Exploring individuals' experiences of time-sensitive practice in rural Newfoundland and Labrador: a qualitative study

Rural residents of NL face some of the most complex and challenging mental health issues including depression, schizophrenia, and risk of suicide with inadequate and hard to access treatment services. Due to the increasing demands for mental health services, government officials have been emphasizing the need for more responsive and person-centered services to meet client needs. Time-sensitive counselling, an alternative approach to long-term counselling, provides more timely and focused interventions. Mental Health services in Bonavista, a rural community in NL, recently began offering time-sensitive counselling services to its residents, entitled the “Change Clinic.” This phenomenological qualitative research study explored individuals’ experiences of time-sensitive counselling services as offered by mental health services in Bonavista. The results of this research study are detailed and suggest that time-sensitive counselling services can assist in meeting the service needs of rural residents of NL.