Ontario Structured Psychotherapy in Central North Ontario: Free Therapy and How to Refer Yourself

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is delivered through regional networks. Here it is Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Central North (OSP Central North), coordinated by Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, with partner agencies in sub-regions across the region.

The network lists these as places it offers services, not as a boundary:

• Dufferin
• Caledon
• Barrie
• Orillia
• Wasaga Beach
• Collingwood
• Midland
• Bracebridge
• Huntsville
• Parry Sound
• Sundridge
• Virtually, by telephone, videoconference or asynchronous messaging

These are the places the network's About page lists as where it offers services. The page presents them as service locations, not as a formal boundary. Ontario Health groups Waypoint with CarePoint Health and CMHA York and South Simcoe in its Central Region, which it describes as Mississauga to Huntsville and Orangeville to Markham.

This page is built from the network's own site at therapyontario.ca. Waypoint Centre's separate OSP page could not be retrieved when we checked on 7 October 2026, so nothing here comes from it.

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

Adults can refer themselves. The network's site says people aged 18 and over can self-refer to access free support.

The network's online form is used both for self-referral and for referrals by health care providers. The pages do not say a doctor's referral is required.

1. Complete the network's online referral form and choose that you are referring yourself. Referrals can also be sent through OceanMD.
2. You then receive two questionnaires by email, the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7.
3. The network contacts you by telephone or email for a screening. Its FAQ says one of its nurses may phone you to review your referral.
4. You are then booked for a Clinical Intake and Triage assessment appointment.

Phone

1-877-341-4729, extension 2883

Email

osp@waypointcentre.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 who live in Ontario, with depression or anxiety-related concerns. The network says people 18 and over can self-refer.
• Concerns the network lists: depression and low mood; generalized anxiety and worry; health anxiety; obsessive-compulsive concerns; other anxiety and stress-related problems; post-traumatic stress; social anxiety and performance fears; specific fears; unexpected panic attacks and agoraphobic fears; perinatal mental health; and stress and coping.
• Ages 15 to 17: the network encourages youth to refer directly to BounceBack.

This network does not publish a full list of exclusion criteria. It gives these examples:

• Concerns outside the scope of the program, such as severe eating disorders or dementia, which are the network's own examples
• Complex needs that the program cannot meet. The network says its team will try to identify other local services, though its FAQ says it may not always be able to

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.

The network says OSP services are fully covered by Ontario Health. Its pages do not say whether an OHIP card is required.

• Guided self-help with a trained clinician or coach using focused workbooks, by telephone or virtually, which the network describes as fast access.
• Internet-based CBT guided by a therapist.
• Individual or group CBT, in person or in virtual sessions.
• Programs the network names: BounceBack, Clinician-Assisted Bibliotherapy, MindBeacon, Tranquility and internet-based CBT.

The network says guided self-led programs often last from about 6 weeks up to 6 months, that individual therapy can range from 4 to 17 sessions, and that it recommends weekly attendance whenever possible. It does not state a session length.

Languages and pathways the network states: Services depend on the languages available in the network. If it cannot offer service in a client's language, the network says it will arrange professional healthcare interpreters; Minookmii is an Indigenous-focused, culturally safe program that the network describes as working with Traditional Healers, Elders and Sharing Circles. Self-referral uses the same online form.

This network does not publish a waiting time or an intake-contact timeframe, so we cannot give you one. We do not estimate or average waits. If timing matters, ask the network when you refer yourself, and start a second route in parallel, such as BounceBack.

• The network lists service locations in 11 towns and areas, from Dufferin and Caledon to Parry Sound, plus virtual care by telephone, videoconference or asynchronous messaging.
• Minookmii is a separate Indigenous-focused pathway with its own description and referral entry.
• After the form the process is two emailed questionnaires, a screening contact by telephone or email, then a Clinical Intake and Triage assessment.
• The network gives rough lengths: guided self-led programs run about 6 weeks to 6 months, and individual therapy about 4 to 17 sessions.
• Its list of concerns includes perinatal mental health.

The network says OSP is not a crisis service and does not offer crisis services. If you are in crisis it says to go to your nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1.

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