Our new door is open!

I’ll be honest..I care about Conexus Counselling so deeply, sometimes it feels like another Junior Tribe Member. It’s a baby of mine. I take it seriously that we impact the lives of hundreds of people every week. And I love that me and some of my favourite people get to work together in space that looks and feels beautiful.

I’m always looking for ways to improve the ways we do things to make it more effective for our team and allow us to better serve our clients.

A few months ago, our neighbours moved out…and left a space empty next door. We asked if we could take some of that space and incorporate it into our office so we could expand. And it worked!! We were cramped and this would give us more storage. Our therapy rooms were maxed out, and this would give us just a little more flexibility in our schedules. This would give us the ability to have clients seen at the $45.00 rate, by being able accommodate our intern Jonathan Scrivens. We would also have some room for more sessions in general.

We started renovations on August 9th…and opened the room for therapy on September 6th! One more beautiful therapy room that is comforting to folks opening up stories about their pain; a professional space for those that are wanting fresh starts and perspectives; and a safe space for those that want to grow and flourish in new ways.

In addition to a third therapy space at our Pembina Office (plus the one therapy room we have on Smith St. downtown), we now have a teeny lunch/file room combo room. It’s opened up our main reception area…and while we were at it…we replaced that desk too.

We started with one large room that we planned to convert into two rooms…

Before renovations at Conexus Counselling new office in Winnipeg — The therapy room before construction

The studs dividing the one large room into a therapy room and a smaller storage/kitchen/filing room were framed in…

Framing at Conexus Counselling in Winnipeg for new therapy room

Framing at Conexus Counselling in Winnipeg Manitoba for a new therapy room — Framing

The electrician came to install light switches, plugs and make the electrical work for the two separate spaces…then the drywall could be put in, creating two separate rooms:

Drywall closing off the old doorway into the offices next door at Conexus Counselling in Winnipeg — Drywall closing off the old doorway into the offices next door

With drywall comes sweeping…endless sweeping. Heavens, the dust…

Sweeping the dust in the new office space at Conexus Counselling

Then, was the big moment I’d been dreaming about for weeks…we cut a door from our current office into the new space!

door opened 2 door being cut

After that…painting:

Carolyn Klassen painting at new office Conexus Counselling in Winnipeg

painting conexus counselling new therapy room in Winnipeg

Then we had to figure out flooring.

I might mention at this point, that my Contractor was Husband.

This project was only possible because of Husband and his assertion that this reno was “no big deal” and “easy peasy”…because figuring out walls and electricians and all the little details about switches and plugs and baseboards etc. is overwhelming to me, as someone who helps folks build lives, not walls.

It was not lost on Husband, that as therapists are working to break down walls in the other therapy rooms, he was putting walls up in the next office over.

Husband knew how to do this project…his expertise made this an efficient project that was finished on time and on budget. I like how Husband was in my space during construction, able to see a little more of my world…and actually created my world to be a little bit bigger with this project.

Anyways…right around the time we were figuring out flooring, it got a little complicated. I can’t even remember how we were misunderstanding each other, or what it was about exactly. But Husband and I, well, we were at odds. The day of the flooring was a challenge in our relationship. Close to the end of the project–and feeling the wear of gittin’er’done was wearing on us. Projects can create stress…and sometimes without realizing it, we can take stress out on each other. OK. so let’s face it–I was ticked at him for reasons that I can’t even remember anymore. I saw this Diet Coke in the cooler at the checkout at Home Depot:

A little reminder for Husband and I

…and the reminder to connect helped cue me to get back on track.

So…anyways…the flooring:

flooring in new office

…and pretty soon, we were ready for furniture. While we were struggling to bring the awkwardly huge and heavy lateral filing cabinets in, Blake showed up. All of a sudden there is a stranger helping us bring the cabinets in…I was downstairs when he showed up, and awkwardly asked: Who are you? He said he was a guy standing outside 7-11 across the street holding up a sign asking for change when he saw us struggling and pitched in to help. He started to walk out…and I managed to catch him to slip him a twenty before I lost sight of him…

Thanx Blake! — Blake…our knight in shining armour from 7-11

We now have a little storage room with filing cabinets and a teeny kitchen. I think most of us are excited about the little bistro table which acts as a lunch space. It’s great to sit with a colleague and visit while we munch…or have a quiet space to write notes at the end of the day.

Our new kitchen at Conexus Counselling in Winnipeg Storage room with filing cabinets

And when we moved the furniture into the new therapy room, I got so excited about the cozy and beautiful little corners in it:

The new therapy room at the Pembina Hwy counselling office in Winnipeg

Cozy chaise with cushions in new therapy office at Conexus Counselling on Pembina in Winnipeg

While we were at it, we swapped out the huge metal desk with plastic fake-woodgrain top that Melanie and Del have been using in the reception area for years. The desk was left behind when the previous renters left years ago. It worked for us for a long time not only because we didn’t have a desk, but it also was so beastly heavy that we didn’t think we could move it, so we just lived with it.

Husband, who knows all things mechanical, had it apart in 10 minutes and we had it hauled out in no time. (By now, you know that I admire Husband deeply in all sorts of ways) And we swapped in a beautiful oak desk that fits the space a little better:

New desk in our Pembina counselling office in Winnipeg...Conexus Counselling

Best thing about this desk? It’s got rounded corners, so as we walk by, we won’t be bumping into a sharp corner. We all had bruises on our legs from time to time from bumping into the old one !

I made a little video that gives the experience of walking into our new office.

I remember years ago when I was moving to California for my Master’s degree and I was really nervous about the whole thing. We had a friend take pictures of our new apartment which we rented sight unseen and send them to us. Once I could see where I would be, then I could picture it for the first time and I felt a little better about the whole thing. The visual helped me be less nervous during a difficult time of life. I thought it might be good to do that for a client who was considering coming to see us for the first time!

We welcome folks to consider calling our office to inquire about an appointment if you feel like you would like to improve the connections in your life!