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Sister Margaret Smith Centre Youth Services provides a five-week intensive substance abuse treatment program for youth from age 13 up to 18. This program uses a harm reduction, cognitive behavorial approach to recovery, which focuses on changing behaviour through examining beliefs and values. It includes group therapy, individual counselling, education sessions, life skill development, introduction to self help, leisure and recreation opportunities, and relapse prevention. The multi-disciplinary team consists of addiction counsellors, youth workers, a therapeutic recreationist, a problem gambling counsellor, and a spiritual advisor. Community resources are brought in to supplement the programming, including the Children's Centre Thunder Bay, a physician,consulting psychologist and a Native spiritual worker.
The residential treatment program offers 8 residential beds per block to youth who are not from the Thunder Bay area and/or require this level of safety and supervision. This program also offers 2 beds per block to youth from the Thunder Bay area who require the intensive day treatment component from Monday to Friday - 9:30 to 3:30 pm. This allows the youth to participate in the therapeutic group, individual counselling, school, recreation and spirituality. The admission treatment and discharge policies are the same for local and non-local youth.
‘Yoga for Youth’ is lead by our therapeutic recreationist Helen Arpin who is a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher as well as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher. She has trained extensively in Montreal and New Mexico.
Hundreds of youth claim that yoga has helped them relax, sleep better, and control anger more easily, as well as concentrate for longer periods of time on their school work, and just generally feel better about themselves.
Studies have demonstrated the powerful effect of Yoga on the physical, mental and emotional development of youth. Yoga works directly to reduce stress, strengthen the nervous system and stabalize ones emotional foundation.
This unique program is a rare gem in treatment facilities throughout Canada. Helen has designed this program especially to meet the needs of our youth and to provide an empowering tool so youth can be better able to cope with stressful situations in their lives.
Harm reduction is a non-confrontational and non-judgmental approach that incorporates strategies that aim to reduce the negative consequences of substance use. Harm reduction techniques meet substance users where they are at, addressing what happens when they use along with the use itself. Harm reduction goals are based on a continuum starting with safer use to managed use to abstinence.
A copy of our Handbook can be downloaded here - 
Community Based Services are offered to youth living in the Thunder Bay community and surrounding area. The majority of these programs offered through Sister Margaret Smith Centre Youth Services are in coordination with Thunder Bay Integrated Youth Services. The agencies involved with Thunder Bay Integrated Youth Services are:
- Sister Margaret Smith Centre - Youth Services
- Children's Centre Thunder Bay - New Experience Program:
this program offers services to youth with concurrent disorders of mental health and substance use.
- Family Services Thunder Bay - Assessment and Referral Program:
this program offers intake, assessment, education, screening and referral of youth with substance use issues.
Thunder Bay Integrated Services have a common intake, assessment, referral and case review system for all local youth receiving services in the Thunder Bay community. A team including members from all agencies involved meet every two weeks to review and refer clients to the most appropriate service.
| Screening and education in a group |
Every month |
| Comprehensive individual assessment |
As needed |
| individual goal setting and exploration or youth concerns |
As needed |
| Children of problem gamblers and young gamblers assessment and treatment |
As needed |
| Structured group focus life skills and education in a school setting |
As requested |
| Prevention, education to a group |
As requested |
| Prevention, education to a group |
As requested |
| Aftercare, relapse prevention in a group |
As needed |
The Early Prevention Program "Drugs Aren't Cool" is designed to provide children in grade five with an opportunity to learn through the play of an interactive game, about the negative effects of substance use. The children will explore the issues of alcohol and drug use, including; peer, media, and family influences, before they reach the critical age of twelve when many youth initiate substance use. The program takes about an hour of class time depending on the class size. The format of the learning component is an interactive game which will be facilitated by the addiction counsellors of the Sister Margaret Smith Centre.
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