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

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is delivered through regional networks. Here it is Northeastern Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program (NEOSP), coordinated by Health Sciences North in Sudbury, the lead agency, with partner agencies across the Northeast.

The network gives this as the area it serves:

• Algoma
• Cochrane District
• Timiskaming
• North Bay
• Sudbury

These are the sub-region headings on neosp.ca's service delivery sites. The partners it shows are Algoma Family Services and Maamwesying (Algoma), Timmins and District Hospital and REFLEXION Wellness Services (Cochrane District), CMHA (Timiskaming), CMHA North Bay (North Bay) and Health Sciences North (Sudbury). The network says services are delivered in sub-regions to keep care closer to home. Ontario Health describes the North East Region as Parry Sound to Sault Ste. Marie to the Hudson Bay and James Bay Coasts.

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

You can self-refer online or by phone, or be referred through a health care provider.

The page says you can self-refer to the program or be referred through your health care provider, so a doctor's referral is not required.

1. Self-refer online with the network's referral form. The network says people who refer themselves online can book their own appointment.
2. Or call toll-free 1-833-49NEOSP (1-833-496-3677) to self-refer by phone.
3. Referrals from a health care provider are contacted by the network to book their appointment.
4. The network says intake appointments are typically done by telephone.

Phone

1-833-49NEOSP (1-833-496-3677), toll-free. A second number, 705-523-4988, extension 4272, is also listed

Email

neosp@hsnsudbury.ca

Hours

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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 with depression, anxiety or anxiety-related conditions. neosp.ca says mild to moderate depression, anxiety and anxiety-related conditions.
• Concerns neosp.ca lists: mood disorders; excessive worry; social anxiety; unexpected panic attacks; health anxiety; specific fears; post-traumatic stress; obsessive-compulsive concerns; and stress and other coping problems.

neosp.ca says that if any of these statements apply to you, you may not be eligible, and it points to ConnexOntario for other services:

• You are currently considering suicide, or have attempted to take your own life in the past 6 months
• You have been hospitalized in the last year for a suicide attempt or another mental-health-related reason
• You want to harm another person or people, or have plans to
• You are primarily seeking treatment to better manage self-harming behaviours
• In the past year you have had significant manic or hypomanic symptoms, or you received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, or you are seeking help from this program for bipolar symptoms
• In the past year you have had psychotic symptoms, or you received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, or you are seeking help from this program for schizophrenia-related symptoms
• In the past three months you have struggled with alcohol or substance use
• You are seeking help from this program for disordered eating, or for medication management, or for borderline personality disorder
• You have moderate to severe impairment of cognitive functioning, such as dementia or an acquired brain injury, or moderate to severe impairment due to a developmental or learning disability

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 program describes itself as free, short-term CBT and related services, and neosp.ca says OSP is free, confidential and available across Northeastern Ontario. Your Ontario health card number is among the information collected once you enrol, but no page says whether a card is required for eligibility.

• Self-led tools with support from a coach, up to weekly one-on-one or group therapy, in person or virtually, in Health Sciences North's wording.
• BounceBack: up to six telephone coaching sessions, CBT skill-building workbooks and online videos.
• MindBeacon internet-based CBT paired with a therapist, for 12 weeks.
• Clinician-assisted bibliotherapy: weekly 30-minute telephone sessions, 6 to 8 sessions.
• Individual or group psychotherapy: usually 8 to 16 sessions, depending on the problem being treated.

neosp.ca says most people who enrol start with less clinician involvement, and Health Sciences North says many clients begin with self-led strategies such as guided workbooks with support from a coach by telephone. The network does not state a session length for psychotherapy.

Languages and pathways the network states: A NEOSP Indigenous Approach, led by Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services with Health Sciences North and First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners across the Northeast. neosp.ca describes it as being developed.

The program page publishes no time from referral to first contact. neosp.ca's pre-appointment page gives figures that apply after intake: BounceBack is approximately a 3 week wait after your intake appointment, clinician-assisted bibliotherapy contacts you within 2 weeks of intake, and wait times for psychotherapy are provided at intake.

• One toll-free number serves every sub-region, and all referrals begin at Health Sciences North, with care delivered by named partners across Algoma, Cochrane District, Timiskaming, North Bay and Sudbury.
• Referring yourself online lets you book your own intake appointment, while provider referrals are contacted by the network to book.
• neosp.ca describes a separate NEOSP Indigenous Approach, led by Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services, that is still being developed.
• neosp.ca publishes timings that apply after intake: BounceBack about 3 weeks after intake, clinician-assisted bibliotherapy contact within 2 weeks, and psychotherapy usually 8 to 16 sessions.
• The program page carries a Health Sciences North crisis block with the Sudbury Crisis Intervention Services address and hours, and neosp.ca has a crisis directory for each sub-region (Nipissing and Timiskaming are combined).

Health Sciences North says OSP is not a crisis or emergency service and to call 9-8-8 if you need immediate help. It lists Crisis Intervention Services in Sudbury at 705-675-4760 (toll-free 1-877-841-1101), available 24 hours a day, and says that if you live outside the Sudbury region you should visit your nearest crisis service or emergency department, or dial 911. neosp.ca has a crisis directory for each sub-region.

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