New mental health treatment available online to all Canadians

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Published April 16, 2020 at 11:29 pm

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Canadians whose mental health has been declining due to the pandemic now have additional treatment options and support systems.

The venture, dubbed Wellness Together Canada, is a collaboration between Stepped Care Solutions, Kids Help Phone and Homewood Health, and supported by Greenspace Health.

Wellness Together Canada provides a “stepped care” model, and offers a range of services including immediate crisis support to mental health screening and self-assessment tools, peer-to-peer support, educational resources, e-courses, access to virtual Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and access to counselling support by phone, text or live chat.

Stepped care–developed by Peter Cornish–is a delivery model that ensures patients can access the appropriate level of support based on their individual needs.

“The model aims to empower people to access the support they need at the moment they need it, whether that’s simply an article that helps them to better understand what they’re experiencing or a direct line to a trained counsellor in a moment of crisis. Wellness Together Canada is providing the full range of solutions to everyone in Canada, allowing individuals to make decisions about the care they require and providing the resources to access it,” Cornish said in a news release.

Wellness Together Canada is available completely online and offers a myriad of different programs related to mental health and substance use.

The initiative is the first of its kind to offer mental health and substance use support to all Canadians in English and French.

“Mental wellness is difficult to maintain with the disruptions happening now. It’s not easy to maintain a routine. People in every community are struggling and need our help. That’s why we are acting today to make professional resources more easily accessible to Canadians,” Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, said in the same release.

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