The new Mental Care clinic and well-being service centre in Renfrew hosted a grand opening ceremony
for its new office at 7 Argyle Street South. Staff members from left are David Guth, Kendal Rhode, Tanya
Wojcik, Johanna Bakker and Jacqueline Gauvreau.

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Renfrew – Seeking support for mental and physical well-being in Renfrew and the surrounding area is now much easier thanks to a brand-new counselling centre.

Mental Care is a healthy living clinic based on providing care for people from all walks of life regardless of age, official diagnosis or social situation. It hosted an open house on March 26th to give the community a chance to see what’s in store, with the group of five medical professionals elaborating on their experience, introducing themselves and explaining how they got there.

Company founder and CEO Johanna Bakker led off the presentations with how she started her career in the Netherlands and studied cultural social work all the while providing debt assistance and psychosocial counselling. She and her husband bought a farm in Renfrew County and immigrated seven years ago when she decided to put her past experience to good use.

While opening a practice was not new to her, having done it in her home country, she re-opened Mental Care in 2018 under a different name and started getting word out by joining the local Christmas parade. Since then, the association has grown exponentially over the years and become an established group.

“I didn’t want to waste my degree and thought, ‘why not?’ I did it already. When I did it here it was much scarier because I didn’t know anyone or how to build it up,” Mrs. Bakker explained. “Now I’m not by myself anymore and there’s a great team here.”

She said the new space, located in a former dentist’s office, will be of great benefit for several reasons. Having more room for growth will let them help even more people and allow the group to easily work together with the same clients.

“We’re basically joining forces to provide more quality when it comes to our services because we use each other’s expertise,” she said.

Mrs. Bakker is a behavioural scientist and forensic child/youth care specialist. She started her career looking to address the root causes contributing to poor mental health.

“Problems in child or adulthood do not arise just like that,” she noted. “I always compare this to a leak in a roof. Let’s say you see some dripping and patch it up a little bit. It will be fixed temporarily but eventually, it will start leaking again.

“We are very much on top of mobilizing people around you. We might be the first ones giving a healthy support system because it’s vital. You can’t do everything on your own,” she continued. “We provide services to children, teens, adults and seniors. There’s room for everyone.”

She went on to highlight an alternative form of therapy the business provides thanks to her farm, where she hosts visitors for a chance to enjoy the great outdoors.

“It does something when you surround yourself with nature. I don’t know how to explain it but being outside, seeing foreign animals, the trees and creek, it’s different. People open up quite easily,” she said. “Sometimes emotions are really overwhelming. Nature gives you balance.”

Mrs. Bakker then introduced Tanya Wojcik, a co-owner of the local No Frills, who joined the team with two decades of experience as a social worker.

“In my experience, I love teenagers,” she said. “Not too many people say that, but I have a real passion for working with them. You’re the experts of your own lives, but sometimes we need somebody to help us and have a better understanding.”

Mrs. Wojcik told listeners her focus is on therapy sessions meeting people where they’re at and aiming to help them to find strategies to address their struggles.

“I never want money to be the reason why someone doesn’t seek help, so we’re willing to be flexible and creative as well. This place is amazing. There’s a calmness about this new building and I’m very excited to be here.”

She explained there’s no need for a referral to get help and all anyone needs to get started is to open up a conversation, saying, “If you make that first step, we’ll do the rest.

“We’ve stripped as much as we can from that process to just say, ‘here we are, come on in and let’s talk.’ From there we can develop the next steps.”

Jacqueline Gauvreau, a psychotherapist born and raised in the Ottawa Valley, said she’s familiar with the local mindset and approach some have toward mental health, especially having experienced challenges of her own.

“I find it interesting when therapists appear to have no problems at all and act as if their lives are always together,” she said. “Does it not make us more relatable to show we’re human too?”

Ms. Gauvreau said she understands the emotional turbulence, confusion and pain of having mental health issues and explained she suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD).

“When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t fully understand it or what to expect. I felt like my world came crashing down, constantly shifting between extreme highs and lows,” she said. “My relationships were marked by chaos and my emotions seemed to take on a life of their own; overwhelming, erratic and uncontrollable.

“Today, I stand before you as someone who has not only healed from BPD, but dedicated her life to helping others on their healing journeys. It is possible, and if you’re here today I want you to know there’s hope.”

Ms. Gauvreau told listeners about her first-hand experience and how the disorder changed her life but explained it didn’t define her. She emphasized the importance of knowing how environmental factors and coping mechanisms contribute to one’s health.

“Healing is not linear. There were days when I felt like I would never escape the intensity of my emotions and days I felt my identity was slipping away. The key is to keep going,” she said.

She underscored the importance of knowing resilience isn’t an immunity to pain, but the ability to navigate it with grace. With a commitment to self-support and plenty of help, she was able to regulate her emotions, understand her reactions and begin forming a strong sense of self.

“I had to understand who I really was to truly heal,” she continued. “It takes time, effort and an unshakable belief in your own worth. You are not defined by your diagnosis or your past. You are capable, resilient and worthy of the life of your dreams.”

While the Mental Care staff are all licensed to provide social services, there’s one member who can make diagnoses instead. Registered psychological practitioner David Guth discussed his process with clients and how hugely it varies from person to person.

“We’re all on a spectrum of some sort. There is no normal and that’s what places like this are for; to validate you when you’re not feeling normal,” he remarked. “We’re trained in how to listen.”

He made another analogy likened to Mrs. Bakker’s, saying he often refers to themselves as mechanics at a pit stop instead of roofers.

“Cars come around the track and every once in a while they stop for a quick oil or tire change and get back out there. People come to us for a little bit of extra help. That’s really what it is.”

He goes through the process of doing interviews, face-to-face assessments and questionnaires to get diversified viewpoints and an idea of the situation. Mr. Guth said he diagnoses attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), one of the most prevalent disorders, in very rare cases.

“A lot of times ADHD is a catch-all. It’s kind of a scary diagnosis in a way. I usually find some other reason or explanation for a child who’s inattentive or hyperactive.”

He went on to explain the three pillars of health: diet, sleep and exercise, saying it’s the first thing he asks his clients so he can build a rapport and start helping them to make improvements.

Kendal Rhode, a mother of two and holistic nutritionist for over a decade, joined the Mental Care team as an expert in how food relates to overall wellbeing. She underscored the idea that everyone is a different puzzle waiting to be solved.

“It’s not a cookie cutter program. We need to tailor it to you, your schedule and your system,” she said. “I’m not going to tell you to uproot your whole life. Maybe it’s an apple a day. Something simple may seem mundane but it can cause a change in the big picture.”

Mrs. Rhode wrapped up the open house presentations by explaining how she does things like grocery store tours with families and hair mineral analysis for a comprehensive report. In closing, she told listeners she was glad to be a part of such a fantastic team and encouraged them to check out their services.

Visiting the Mental Care Clinic

Those seeking help from Mental Care have several means of accommodation. They offer support services for just about anything you can throw at them, from challenges with mental health, emotions/behaviour, family/relationships, trauma/abuse and substance use/addiction.

Mrs. Bakker explained the clinic has always intended to give back to the community, and those under the Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program umbrella can receive consultations for $50. Their services are covered by a wide range of insurance plans, including local benefit providers, Indigenous Services Canada, Veteran Affairs Canada and other associated community partners.

While most of their clients are covered, she’s pushed to include them all by becoming officially recognized by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Mrs. Bakker said doing so has been quite challenging since the plan mainly covers physical health-related costs. With their organization mainly hinged on the mental health field, she’s looking to some time in the next decade or so for approval.

The clinic is open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. Those interested in seeking help from Mental Care’s highly qualified staff in person can visit their new location at 7 Argyle Street South in Renfrew or book an online appointment at www.practicelovingcare.com.