Help for mild-to-medium mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, insomnia and even the uncertainty of parenting, is available on the lower Sunshine Coast through in-person programs being offered at no cost.
Dr. Suzanne Walter, who facilitates a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skills group with Dr. Rahul Gupta, both of whom are with the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice, says while the in-person courses are free, participants who want to attend must have a referral from a physician or healthcare practitioner in order to be covered under the provincial medical services plan (MSP). If a person doesn’t have a family doctor, Walter said they can go to one of the walk-in clinics in Sechelt or Gibsons,
“The CBT course is sort of new to the Coast. I think we ran our first group in the fall of last year,” said Walter. “That course is run through an organization called Mind Space, which is based out of Victoria.”
Mind Space: Skills for Wellbeing is a non-profit organization, which offers MSP-funded mental health programs led by family doctors and psychiatrists. Its programs are designed to help adults manage mild-to-moderate anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, and ADHD. Mind Space also provides support for parents navigating the complexities of caring for children from birth to six-years-old.
“The CBT course is primarily advertised as being for people with mild-to-moderate anxiety or depression, but it's also good for someone maybe just having difficulty adjusting to any sort of life transition,” said Walter. “That could be retirement or becoming a parent or maybe even just a new health diagnosis or chronic health conditions that they're having trouble adjusting to.”
Meanwhile, Gupta had been facilitating a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course online since COVID, but recently went back to in-person courses. Walter notes the program Gupta runs has a similar target group as CBT, but with more of a focus on mindfulness.
“So, people struggling with chronic disease, chronic pain, chronic mood disorders,” said Walter. “And the people, the exclusions for both of them are fairly similar. But just because it's a group, it's not group therapy. People sort of have to realize it's more like health education in a group and so they have to be able to work well in a group setting.”
Because of the classroom-style setting, Walter notes, the programs are not ideal for anyone with more serious mental health issues, such as severe depression or PTSD, or suicidal ideation.
“So, anyone with more severe mental health probably won't benefit, because it's just going to be too much,” said Walter.
Both in-person courses run three times per year, for eight weeks at a time and are 90 minutes per class. The programs are staggered between Sechelt and Gibsons and each class can accommodate between 15 to 20 participants.
And, while the programs are free, there is a $65 “no-show” deposit, which will be returned to each participant once they complete seven of the eight classes. There’s also a work book, which can be purchased in print for $30 or is available online at no cost.
Once participants have been referred to the MBSR or CBT group, they'll be given instructions on how to register.
For the CBT skills group with Mind Space. Once referral is received they receive an email from Mind Space and then need to register online.
