Free 24/7 mental health support is available through Wellness Together Canada

The federal government launched a portal in April 2020 dedicated to helping people in Canada struggling with their mental health. Wellness Together Canada provides free 24/7 mental health support directly to Canadians through counselling services by phone. To set up a counselling session, please call Wellness Together Canada at 1-866-585-0445. You can also text WELLNESS to 741741 to reach a crisis responder with support training.

Canadians can also complete a quick five-minute self-assessment (we took the assessment and it does only take five minutes) in order to help them determine the state of their mental health. In the assessment, you are asked a series of 26 multiple choice questions, with some rating-scale questions, across three different categories: mood, well-being and functioning. Some examples include include how often over the past two weeks you have been “feeling down, depressed or hopeless,” how often “you feel loved” and whether your mental health has “impaired your home management (cleaning, tidying, cooking, looking after home or children, paying bills).” Once the assessment is complete, you’re given scores based on the three aspects mentioned above, which can then be of assistance in treating specific mental health concerns.

“Wellness Together Canada was funded by the Government of Canada in response to the unprecedented rise in mental distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People are being challenged like never before due to isolation, physical health concerns, substance use concerns, financial and employment uncertainty, and the emotional dialogue around racial equality. We’re all going through this together, and we believe that mental health is a journey, not a destination. Each day, we can take a step for our own wellbeing. Wellness Together Canada is here to support everybody on that journey.”

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For more on Wellness Together Canada, and to take their mental health self-assessment, please visit their website.

This article was originally published on April 15, 2020 and updated on Jan. 16, 2023.

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