Accessing Support

If you are not in crisis, a good first step to accessing mental health help is by visiting your family doctor. After all, you already have a relationship with this person, and you have discussed your health concerns with them in the past. Talking with your doctor can help to clarify your options.

Your family doctor can help with:

• Checking both physical and mental health symptoms
• Identifying possible mental health conditions
• Prescribing medication if it may help
• Referring you to counsellors, therapists, psychiatrists, or community mental health services
• Supporting you when mental health is affecting sleep, school, work, or daily life

If your family doctor is a psychiatrist, or a physician and psychotherapist, you may be able to see him/her for mental health therapy. This can be a great advantage because his/her services may be covered by your provincial health plan (e.g., Ontario Health Insurance Plan – OHIP).

Why Should I Talk to a Doctor?

Talking to a doctor can help you understand what is going on and what kind of support might work best for you. Doctors can look at both your mental and physical health and guide you toward the right care. You might choose to talk to a doctor if:

• Your symptoms feel intense or are getting worse
• You are not sure where to start
• Changes in sleep, appetite, or energy are affecting you
• You want to explore medication as an option
• You need help finding other mental health services

Doctors can listen, ask questions, and help you take the next step toward support.

Family Doctor vs. Psychiatrist vs. GP Psychotherapist

There are a few types of doctors who support mental health in Canada. Each one can help in different ways, depending on what you need:

• Family Doctor (General Practitioner): A family doctor is usually the first place to start. They can assess your mental health, offer treatment, prescribe some medications, and connect you to other services.
• Psychiatrist: A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental illness. They often support people with more complex or severe symptoms and can diagnose conditions and manage medication.
• GP Psychotherapist: A GP psychotherapist is a family doctor who also provides talk therapy. They can support both the medical and emotional sides of mental health.

Doctor-Patient Confidentiality in Canada

By law, doctors must keep your information confidential. If a doctor thought there was an imminent and immediate risk to your life or someone else’s because of your symptoms, he/she would have to break confidentiality to make sure you and others are safe in the moment.

Counsellors are trained professionals who provide a safe and confidential space where you can explore your thoughts, emotions, and challenges without fear of judgment. They are often found in schools, community centres, and workplaces. Counsellors aren’t like friends or family, they’re trained to listen, support you, and keep things private.

In Canada, counsellors may be registered as Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) or Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs). These credentials are given by professional groups like the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) or provincial regulatory bodies.

Counsellors can help with:

• Talking through stress, school, work, or relationship problems
• Helping you cope with life changes and transitions
• Supporting problem-solving and decision-making
• Teaching simple coping strategies for daily stress
• Providing a safe space to talk without judgement

Counsellors do this by getting to know you, developing an understanding of your circumstances, listening to what you have to say, and by offering support and insight. That’s their job.

Why Should I Talk to a Counsellor?

Talking to a counsellor can help you to better understand your options and problem solve more effectively. It will focus on specific actions and goals to improve your situation. For example, a high school or college student might talk to a counsellor about school stress, feeling anxious about the future, or dealing with things like identity, relationships, or family pressure.

While counsellors often deal with the same kinds of problems as therapists do, they tend to work with clients experiencing less complex issues and for shorter periods of time. Counselling does not typically include an in-depth analysis of past events. Short-term counselling is available in places like campus wellness centres, youth clinics, and free or low-cost community programs.

Therapists provide ongoing mental health support through talk-based approaches. A GP or a Medical Doctor (MD) that specializes in psychotherapy is considered a therapist. Therapists can also be clinical psychologists, psychologists, psychotherapists, or social workers that practice psychotherapy.

Therapy is usually focused on building understanding, developing coping strategies, and working through emotional or psychological challenges over time. A therapist can help with:

• Creating a safe and confidential space to talk about your thoughts and feelings
• Exploring patterns in thinking, emotions, and behaviour
• Supporting you through challenges like anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, grief, or life changes
• Teaching coping strategies and practical tools for managing mental health
• Helping you set goals for personal growth and emotional well-being

Why Should I Talk to a Therapist?

One simple reason to go to therapy is that it helps to be listened to.

Talking to a therapist or psychotherapist will often provide treatment that is more long-term than counselling and address personal issues on a deeper level. This may include looking at long-standing patterns of behaviour, talking about childhood causes of current problems, or an intensive attempt to understand and alter thinking, feeling or behaviour patterns.