Ontario Structured Psychotherapy in Brampton, Halton, Mississauga and South Etobicoke: Free Therapy and How to Refer Yourself

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is delivered through regional networks. Here it is Ontario Structured Psychotherapy at CarePoint Health (OSP-BHM), coordinated by CarePoint Health, which calls itself the network lead organization for the Brampton, Halton, Mississauga and South Etobicoke region and the only network lead that is a primary care organization.

The network gives this as the area it serves:

• Brampton
• Halton (listed as a whole, with no Halton municipalities named)
• Mississauga
• South Etobicoke

CarePoint says its network primarily serves clients located in Brampton, Mississauga, Halton and South Etobicoke, and that it welcomes anyone over 18 from across Ontario to access its services. Its pages do not name Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills, Burlington or Caledon as part of its area, and they do not say where its area meets OSP West around Burlington or CMHA York in North Etobicoke and Malton. CarePoint's referral page says referrals for Mississauga and Halton can also go through one-Link. Ontario Health groups CarePoint Health with Waypoint and CMHA York and South Simcoe in its Central Region, which it describes as Mississauga to Huntsville and Orangeville to Markham.

If you live somewhere else, the provincial Ontario Structured Psychotherapy guide lists the network for every region.

You can refer yourself through CarePoint's online self-referral form. No doctor, family doctor or Ontario health card is needed.

CarePoint lists "a referral from a doctor" among the things OSP does not require. Health care providers can also refer through Ocean or CarePoint's form, but CarePoint does not accept referrals by fax.

CarePoint's FAQ says you do not need to have a primary care practitioner or family doctor to refer you or to receive services from OSP.

1. Complete CarePoint's online self-referral form. A French form, in partnership with Le Royal, is also available.
2. CarePoint sends a confirmation email with your assessment time. It says you must complete the questionnaires before your assessment.
3. A trained therapist carries out the assessment by phone.
4. CarePoint says that once you are matched to a service after your assessment, you can generally expect to start in 4 to 6 weeks.
5. For the status of a referral or questions about eligibility, contact CarePoint's intake team.

Phone

905-728-1308, or toll-free 1-833-677-0174. CarePoint's main-site OSP page says the toll-free number only accepts voicemail and that its team returns calls within one business day

Email

osp@carepointhealth.ca

Referral form

The network's online referral form

Contact details are copied from the network's own pages as of October 7, 2026. Check them on the network's page before you rely on them.

• Adults 18 and over living in Ontario. You do not need an Ontario health card or a primary care provider.
• A primary concern of depression or anxiety. Concerns CarePoint lists: depression and low mood; generalized anxiety and worry; health anxiety; obsessive-compulsive concerns; other anxiety and stress-related problems; posttraumatic stress; social anxiety and performance fears; specific fears; and unexpected panic attacks and agoraphobic fear.
• Able to actively engage in OSP treatment, including readings and practising skills between sessions.
• Canadian citizenship is not required. CarePoint says this includes international students who are living in Ontario at the time of treatment.
• Under 18: the program is for adults. CarePoint's resources page lists BounceBack, run by the Canadian Mental Health Association, for ages 15 to 17.

CarePoint's eligibility page lists these exclusion criteria. It also says OSP does not offer medication management, substance use treatment, concurrent disorders treatment, dialectical behaviour therapy, couples or family therapy, or supportive counselling:

• High risk of suicide, a recent suicide attempt (the past 3 months, on the live page), or high risk of harm to others
• Self-harming behaviours that are the main focus of clinical attention
• Symptoms of mania, hypomania or a psychotic disorder that are not well controlled
• Symptoms of a personality disorder or emotion regulation difficulties that are the main focus of clinical attention
• Significant difficulty with cognitive understanding or memory
• Seeking medication management only, because OSP does not offer psychiatry services
• Problematic substance use that would interfere with attendance and engagement in CBT
• Eating disorder symptoms that are the main focus of clinical attention

Being excluded is not the end of the road. See the other routes to covered care, and ask a doctor or nurse practitioner whether a psychiatry referral makes sense for you.

CarePoint says all OSP services are government-funded and free to everyone, regardless of financial means or workplace benefits. It says you do not need an OHIP card to refer: it asks for Ontario health card numbers but can provide services to people without one. You must still be an adult living in Ontario.

• Most people begin with BounceBack, clinician-assisted bibliotherapy (CAB) or internet-based CBT.
• BounceBack builds coping skills through workbooks, videos and telephone calls with a trained coach.
• CAB focuses on readings, exercises and brief one-on-one therapy sessions.
• Internet-based CBT is delivered online and guided by a therapist.
• Individual or group psychotherapy: individual sessions are held weekly, virtually or in person, with a registered therapist, and group therapy brings together clients facing similar concerns.

CarePoint says all services are available virtually and some can also be provided in person, through organizations located in Brampton, Mississauga and Halton. It names no in-person sites and does not state session length or the number of sessions.

Languages and pathways the network states: BounceBack telephone coaching: English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and Tamil, among many languages; CAB therapists: English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Cantonese, among many languages; Internet-based CBT: English and French; Individual psychotherapy: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu or Spanish. Group therapy is offered in English; French-language services in partnership with Le Royal, with a separate French self-referral form; An Indigenous Pathway for First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous adults aged 18 and over who live in Ontario, with a Regional Indigenous Lead and cultural support from Elders and Knowledge Keepers through The Indigenous Network.

CarePoint says its wait times are variable and depend on the number of referrals it receives. It says that after your assessment, once you are matched to a service, you can generally expect to start in 4 to 6 weeks. It does not publish the wait from referral to assessment, and the 4 to 6 week figure carries no date.

• CarePoint Health calls itself the network lead for the Brampton, Halton, Mississauga and South Etobicoke region, and the only network lead that is a primary care organization.
• CarePoint welcomes anyone over 18 from across Ontario, including people who live outside Brampton, Halton, Mississauga and South Etobicoke.
• It states that you need no doctor, family doctor, Ontario health card, formal diagnosis or Canadian citizenship, and that this includes international students living in Ontario.
• The sequence it describes is an online self-referral, a confirmation email, questionnaires, a phone assessment by a trained therapist, then a typical start 4 to 6 weeks after the assessment.
• Languages are listed service by service, from Tamil and Punjabi to French in partnership with Le Royal, and there is a dedicated Indigenous Pathway.
• CarePoint's live web page puts a recent suicide attempt at the past 3 months, while a 2024 exclusion-criteria PDF it still links says 6 months, so ask the intake team if this could apply to you.

CarePoint says OSP is not a crisis service and does not provide crisis or housing support, and that safety and crisis supports outside OSP should be prioritized. Its eligibility and referral pages list no crisis phone numbers; its blog points to 9-8-8.

For immediate suicide crisis support, call or text 9-8-8 at any hour.