BounceBack Ontario: Free Phone Coaching for Anxiety and Low Mood

BounceBack Ontario is delivered by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). In Ontario, CMHA York Region and South Simcoe has licensed the program from CMHA BC since 2017. BounceBack says it is funded by governments and donors and is based on cognitive behavioural therapy. Its pages do not say who delivers the adult coaching in each part of Ontario.

It is built around the idea that the materials are the teacher and the coach is your guide. That is why it is described here as guided self-help and why it is a different thing from the individual or group therapy a clinician delivers.

• Aged 15 and over. BounceBack connects adults and youth aged 15 and over with trained coaches.
• Mild to moderate challenges. The adult FAQ says the program is designed for mild to moderate mental health challenges that get in the way of life satisfaction. It says no diagnosis is needed, and that coaches are not meant to provide one.
• Living in Ontario. Registration is open to individuals in Ontario. The pages do not say what makes a resident eligible, and they do not mention an OHIP card.
• Medication and other support are allowed. Care-provider information says taking mental health medication or being in other support programs does not prevent someone from taking part.

Teens aged 15 to 17. Fill in BounceBack's intake form. The teen page says BounceBack will contact you in approximately five days to connect you with a coach. A teen does not need permission from a parent or guardian, and the page says BounceBack will not contact your parents or guardians. The coaching platform does still ask you to provide a parent or guardian's contact information, and the teen FAQ says you must give the name of your primary care provider.

Adults aged 18 and over. BounceBack coaching for adults is available through the provincial Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) program. BounceBack's page asks you to enter your postal code to see which network lead organization coordinates OSP in your area, then complete that network's referral form. You are then contacted to collect more information and decide which service is the best fit. The regional guides on this site list each network: see the provincial guide.

BounceBack Online. BounceBack says you can self-enrol in BounceBack Online. You work through the materials independently, at your own pace, with no coach, and the resources are in English only. BounceBack names this as the option if you are not eligible for coaching or have no primary care provider.

• Up to six telephone sessions with a coach over three to six months. BounceBack says phone sessions usually last 15 to 20 minutes and are typically scheduled every two to three weeks, with the same coach throughout. Before the sessions there is an initial 15-minute information session.
• Up to two booster sessions with your coach, which you can use within six months.
• CBT workbooks. Adults choose from 20 modules and teens from nine booklets. BounceBack suggests spending 20 to 30 minutes, two or three times a week, on the materials.
• Online videos, which you can use before your coaching starts or while you wait, through a separate video site that needs registration.

BounceBack says every coaching session begins with the coach asking the PHQ-9 questionnaire, a standard check of mood. It is not offered in person.

BounceBack says its coaches are not clinicians, so they do not provide counselling or diagnosis. The team includes registered clinical psychologists who make decisions about eligibility and suicide risk, and coaches are trained by clinical psychologists, but the person on the phone is a coach and not a therapist.

If you want individual or group therapy with a clinician, see the other routes in our guide to free therapy in Ontario.

This is the most common question and the answer depends on which BounceBack page you read. We report each statement as it is written.

• Home page FAQ: no referral is required, and Ontarians can self-refer online or reach the program through a health care provider.
• Adult FAQ: you will need a referral from your primary care provider, such as a physician, nurse practitioner or psychiatrist. It adds that you can self-refer as long as you include your provider's contact details.
• Teen FAQ: you must give the name of your primary care provider so BounceBack can contact them on your behalf, so that care can continue after you finish.

What these add up to is that self-referral is possible, but you will be asked for a primary care provider's details if you have one. For people with no provider, BounceBack's FAQ gives two routes: take its form to a walk-in clinic provider who is willing to take short-term clinical responsibility during the program, or self-enrol in BounceBack Online. See also therapy without a family doctor.

BounceBack says coaching and workbooks are available in English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Traditional Chinese and Spanish. Coaching is also offered in other languages, but you need a basic English reading level to work through the workbooks. BounceBack's about page says it has over 50 coaches who provide telephone coaching in more than 15 languages. Its videos are available in English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi.

BounceBack's adult and teen FAQ pages say there is no waitlist for any of its platforms and that its team usually needs five business days to get you set up.

Those statements are not repeated on the page that sends adults to coaching through Ontario Structured Psychotherapy, and Ontario Health's page about that program publishes no wait time. For adult coaching, ask the regional network when you refer. We do not estimate waits.

Ontario Health lists BounceBack as one of the services inside Ontario Structured Psychotherapy. Several regional networks list it among the self-led options most people begin with, or as the route for ages 15 to 17. Ontario Health describes the coaching as bi-weekly, while BounceBack describes calls every two to three weeks, so the pace may differ from what you read elsewhere.

If guided self-help is not enough, the program lets people move to individual or group therapy within OSP. Read the full Ontario Structured Psychotherapy guide for who is eligible, who is not, and the network for your region.

In an emergency call 911. To talk to someone about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 at any hour. BounceBack's own pages also give the 9-8-8 number.