Gentle Path Counselling Services is a social enterprise, a registered charity that seeks to provide group and individual professional mental health services to everyone, regardless of their means to pay. Our agency started in 1998 as a venture by two professionals who left their secure social work jobs in order to provide counselling and group mental health services to those ignored or disheartened by the lack of available resources in the Saint John region. Since then, Gentle Path has grown to a respected agency with twelve professionally qualified counsellors, support staff, and several dedicated volunteers.
Gentle Path owes everything to Judith Urquhart‘s deep compassion, inexhaustible energy, and passionate vision to extend much needed mental health services to all, regardless of their means or status in society.
In addition to the thousands who had received the blessing of her counselling and friendship, Judy pioneered the International Adoptions program in New Brunswick, and indeed was the first person in the world to qualify under the Hague Convention as an International Adoptions facilitator.
She was one of only two people in Saint John qualified as a Narrative Therapist.
Judy developed several educational programs for adults along with programs for children and co-facilitation of family violence programs for men.
In 2003, alongside Murray Cullen, she authored “Cage Your Rage” for Women (American Correctional Association), which quickly became a leading resource in mental health work.
She won the Saint John Community Development’s “Community Spirit Award” in 2018.
Judy passed away October 5th, 2021.
Joyce Gregg was a friend to all.
Her career started with a year at Mount Allison, before training at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.
Joyce served with her husband Arthur in the parishes of Canterbury, McAdam, Nashwaaksis and Saint John Lancaster.
After taking several years off to raise her children, she retrained in Nursing and worked in Psychiatry at the DECH in Fredericton.
Joyce went on to earn a certificate in Social Work from St. Thomas University.
Joyce moved to Saint John and took a job with Family Services before teaming up with Judy to form Gentle Path.
She retired from Gentle Path in 2001.
Joyce loved her pets, and spent her retirement years painting, gardening and traveling.
Joyce Gregg passed away June 24th, 2016.
We remember her hospitality, her laughter, her kindness to all, and her positive outlook on life.
Gentle Path continues to promote the values and vision of our founders, providing professional counselling services for individuals, couples, and families, with intermittent short-term group programming. In the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year, Gentle Path provided 3,974 professional counselling appointments to 708 clients from the Greater Saint John region. Of these, 1,214 sessions to 202 clients were fully or partially subsidized. We are proud of the work we do and are committed to offering Saint John and surrounding areas a safe space to share, learn, and grow with hope and healing opportunities for everyone.
