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Since the onset of COVID-19, Canadians have faced more mental health challenges than ever. In a Statistics Canada study, the number of Canadians reporting excellent or very good mental health dropped from 68 to 55 per cent between 2019 and 2020, while those who were experiencing poor mental health before the pandemic have been even further affected.
Not knowing where to start looking for the right mental health support and ongoing stigmas have created barriers to obtaining professional help. That’s where the Telus Health MyCare app is changing the landscape.
The app is available to Canadians across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, no matter which phone provider they’re with. Users who download the app are instantly connected to a network of registered mental health professionals from wherever they are, removing some of those barriers to access.
In partnership with Telus Health MyCare, we take a look at how the app connects people with mental health services in an easy, timely and accessible way.
READ MORE: Two years into COVID, mental health service access still a problem
Mental health support from anywhere
According to Telus Health MyCare clinical director Lindsay Killam, there has been tremendous growth in accessible services online during the pandemic.
“It gives people access to safe, non-judgmental professional support, from the convenience of their home,” she says. “It really is perfect timing with what people have been going through at home and being in isolation, and wanting and needing support.”
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One of the biggest draws of the app is users in any of the available provinces can access the same services, whether they’re in a rural or urban area. Each session costs a standard $120, which is often covered by extended health insurance, and users can have their appointments from anywhere — in their car before going home for the day, at the office during a lunch break or even from the comfort of their home while snuggling a pet.
In most cases, users can access a counselling session within 24 hours, without the need to schedule time off work or to deal with potential stigmas they may otherwise face when travelling to and from an appointment or explaining it to their employers, family or friends.
“The environment they’re in can set someone up to feel instantly more comfortable than they would feel in a clinical environment,” Killam adds. “That’s a really lovely way to start a relationship with someone for the client. But also as a clinician, I get a window into somebody’s world and how they live and what they love and what they’re passionate about. That gives me information to support them as well.”
A strong network of professionals
Before joining Telus Health MyCare as the mental health director for consumer health, Dr. Matthew Chow served as the president of Doctors of B.C. in 2021. A decade prior, he was also one of the first in Western Canada to adopt video-based mental health care visits.
Over the years, he has seen firsthand how that level of accessibility can help someone struggling to find mental health care in their community.
“As someone who has experienced mental health challenges in my own life, let me tell you, taking that first step can be the scariest,” he says. “I wish a service like this had been available when I was experiencing difficulties in the past, because they make that first step so much easier. I see the difference that makes in my own patients, when they are able to access me virtually, as opposed to having to overcome that huge mountain of doubt and worry.”
He underlines that the counsellors connected with Telus Health MyCare are highly qualified, with a minimum of master’s level training.
“Patients can find a personalized experience that works for them, which is tremendously important in mental health,” he explains. “Sometimes it’s difficult to connect with someone about a problem you’re having, especially when you’re really vulnerable. It’s so important to be able to trust and know that person on the other side. With our service, we have that variety of people, so you can find someone with similar experiences or who may have even walked in your shoes at some point in their life.”
READ MORE: Pandemic has disproportionate effect on mental health of Black British Columbians: research
Destigmatizing mental health support during Mental Health Week
May 2 to 8 marks the 71st Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Mental Health Week. This year the theme is empathy, something both Chow and Killam say is important not only when it comes to helping those you know and love who may be struggling with mental health, but also when it comes to taking care of yourself.
“We are all human beings just trying to get by during very uncertain times, during a very difficult period in our history,” Chow says. “Empathy is really about understanding we are all trying to get through this together. Empathy and compassion are so very important now in this world.”
Killam emphasizes that mental health support is for anyone who wants it. “Counselling can be a really wonderful and enlightening experience for everyone and anyone — you don’t have to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression to benefit from having that professional support,” she says.
“For anyone who feels a little bit anxious, or stressed, or who is struggling with coping in life, that’s enough. Being able to go on an app where you can explore what that counselling experience would be like by reading bios and easily booking with somebody to try it out is an opportune thing as we start to reengage in life.”
To learn more or to see what it’s like to meet with a counsellor virtually, download the Telus Health MyCare App for free.