Rising demand for therapy during holiday season in the Okanagan, expert says – Okanagan | 24CA News

Christmas is barely 10 days away, which implies individuals are beginning to really feel the rising stress of the vacation season. This can be an element within the rising demand for remedy throughout the Okanagan.

Many individuals search skilled assist and somebody to speak to throughout this busy season. However, it’s not a simple time for a brand new consumer to attach with a therapist.

“We see very high demand, there’s long waitlists for all of our clinicians. We hear from our clients too that it’s very difficult to access psychologists in the community,” mentioned Dr. Delaine Shackleton with the Kelowna Psychologists Group.

Dr. Shackleton says it’s particularly troublesome for individuals in distant communities to entry care.

“We see a lot of people reaching out to us, saying that they have one, two-year waitlists or they can’t access anybody at all. Sometimes they don’t have any support, they might be socially isolated, they might be having challenges and they really have nobody to reach out to,” mentioned Dr. Shackleton.

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Stresses through the vacation season

Dr. Shackleton says this time of yr brings many challenges however one is very prevalent.

“The holidays bring a lot of stress financially and with families in those different dynamics. But I would say that, overall, because of the shift that we’ve seen in terms of like the cost of living really increasing and wages not increasing, there’s a ton of financial pressure,” she mentioned.

Holiday customers Global News spoke to within the Okanagan can relate.

“There’s always things someone wants or especially with the kids, they have certain desires that you might not want to fulfill like video gaming and things like that, that corrupt their minds maybe,” one shopper mentioned.

“There’s a lot to do at work at the end of the year and then all the getting organized for Christmas, but thankfully I have a beautiful wife at home that works really hard,” mentioned one other.

In order to alleviate the stress felt through the holidays, Dr. Shackleton has a number of suggestions.

“Definitely not isolating, even when you feel like you want to isolate, that’s when you should be reaching out to those friends and seeking the support that you need. Trying to find a provider who can give you services as well and maybe get some extra vitamin D,” she mentioned.

Dr. Shackleton additionally reminds individuals to hold out their every day practices throughout this busy season.

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