| |
THIS STUDY IS NOW CLOSED SINCE NOV 2006
Please note that this study is now closed. Nonetheless, we will leave the site running for historical purposes, and will leave a link to the study results when they become published.
To all those youth and families that participated in the study, and who made a difference in helping us learn more about the treatment of depression, we sincerely thank you!
Getting Help
in the Ottawa Area -- Mental Health Resources for Youth and
Families
Visit eMentalHealth.ca
Please visit eMentalHealth.ca, which is an online mental health resource directory for Ottawa.
First Steps in Getting Help
Generally, the best first step in getting help for depression
is to get help and support from others. Depression has been
shown to affect the quality of people's lives as much as cancer.
And just like you would get help from others to deal with
cancer, it is important to get help from trusted family, friends
or teachers to get help with depression. Speaking with adults
such as your parent, teacher, coach or guidance counselor
is usually the best first step to getting help. Other adults
might include spiritual leaders such as a chaplain, elder,
Imam, priest, or Rabbi.
Professional Help for Depression
Naturally, we would recommend speaking with a professional
(e.g. a family physician, teacher or guidance counselor) for
any concerns about depression. Nevertheless, many people try
to cope on their own, or with the support of friends and family.
If that is not enough, then it will be important to get help
from people who have been specially trained to help with depression.
- Counselling / Psychotherapy to help the Mind: therapy
involves figuring out the stresses/problems that contribute
to the depression, and finding solutions, or a way to
cope with those stresses/problems. This can be done by
any professional who has had training in this area, and
examples include social workers, child and youth care
workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, family physicians
or other mental health professionals.
- Physical interventions to help the Body: Ensuring that
one is physically healthy, with adequate sleep, exercise
and healthy diet is equally important. Under certain conditions
(for example, when other strategies have not helped the
depression), it may be helpful to consider antidepressant
medications. For this, it is necessary to consult with a
physician (such as a family physician, pediatrician or psychiatrist).
- Interventions to help the Spirit: a general coping strategy
is to ensure that one has things in one's life that
give hope and meaning:
- One should ask the question: "What is it I
live for? What gives me hope and meaning? "
- As long as those things are healthy, then a person
should ensure those things are in his/her life. Typical
things include relationships with friends or family,
pets, hobbies (e.g. music), or hopes/dreams about the
future (e.g. to be free of depression, and to have
a life connected with others, and in control.)
Resources for Problems With Depression
in Ottawa
This is a brief list of some (but not all) places for youth
coping with depression to get help in Ottawa. They are listed
in no particular order, and we do not recommend any particular
service over another. A listing does not imply endorsement
of an agency, nor does the absence of a listing imply that
we do not endorse an agency. As it is difficult keeping lists
of this nature up to date, feel free to contact us with any
comments or suggestions for this resource list. There are
future plans to have an Ottawa-based website with a comprehensive
list of mental health resources for youth and families, most
likely through CHEO.
Seeing a physician
Youthnet
-
Youthnet: which is an awesome mental health promotion
program with a strong youth-centered focus, as front-line
staff are young adults -- "by youth for youth."
Located beside the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario,
they receive full clinical backup support from other professional
disciplines such as Psychology, Psychiatry and Social
Work. Services include a Depression Support Group ("The
Vent") for older teens, an expressive arts Pens and
Paints Group, and seasonal activities such as subsidized
snow boarding outings. Tel: 613-738-3915. Website: www.youthnet.on.ca.
Distress Lines and Crisis Services
-
Kids Help Phone: a national 24-hr for youth aged 4-19.
Provides on-line, and telephone support to youth with
any concerns. Tel: 1-800-668-6868. Website:
http://kidshelp.sympatico.ca
-
Parent Helpline which is an anonymous service providing
listening and advice for parents requiring support of
any type. Tel: 1-888-603-9100. Website:
www.parenthelpline.ca,
-
Ottawa Distress Centre: a 24-hr distress line primarily
for adults in Ottawa. Tel: 613-238-3311. Website:
www.dcottawa.on.ca,
-
Ottawa Mobile Crisis Team for Youth (below age 18) which
provides mobile, outreach service to youth in crisis.
Hours are Mon-Fri 4:30 PM-12:00 AM, and Sat/Sun 1:00 PM-12:00
AM. Tel: 613-562-3004. Website: www.ysb.on.ca
-
Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre: 24-hr crisis line at 613-562-2233.
Various services to help women who have been affected
by sexual assault or trauma. Website: http://orcc.net
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
through a workplace, or Student Health Services at a college
or university
Counselling and Therapy Services,
which include:
-
Youth Services Bureau, which provides services including
counseling, youth employment services as well as youth-drop
in centres and an emergency shelter for women. Tel:
613-729-1000. Website:
www.ysb.on.ca
-
Family Service Centre of Ottawa, which provides counseling
to youth and families. Tel: 613-725-3601. Website:
www.familyservicesottawa.org
-
Catholic Family Services, which provides counseling to
youth and families of any religious denomination. Tel:
613-233-8418. Website: www.cfssfc-ottawa.org
-
Jewish Family Services which provides counseling to youth
and families of any religious orientation. Tel: 613-722-2225.
-
Centre for Psychological Services, 613-562-5289, University
of Ottawa, 11 Marie Curie St., Ottawa, at Psychologists
at the university of Ottawa who offer services including
individual, couple, family and child therapy, on a fee-for-service
basis. Web: www.socialsciences.uottawa.ca/psy/eng/centre.asp
-
Centre Psycho-social pour enfants et
familles (Français), 613-789-2240, which provides counselors
for French-speaking youth and families. Website: www.centrepsychosocial.ca/info.html
Finding
a Psychologist
-
Contact the Ontario Psychological Association Confidential
Referral Service at 1-800-268-0069 or (416) 961-0069.
Website: www.psych.on.ca
-
Contact the Ottawa Academy of Psychology referral service,
P.O. Box 4251 Station B, Ottawa, (613) 235-2529 or through
www.ottawa-psychologists.org/find.htm
Your Local Community Health Centre
Support Groups and
Resources for Parents
-
Children's Aid Society of Ottawa: in situations where
parents are overwhelmed to the point they are unable to
safely parent their children. From their website: "Where
child protection is needed, the CAS offers services to
the family to assist the parents in ensuring that the
children/youth receive safe and nurturing care at home.
Wherever possible, the ability of a family to provide
a child/youth with effective parenting as well as safe,
secure and permanent relationships is the desired outcome."
Tel: 613-747-7800. Website: www.casott.on.ca
-
Parent’s Lifelines of Eastern Ontario, for parents whose
youth are coping with depression and other problems. Website:
www.pleo.on.ca
-
Parent Resource Centre: an all around general support
for parents in Ottawa. Website: www.parentresource.on.ca.
They also have an incredible directory of resources at
www.parentresource.on.ca/incredibledirectoryonline.asp.
-
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Parent Support Group,
for parents with children who have OCD. Tel: 613-220-1507.
E-mail:
Janet.Vandenheuvel@ottawa.ca
-
Parent’s Supporting Parents, for parents with teens with
challenging behaviors. Contact Pam, 613-233-4867; Chris
613-834-4960; Ann, 613-741-6194.
Trauma and Sexual Abuse
Eating Disorders
- Hopewell Eating Disorders Support Centre
of Ottawa. Tel: 613-241-3428. Website: www.hopewell.on.ca
Substance Use Problems
-
The Addictions and Problem Gambling Service at the Sandy
Hill Community Centre, where teens can go to talk to a
counselor about their substance use concerns. From there,
the counselor can help recommend if and which of the various
services might be the most helpful. Tel: 613-789-8941.
Website: www.apgso-stjpo.ca/
-
Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment, which is another
place to find out about what treatment programs are available
in Ontario. Website: www.dart.on.ca/
-
The David Smith Centre, which is where youths can go
to get help in reducing problem drinking or substance
use. Tel: 613-594-8333 Website:
www.davesmithcentre.org
- Maison Fraternité (for francophones). Tel: 613-562-1415.
Other Services for Youth
with Behavior Problems
-
Ottawa Police Services which has youth and parent programs
to encourage more positive interactions between police
and youth. Visit their webpage at
www.ottawapolice.ca and click on Youth/Parent
Programs.
-
Robert Smart Centre for adolescents whose behaviors have
reached a crisis point such that the safety of others
around them is jeopardized. Tel: 613-728-1946. Website:
www.robertssmartcentre.com
Multicultural Services
-
Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health: Various services
include medical walk-in clinic, as well as the Counselling
Centre (at 338 Montreal Road, Suite 202B), which offers
one-on-one and group counselling sessions for Aboriginal
adults and their families. Address: 299 Montreal Road,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1L 6B8. Tel: (613) 748-7668 for the
Counselling Centre. Website: www.wabano.com
-
Ottawa Carleton Immigrant Services Organization: Services
including a counseling program to help new Canadians,
immigrants and refugees in Ottawa. Tel: 613-725-0202.
Website:
www.ociso.org
Help with Medical Problem
Ottawa Community Information Centre
- The Community Information Centre of Ottawa is an organization
that helps people get connected to the resources they need.
Visit their website www.cominfo-ottawa.org
or call their information line at (613) 241-INFO to speak
with a trained information specialist about the services
you need.
|
|
TO MAIN CHEO RI WEBSITE
