self-esteem - Eating disorders - Relationship and sexual issues - Anger issues - Post-traumatic stress - Sexual abuse - Spiritual/faith issues.
You will be encouraged to learn more about yourself and how you relate to others. You will be helped to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to better understand your needs.
You will never be judged, criticised or treated unkindly. What you discuss will be kept strictly confidential (our only exception to this is where there is a risk to a person's safety).
Unlike other counselling services, we have no upper limit on the number of sessions you can have with your counsellor. This is negotiated between you and your counsellor. You are free to finish at any time, but we would encourage you to agree the ending with your counsellor so that the work can be brought to a helpful conclusion.
Relationship counselling
Couples come to relationship counselling for a variety of reasons including conflict, the impact of affairs, financial stress, fertility issues, sexual difficulties, addiction and for many other reasons.
Couples can sometimes fall into the trap of not listening to one another or one person may assume they already know what the other is thinking. Some couples expect each other to be mind-readers, while others may not have communicated healthily from the outset of their relationship and are struggling to change.
Relationship counselling seeks to support you to improve how you communicate, to explore and express your feelings in a healthy way and to resolve the difficulties that bring you to counselling in the first place.
The role of the counsellor is not to tell you what to do or to referee arguments. Typically, your counsellor will work with you to facilitate improved communication, help you to explore your options and support you to come to your own conclusions. You may be given tasks or pieces of 'homework' to complete between sessions.
There is no set number of sessions as different couples will have different needs. The number of sessions you have will be agreed with your counsellor.
Fees and Payment
This is a registered charity
Our policy is never to turn someone away based on their ability to pay. We operate a sliding-scale contribution scheme based on your income so that what you pay will be based on what you can afford. The fee is discussed and agreed at assessment stage.
Services Offered To: Adults Couples Teens
Payment: Sliding Scale Pro-bono
If You Call, Please Let Us Know How it Went:
Were You Able to Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.