Ontario Structured Psychotherapy at Ontario Shores: Free Therapy and How to Refer Yourself

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is delivered through regional networks. Here it is Ontario Structured Psychotherapy at Ontario Shores, coordinated by Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, which coordinates OSP referrals for its region.

What the network says about where it serves:

• The region Ontario Shores coordinates. Its OSP page says only "this region" and names no city, county or region

Ontario Shores' referral page says it has outpatient clinics in Whitby, Peterborough, York Region and Lindsay and offers several services virtually across the province, but that describes its clinics, not an OSP boundary. Ontario Health lists Ontario Shores as an OSP network in the East region. Ontario Health lists Ontario Shores and The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre as the two networks in its East Region, which it describes as Scarborough to Deep River to Hawkesbury.

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

Ontario Shores accepts self-referral through an online form, and psychiatrists, primary care providers and other health care professionals can also refer.

The page says clients may self-refer instead of being referred by a professional, so a doctor's referral is not required.

1. Open Ontario Shores' Make a Referral page and use the button for Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP).
2. All Ontario Shores referrals are received by a triage nurse in Central Intake, and the intake team reviews the form.
3. Ontario Shores says it will contact you by your preferred method within 5 to 10 business days.
4. If you have not heard within 10 business days, call 905-430-4055, extension 6574, or email ospreferrals@ontarioshores.ca.

Phone

1-877-767-9642 (toll-free, for questions about the referral form)

Email

ospreferrals@ontarioshores.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 aged 18 and over with depression and anxiety-related conditions.
• Concerns the page lists: depression and low mood; generalized anxiety and worry; health anxiety; obsessive-compulsive concerns; posttraumatic stress; social anxiety and performance fears; specific fears; unexpected panic attacks and agoraphobic fears; and other anxiety and stress-related problems.
• Agreeable to attending weekly appointments with a therapist and completing practice assignments between sessions.
• An intake clinician assesses interested clients to determine whether they are eligible.
• Ages 15 to 17: the page says the BounceBack program is available by telephone for youth.

The OSP program page lists no exclusion criteria. The OSP self-referral form page lists these cases where the form should not be used. It is a general list and does not say it applies only to OSP:

• Legal or quasi-legal issues as the main reason for the referral, such as WSIB, family court, or reports to a court or probation (you can be seen if your motivation is treatment)
• A primary concern of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, substance use or addictions, or memory and neuropsychiatry
• Adolescent self-referrals: Ontario Shores does not accept self-referrals to its adolescent programs and asks a health care provider to submit the referral
• Children's Aid Society applications

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.

Ontario Shores describes OSP as free, publicly funded, evidence-based CBT. Its self-referral form asks whether you have an Ontario Health Card, but no page says a card is required or not required for eligibility.

• Step 1: self-help resources guided by a coach or clinician.
• Step 2: psychotherapy, which includes in-person or virtual cognitive-behavioural therapy with a clinician, one-on-one or in a group. The page also names Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure.
• Low-intensity services: BounceBack, MindBeacon internet-based CBT (12 weeks), clinician-assisted bibliotherapy and Tranquility internet-based CBT.
• Monthly group booster sessions after treatment: virtual, Tuesdays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, up to six sessions, for anyone who completed OSP treatment in the last six months.

The page says weekly appointments but does not state a session length or the number of weeks for psychotherapy, and it names no in-person OSP location.

Languages and pathways the network states: A French version of the page exists; Ontario Shores' low-intensity services page lists BounceBack coaching and workbooks in English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Traditional Chinese and Spanish, and MindBeacon in English and French.

Ontario Shores publishes no treatment waiting time. Its referral page says patients are notified once they have been referred and placed on the waitlist, and its OSP self-referral form page promises contact within 5 to 10 business days.

• Ontario Shores' OSP page names the hospital as the coordinator of OSP referrals "for this region" but never names the region, so you cannot tell from it which towns it covers. Ask before assuming your address is included.
• The OSP self-referral form page publishes a contact promise of 5 to 10 business days and gives a direct OSP phone extension and email that are not on the OSP page itself.
• Ontario Shores describes monthly group booster sessions after treatment: virtual, Tuesdays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, up to six sessions, within six months of finishing, with enrolment in the My Health, My Way patient portal.
• When we checked on 7 October 2026, the "self-referral form" link inside the OSP page's inclusion criteria opened an older 2023 form with no OSP option. The Make a Referral page's OSP button opened the current OSP form.

Ontario Shores' OSP self-referral form says referrals are not monitored 24/7 and to call 911 in an emergency. Its immediate-help page says to call or text 9-8-8 if you are thinking about suicide, or to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

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