Who we are
The Talk It Out Counselling Clinic (“Talk It Out”) is a free counselling clinic operated from within the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work, dedicated to improving accessibility to counselling for low-income, Black and other racialized communities across the Greater Toronto Area.
What we do
Talk It Out is staffed by Master of Social Work (MSW) student counsellors, who, under the supervision of social work professionals, provide one-to-one short-term counselling support to clients (8-10 sessions), facilitate educational workshops and support the delivery of community projects with partnered agencies.
How we came about
Talk It Out was established by Dr. Lin Fang in March 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to low-income, Black and other racialized communities across the Greater Toronto Area grappling with heightened mental health needs exacerbated by issues of accessibility. After a series of consultations with community agencies and other stakeholders, Talk It Out emerged with a core mission to directly confront service inequities faced by low-income and racialized communities. Today, as we transition to a post-pandemic era, the mission remains though the methods to achieve that aim have expanded.
Talk It Out is funded by generous donors, alumni, and sponsors through the University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
Who we work with
Talk It Out works with individuals 16 years of age or older experiencing non-crisis related mild to moderate mental health concerns and/or emotional or relational challenges (anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness & isolation, racial distress, grief & loss, trauma, family issues, bullying, relationship challenges, identity exploration). We provide a range of therapeutic interventions (cognitive behavioural therapy, solution-focused, strategic therapy, narrative therapy, etc.) tailored to each client, offered from a lens of anti-oppressive practice and trauma informed care.
Talk It Out engages potential clients through referrals made with partnered agencies across the GTA. These agencies include the following:
