Mental-health help for youth in Collingwood is now only a QR-code scan away.
The Collingwood Youth Centre has recently launched a new pilot program called Headstrong, where youth between the ages of 12 and 18 can scan a QR code to book a free mental-health appointment in a newly renovated, designated space at the centre with a registered psychotherapist. The program – which runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 8 p.m. – is a collaboration between the centre, the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital Foundation and local mental-health professionals.
“It’s a pretty cool program,” said Michele Rich, registered psychotherapist and one of the program organizers. “There are a lot of challenges our young people are facing. Over the past 10 years, there’s been a pretty significant rise in mental health challenges.”
The program was made possible through a major private donation made to the CGMH Foundation. A team of four psychotherapists work together to provide the service. Appointments are required, however, parental consent is not required under Ontario law. Rich said requiring parental consent could be a barrier for youth who want to access mental health support.
“Normally, a youth would have to go to a parent or teacher and say, ‘I need help.’ That takes a lot to do,” said Rich. “We want youth to be able to get the help they feel they need.”
Rich said youth today are dealing with a variety of issues that may lead to them seeking mental health support.
“Kids today are dealing with a great deal of anxiety,” she said, noting the anxiety can lead to the using of coping mechanisms that may not be healthy such as drugs or alcohol. “They’re dealing with nightmares or grief. Pretty much any issue an adult might deal with, kids deal with too.”
“The beauty of this is, when a young person deals with it sooner rather than later and has more awareness of themselves at a younger age, the chances are, it’s not going to (become) a deep depression,” said Rich. “There’s a lot of benefit.”
Overall, Rich says there is an issue with a lack of mental health supports locally. In her regular practice, she says she’s completely booked until January.
“It’s a pretty significant wait list,” she said. “In general, most of my colleagues have similar wait lists. Even in private practice, it’s a long time to get in to see somebody, and it’s expensive.”
“We’ve had this shortfall in funding ability for young people even being able to afford to go, but also having a therapist they can access,” said Rich.
“What we wanted to do (with this program) is we wanted to make mental-health support accessible.”
For more information on the Headstrong program, click here.
