Everyone’s mental health is important. The holidays aren’t always joyful, and they don’t always give us something other than ourselves to worry about. Having our family around can be stressful even if they try to be supportive. It’s hard to deal with the emotions that come with and after the holidays, and the seasonal depression to boot. Sure, a SAD lamp might help a little, but it’s not going to solve all of your mental health issues. This is where having different places in the GTA area with mental health support to consult can be helpful. A few different places exist, some that cost money and others that are exclusive to certain age groups, but hopefully there are a handful that can help you out in the new year if needed.
Photo via CAMH
The most popular of the five listed below would be CAMH, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. While it is not only good for one’s mental health, it’s also effective for overcoming addiction; as the name describes it to be. Depending on the type of needs you require, they will give you access to different resources. They can range from suicidal intent cases to depression and anxiety cases, leaving a lot of room to explore the options provided to you. There aren’t really any limits either. When I visited for my personal purposes, safety was the top priority for everyone. So, trust me when I say, you are in safe hands when you utilize their services.
Photo via Stella’s Place
The second place I’m suggesting would be Stella’s place. While they don’t have as many resources, they do have fun activities. They have both a café area and yoga time slots for stress relieving. They have intake for free, and walk-in counselling. They are located in downtown Toronto on Spadina, and they specialize in trauma therapy. This place is, however, limited to 16 to 29-year-olds. The goal of the holistic approach is to help young adults learn skills, make connections and become empowered to manage their own health. They’re currently Toronto-based and provide much-needed support to more than 500 young adults and their families each year.
Photo via Mackenzie Health
Unlike the last two mentioned, this next place specializes in domestic abuse and sexual assault trauma. The holidays can bring up old scars and bad reminders of past trauma. The Emergency Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault (DASA) care and follow-up nursing care are provided in their Emergency Department at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital. The DASA Care Centre of York Region provides free care for victims/survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault including emergency care following abuse or an assault, examination, testing, follow-up care, counselling and many other services as needed. Services are provided by health care professionals who are specifically trained in forensics and trauma related to abuse and assault. The centre also provides counselling and support to family members and caregivers, so you’re most definitely not alone in this.
Photo via The Residence Thomewood
The Residence at Homewood is a place accessed by a self referral with a consent form. The Residence is leading in treatment invention, working closely with the Homewood Research Institute to develop and apply new, evidence-based methods to mental health and addiction treatment. Their team treats psychiatric and addiction conditions including trauma/PTSD, severe depression, anxiety disorders including OCD, substance and behavioural addictions, ADHD and personality disorders. As The Residence and the entire Homewood Health Campus is a completely smoke-free and tobacco-free property, their holistic model of care includes supporting the treatment of nicotine dependency for each client as needed.
Photo via Homewood Health
The Homewood Health Centre offers more than any other program in the country. PTSR provides medically-focused, physician-led, multidisciplinary care that addresses physical, psychological and social aspects of the disorder. The Centre is a therapeutic community where patients help patients in recovery and where subjects such as fear, anger or shame can be addressed through knowledgeable psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and other clinicians who have wide experience in dealing with PTSD. Homewood Health Centre’s Program for Traumatic Stress Recovery (PTSR) is one of the few in-patient programs of its kind in Canada. PTSR helps people recover from the after-effects of trauma, often diagnosed as the clinical disorder known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSR generates a community that helps trauma patients through the healing process and is open to men and women who have knowledge of the psychological effects of a traumatic event.
With all of these resources available, hopefully people’s mental health needs will be cared for this season. It may be a new year, but it’s hard to start it off right without proper mental health support to keep you well and healthy. Just remember, it’s okay to not be okay, breathing helps but only to an extent, and maybe these resources will help you when you find yourself in a difficult place.