In the fewest amount of words, if I could describe the experience when people visit Riptide Counselling Inc.: A place to start breathing again.
Although Riptide Counselling Inc., is in fact a business, it was created for people. It’s based on foundational principles of humanity in a world where humanity is often stripped from life’s experiences. It rests on a foundational belief that people do the best they can given their circumstances. In your shoes, I would make similar choices.
It sounds lovely in theory to many (and may not to everyone), however in practice, this is hard work. The model is applied from a top down approach where the very team that serves you, also walks the same path with each other and in community. It has meant making hard choices in business and life, but at its core, I remain (and we remain) steadfast in the belief of humanity, protection to the vulnerable in the complexity of community, connection and truth.
When asked over the years, what has inspired me to open Riptide, it comes from a deeply personal place and a multitude of layers. I hope to be able to do it justice in writing. The shortest answer is my own children and all the children I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with. To create a better place for them (and perhaps my younger self). I began my journey, post MSW, working at a residential facility for youth. I’ve never forgotten them and each child since, I’ve carried forward. They have something valuable to say to the world about what life looks like for them (and their longing for a different one).
Perhaps, the longer answer lies within the 11-year-old me, who decided when she grew up, she wanted to become a therapist. To listen to people’s deepest pain, to allow it to shift to healing, to help others feel seen in a world where pain is often unseen or swept under the rug.
Perhaps the longest answer still, is my Uncle Chris Wagg. An incredible doctor, who has an incredible bedside manner. Who still believes that mental health is integral to understanding physical health. He was a superhero in my mind as a child, and I’m not sure he’s ever left that place in my heart today. I wished to be just like him (an amazing doctor) when I grew up. He could really see people. One day, I made the decision that my skill was in seeing and hearing people. I didn’t want to do heart surgery, but I most definitely wanted to do soul surgery. (As the team has grown, I have hand chosen those, who are capable of also doing the kind of soul surgery that is required, first in self, and then as a support to others).
In all of these stories, still interweaved, the answer lies in that it is a calling.
Those who have joined the team invest in the same way, as it is a calling for them too. The cost and investment of seeing humanity even in the hardest and darkest places can only be done by those who are willing to hold it, to fight for it, and to honour it.
I knew in pursuing my masters, prior to opening my own business, I wanted to have knowledge and experience in the field. I have taken jobs based on their experience and have worked with numerous specialized populations, which all had one thing in common: trauma. I immersed myself into knowing and understanding best practices around relationships, connection, and love. The very basis of humanity at its core. I’ve learned that more often than not, these are lost on most in how we get there.
When I created Riptide Counselling Inc., it was intended to be a way forward, not only for the individuals we serve but the community we live in. To collectively change the way in which we talk about trauma, and the impacts of trauma within a person, a family unit, a community, and the world.
It was intended for our team. The hope offered outward is also provided here together. That we are valued and respected in our roles. Oftentimes, in this line of work, the expectation is that it is done for free, and although I give generously with my time, passion alone does not pay the bills. It is a social movement that asks you to consider value in the work being done. Moreover, that the helping profession must be supported as it interweaves and looks layers of complexity in the eye.
Riptide Counselling Inc., was created with the intention of bridging gaps and changing outcomes. Providing hope, where all hope feels lost. Even in dreaming it, I never dreamt of doing the work alone. My intention was to seek and create a strong team, that could join in the work that is being done. The value that is placed on connections and relationships in therapy, is also applied in community and as a team.
It is a teaching facility that supports student learning. We offer outreach for speaking engagements, and we’ve worked incredibly hard at bringing to life a new narrative around mental health, trauma and abuse. Understanding a way forward for all. It has been a calling for my life, that I walk in full faith into this role, even when it's scary, and even when I don't have all the answers.
It is a social movement, on every level that is considered and challenges you to consider a different way of thinking.
In closing, in terms of how Riptide got its name (aside from the deep, dark lyrics of Vance Joy's song: Riptide) I will leave you with this:
I have always loved the ocean and found in its very presence a layer of healing. Maybe it's the salt water, the breezy air, and the sun on my skin. Maybe it's the familiarity of growing up by the ocean. Perhaps it's deeper in that it reflects the feelings inside much like a mirror. Externalizing my internal struggle. Maybe it's the awe and wonder of God's creation, and the memories it holds as many before me have come to the ocean searching for answers. I’d like to think that it is all of these layers, which bring out the beauty of the ocean.
Whenever I’ve found myself in a place of deep struggle, it feels like the ocean is pulling me under and I’m struggling against the current. It is only when I let go in those moments that it brings me to a place of healing.
It is the riptide of life.
If you are in a place where you too, feel that current, it is my hope that you will walk through the door knowing that we will come alongside you in your journey. Instead of raging against the current, we will allow it to guide you to an inner place of healing. Ultimately, our role is to direct you through the path to healing by pacing the journey, to allow you to surface for air, while also diving deep again.
If it is feeling heavy and deep today and you need a breath of air, consider making an appointment that can change the direction of your life.
A place to start breathing again.
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