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But when it came to forming relationships or engaging in meaningful activities, something different happened. Discomfort would surface, and she would retreat, often believing she simply wasn't ready.

Her therapist would hear about these experiences and return to the familiar work of learning and practicing coping skills. Sam could talk about her problems, understand their origins, and identify ways to regulate her emotions. But she had few opportunities to practice those skills in the very situations where she needed them most: in relationships and in everyday life.

This highlights a gap in how we approach mental health. We have become very good at helping people understand themselves as individuals, but we don't always provide opportunities to practice healing in relationship with others. We can help people build the skills to manage discomfort, but what happens when the next step is learning to stay present through that discomfort while building a meaningful connection?

For people whose trauma occurred in relationships, healing may also require opportunities to experience relationships differently. Therapy can provide the safety, insight, and skills needed to begin this process. But people also need supported opportunities to put those skills into practice.

At Project Connection, we think of therapy as a place to make the map. Together, a therapist and client explore patterns, understand past experiences, identify what matters, and develop the skills needed to navigate life. But a map alone doesn't take us where we want to go. We also need a place to practice navigating the terrain, to experience discomfort, build confidence, and discover new ways of relating to others.

After years of feeling stuck, Sam’s therapist referred her to a group where people were practicing connection. In this space, Sam could notice when she became uncomfortable, recognize the protective patterns that sometimes led her to withdraw, and practice responding differently. She had the opportunity to try vulnerability in a supported environment, learn from others, and experience connection in ways that weren't possible through conversation alone. These experiences also gave her therapist a better understanding of what Sam was navigating outside the therapy room. Together, they could use those real-life experiences to deepen the work they were doing in therapy.

This practice space wasn't about forcing vulnerability or pushing Sam into situations she wasn't ready for. It was about creating opportunities to experience manageable discomfort, take relational risks, and discover that connection could be safe, meaningful, and rewarding.

But practicing connection is only part of the journey. We also need pathways that help people find relationships and communities that can become a meaningful part of their lives long after formal therapy ends.

Through a social prescribing assessment with a Project Connection Link Worker, Sam identified a longstanding interest in working with animals. Her Link Worker helped connect her with a local animal rescue, where she began caring for rescued animals and meeting others who shared her interest.

Over time, Sam became more involved. She built relationships around something that mattered to her, advocated for the animals in her community, and began to see herself not only as someone receiving support, but as someone who had something valuable to contribute. She wasn't simply attending an activity. She was becoming part of a community, building relationships, and finding a meaningful role within it.

This is the potential of relational social prescribing. It is more than referring someone to an activity or providing a list of community resources. It is a person-centered process of identifying what matters to someone and helping them connect with the people, interests, and communities that create meaning in their lives. Through connection, belonging, and contribution, people have opportunities to integrate into communities where they are both supported and valued.

Unlike time-limited services, these relationships and meaningful roles have the potential to become sustainable sources of connection and support throughout a person's life. The goal isn't to replace therapy or suggest that community alone can address every mental health need. It is to build a bridge between the work people do in therapy and the lives they want to live beyond it.

What if we stopped viewing mental health as something we work on exclusively as individuals? Individual therapy, coping skills, and self-awareness are important. But they are not the entire picture. We also need opportunities to practice vulnerability, navigate discomfort, build relationships, and experience the value of contributing to our communities.

Therapy can help us make the map. Practice spaces can help us learn to navigate. And relational social prescribing can help us find our way into the relationships, communities, and meaningful roles that make life worth living.

Connection isn't simply a pleasant addition to mental health care. It can be part of how we experience meaning, belonging, and well-being, and part of the support that sustains us long after formal treatment ends. Perhaps it's time our approach to mental health made room for that.

Lennie Knowlton, CMHC

Founder/CEO

Project Connection