{"id":22805,"date":"2019-01-24T18:28:54","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T23:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=22805"},"modified":"2019-01-24T18:28:54","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T23:28:54","slug":"bouncing-back-can-be-just-a-phone-call-away-says-canadian-mental-health-association","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/bouncing-back-can-be-just-a-phone-call-away-says-canadian-mental-health-association\/","title":{"rendered":"Bouncing Back can be just a phone call away, says Canadian Mental Health Association"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Wednesday, January 30, thousands of people from across Canada will band together to help erase the stigma surrounding mental health on Bell Let\u2019s Talk Day.
\nBut, as much as this initiative from the Canadian telecommunications giant has helped spark a very valuable conversation, the York Region and South Simcoe branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is urging you to pick up the phone and \u201cBounce Back.\u201d
\nBounceBack: Reclaim Your Health is a free skill-building program facilitated by the local CMHA designed to help adults and youth aged 15 and over manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
\n\u201cBounceBack is really important because it is a free, telephone-based cognitive behaviour therapy coaching problem,\u201d explains Rebecca Shields, Executive Director of the CMHA of York Region and South Simcoe. \u201cIt is for anyone with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. They can just call, what we refer to as \u2018self referral\u2019, and it is an evidence-based program to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and it is all over the phone.
\n\u201cIt is for anybody who is dealing with mild to moderate depression and anxiety, if you\u2019re feeling down, if you\u2019re feeling anxious, and you want to get immediate access to support.\u201d
\nBounceBack is cognitive behavioural therapy, which Ms. Shields says is a \u201cmodality of helping people deal with that unwanted thinking, or, what we call \u2018unhelpful\u2019 thinking\u201d and the over-the-phone service helps callers manage that \u2013 what the CMHA likes to call \u201cgood mental hygiene.\u201d
\n\u201cEverybody is hearing about \u2013 and thinking about \u2013 mental health and maybe feeling like you want to get some support,\u201d she continues. \u201cThis is one modality that makes it really easy for people to get that support \u2013 and there\u2019s no wait list!\u201d
\nThe CMHA is currently in the middle of ramping up the BounceBack program across Ontario. They currently have about 35 coaches available with a total of 42 just around the corner. Their goal is to have a full complement of 90 coaches across the Province that could potentially serve up to 40,000 Ontarians each year. The program has been running successfully across Canada for over 12 years, and in this region for four years.
\n\u201cWe know that it works,\u201d says Ms. Shields.
\nBounceBack offers two streams for help. Online videos offer practical tips on managing mood, sleeping better, building confidence, increasing activity, problem solving and healthy living. Videos are available in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Arabic and Farsi, reflective of the multicultural makeup of the Region.
\nCoaching is available over the phone for additional support in managing depression. A referral is required for the service, either from your primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner) or through self-referral, which can be completed in an online form.
\nThe program involves three to six over-the-phone coaching sessions and your coach is there to help you develop new skills, keep you motivated and monitor how you\u2019re doing.
\n\u201cWith our phone program, you will get some books through the mail and you will have a coach to support and help you understand and motivate you to understand the material,\u201d says Ms. Shields. \u201cEveryone gets the first book, which is about starting out and how to keep going when you\u2019re feeling stuck, understand low mood and understand depression. There are over 20 books available and people can then choose the books that are meaningful for them. Maybe it is how they are responding to a chronic illness. One of our most popular books is on disordered sleeping and overcoming sleep problems. Others can be dealing with anxiety, practical problem solving, understanding phobias. There is a whole host of different books depending on what your interests are. You get the books and work with a coach, and then it is all delivered over the phone.
\n\u201cThis is helping understand cognitive behaviour therapy, which works, but to be clear, it is not a counselling program. This is about really supported skill-building.\u201d
\nIn the four years since BounceBack was established in York Region and South Simcoe, the CMHA has been working with primary care doctors in supporting their patients in using this program because, in many instances, people reach out first to their primary care provider. Now, they\u2019re ramping up in making sure people are getting the support they need through a variety of access points.
\n\u201cThere is data coming out of the Canadian Physicians Association that people will often wait over four to ten years before they will actually go and seek help or support for a mental health issue because of stigma,\u201d says Ms. Shields. \u201cPeople are struggling far more than they need to and it is an issue like any other illness. You wouldn\u2019t wait four years if you had a cough, but for some reason people have misunderstood that brain illness is an illness like any other, whether it is cancer, diabetes or a broken arm. Early and effective treatment is the best chance for overall recovery.
\n\u201cWith good mental hygiene, good skills may or may not, in association with a medication, have the ability to turn people around so they can lead the best quality of life possible. We really want people to get the support they need and that recovery is possible, and perhaps people can resume and have a full and healthy, happy life.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on BounceBack, call 1-866-345-0224 or visit bouncebackontario.ca. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and sessions are also available on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Wednesday, January 30, thousands of people from across Canada will band together to help erase the stigma surrounding mental health on Bell Let\u2019s Talk Day.
\nBut, as much as this initiative from …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2019-01-24-01.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5VP","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-17 09:42:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}