What Is a Mobile Counselling Van?

Is your organization struggling to find a way to provide counselling services across Canada? Maybe you’re part of a community organization, a healthcare provider, or a nonprofit dedicated to mental health. 

You understand the importance of making counseling accessible, but traditional office setups can be limiting and awkward. It’s frustrating because you want to reach people who need help the most, but barriers like distance, mobility issues, and lack of resources stand in the way.

Au MoveMobility, we understand the challenges you face. For over ten years, we’ve been experts in creating specialized vehicles that break down barriers to healthcare and save lives. Our experience spans across designing and manufacturing various unités médicales mobiles, including Mobile Counselling Vans.

In this article, you’ll learn about the Camion de conseil mobile. We hope that you’ll have a good idea if it fits your organization’s needs by the time you finish reading.  Stay tuned as we discuss the features that make this van such an ideal solution.

What is the Mobile Counselling Van?

The Mobile Counselling Van is a vehicle that your organization can use to bring counselling services right to people who need them across Canada. These vans be used for many types of services, such as:

• Preventive counselling: Helping people deal with problems before they get worse.

• Substance abuse counselling: Giving support and resources to people struggling with addiction.

• Wellness checks: Checking in on people’s mental health and well-being regularly.

• Mental health supplies: Providing important materials and information about community supports.

These vans create a safe and welcoming space for clients, making it easy for them to get help without having to go to an office. Mobile Counselling Vans are very useful in rural areas where it might be hard to find mental health services. Bringing counselling services right to people makes it easier for everyone to get help when they need it.

What features does the Mobile Counselling Van have?

Let’s take a look at some features of the Mobile Counselling Van.

Comfortable and inviting interior

The Mobile Counselling Van is designed to feel like a living room. This highlighted feature makes it a welcoming place for people to talk with someone they trust.

Here are some features that help achieve this:

Living room feel: The van has relaxing couches, a table, speakers, and an interior wrap that makes it feel like home. This helps people relax, feel comfortable, and open up about their feelings.

Work table: There is a work table between the couches where someone from your team can take notes or place their laptop.

Natural light: The van has many windows and a skylight to let in natural light, making it bright and feel more positive inside. This includes the side entry doors and ramp, which allow more light than traditional sliding doors.

The interior’s bright, airy, and spacious feel is perfect for making those struggling with mental health feel more at ease.

Interior wrap: The van’s interior can be wrapped to look cozy and home-like, further helping clients feel at ease.

Practical and functional design

Ventilation system: One of our past clients included a special ventilation system for smudging, which is a traditional Indigenous practice.

WiFi connectivity: The van includes WiFi, so counsellors can access the internet and use online tools during sessions.

Storage cabinets: There are storage cabinets to keep supplies organized and easily accessible.

Removable seats: You can remove the seats to transport individuals, such as an elder, or store items like food boxes, making the van versatile for different needs.

Wood grain flooring: The van has a wood grain flooring style, which helps take away any medical facility feel and makes the space more inviting.

Trail kit: You can install a trail kit to prolong the vehicle’s life and navigate rougher terrain, helping you reach more people in rural areas.

Accessibility and hope

The van provides easy accessibility and serves as a symbol of hope for the community:

Ramp: The van includes a ramp allowing people to easily access the interior. This helps avoid the wear and tear of traditional sliding doors.

Exterior wrap: The outside of the van can be wrapped with a design that represents hope and can be customized to fit the community’s needs. This helps move away from the typical white medical vehicle look.

Symbol of hope: It’s important to stress that this van is not for transportation but comes to the community to provide support. It acts as a symbol of hope, bringing help directly to those who need it.

Safety and security

Security system: You can get a security system installed in the van to monitor who’s outside.

No back windows: The back of the van does not have windows, which helps to make counselling sessions feel more secure and private for people inside.

Tinted windows: The windows are tinted so you can see out, but others can’t see in. This keeps it confidential while still letting in natural light.

Private and confidential

The Mobile Counselling Van ensures complete privacy and confidentiality for your clients.

Insulation: The van is insulated on the inside to provide sound privacy so no one outside can hear the conversations happening inside. This insulation also helps with temperature control, keeping the interior more comfortable in all four seasons of the year. With this design, clients can speak freely and feel secure, knowing their sessions are private and confidential.

The combination of these features makes the Mobile Counselling Van an effective and welcoming space for providing mental health services. It’s designed to be safe, comfortable, and accessible for everyone.

B.C. communities show a need for a Mobile Counselling Van

An organization in B.C. shared how some communities could really use a Mobile Counselling Van. Sometimes, they had to provide counselling services from the back of a car, which shows the need for a better, more private space.

In small towns, everyone knows each other, and privacy is a big deal. People might not want to talk about personal things, especially about their kids, if their friends or family might hear. The Mobile Counselling Van gives a private and safe place for people to get the help they need without worrying about others knowing their business.

Learn more about the Mobile Counselling Van

You likely landed on this article while looking for ways to provide counselling services to communities across Canada. If you’ve made it this far, you’re now aware of what the Camion de conseil mobile is and its variety of features that make counselling more successful.

At MoveMobility, we are committed to safety and quality. We are one of Canada’s two Modificateurs de véhicules homologués Ford and have received the Q-Pro Quality Certificate from STELLANTIS. These certifications show our dedication to making the best mobile medical vehicles on the market. 

If you have any questions, click the button below to talk to a mobility expert. We’re here to help.

Not ready to talk to someone just yet? No problem. We have other resources that might help answer some more of your questions. Start with checking out our articles on conseil en matière d'abus de substances and how mobile medical vans save lives.