First Nations

first nationsStewart & Associates is a registered service provider for the First Nations Health Authority.  The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is the first province-wide health authority of its kind in Canada. In 2013, the FNHA assumed the programs, services, and responsibilities formerly handled by Health Canada’s First Nations Inuit Health Branch – Pacific Region.

Mental Wellness means a lot more than the absence of mental illness – it takes in all areas of a person’s life. ​Mental wellness is the presence of factors that promote and maintain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance.

For more information click to read the Guide to Mental Health Counselling Services

First Nations Health Benefits (FNHB) provides coverage to access mental health providers, including counsellors and social workers. FNHB covers three mental health programs:

  • Short Term Crisis Intervention, you must have status to be eligible for this program.
  • Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program (click to read the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.) You do not need to have status and can live on or off reserve.
  • Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls – Health Support Services.  For more information please visit the MMIWG Webiste.  To access MMIWG counselling you must be a survivor, family member or individual affected by the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.  You do not need to have status and can live on or off reserve.  Click for a list of FAQs.

For more information on accessing mental health benefits, including a link to a list of providers registered to deliver counselling through First Nations Health Benefits please click here.

Mental wellness and substance use are priorities for many BC First Nations. While challenges vary from community to community, there are certain key contributing factors. Some include:

  • Colonization and assimilation
  • Systemic discrimination and racism
  • Child Apprehension
  • Land dispossession
  • Loss of tradition, language and culture
  • The legacy of residential schools
  • Inter-generational trauma and its effects

Appointments, Cancellations & Missed Sessions

We currently have 5 therapists contracted to provide counselling services to First Nations – Ruth-Ann Stewart, Richard Marquez, Ronak Samadi, Meena Hukam & Susan Giles. When you are ready to schedule your first appointment please complete the Intake Form and someone will contact you as soon as possible.

FNHA does not pay for no shows or late cancellations.  Therefore, all First Nations clients are responsible for paying for any missed sessions.  Another appointment will not be scheduled until payment for the missed session has been received.  If the client has booked advance sessions they will be cancelled unless payment is received.