Ontario Structured Psychotherapy in York Region and South Simcoe: Free Therapy and How to Refer Yourself

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is delivered through regional networks. Here it is Ontario Structured Psychotherapy at CMHA York Region and South Simcoe, coordinated by the Canadian Mental Health Association York Region and South Simcoe, a Network Lead Organization, which delivers local services with Across Boundaries and HF Care.

The network gives this as the area it serves:

• York Region
• South Simcoe
• North York
• North Etobicoke
• Malton

CMHA York states that it serves these areas, including North York and North Etobicoke. CAMH, which lists no areas, coordinates the program for the Toronto region, so if you live in North York or North Etobicoke ask both networks which one covers your address. Ontario Health groups this network with Waypoint and CarePoint Health 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 directly through the network's online form.

A health care provider can also refer you, but the page says a provider's referral is not required.

The page states that not having a family doctor is not a barrier to access.

1. Choose the self-referral form for your language: English, Mandarin or Cantonese, French, or the Indigenous Culturally Safe form.
2. Submit the form. The page says the intake team will contact you to schedule an assessment within five business days.
3. The page says the assessment is typically within four weeks, though waits vary.
4. For questions before you self-refer, email osp-referral@cmha-yr.on.ca or call 1-866-345-0224.

Phone

1-866-345-0224 (for questions before you self-refer)

Email

osp-referral@cmha-yr.on.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.

• Ontario residents aged 18 and over experiencing depression or anxiety symptoms.
• Concerns the provider page lists: depression and low mood; generalized anxiety and worry; health anxiety; obsessive-compulsive concerns; stress and coping; posttraumatic stress; social anxiety and performance fears; specific fears; and unexpected panic attacks and agoraphobic fears.
• Ages 15 to 17 go to BounceBack Ontario. The page says you do not need permission from a caregiver or health care provider to use it.

The patient page gives no list; it says that if your needs are more complex, the team will help connect you to more appropriate support. The page for care providers lists these as primary concerns that make a patient unsuitable, and separately says the patient should not currently be at high risk:

• Self-harm as a primary concern
• A personality disorder as a primary concern
• Substance use as a primary concern
• Disordered eating as a primary concern
• Manic or psychotic symptoms within the past six months
• Being at high risk of harming yourself or others, or having made an attempt within the last six months (listed separately from the primary concerns above)

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.

CMHA York states that OSP is not billed through OHIP and that there is no charge to you regardless of OHIP status. It describes the program as funded by the Government of Ontario.

• BounceBack: telephone coaching with a mental health coach, CBT skill-building workbooks and online videos.
• Clinician-assisted bibliotherapy: weekly 30-minute telephone sessions with a clinician, guided by a CBT self-help workbook.
• Individual or group CBT-based psychotherapy: weekly one-hour sessions with a clinician, in person or virtually.
• Internet-based CBT: online CBT modules with clinician support through secure texting.

The network says all services are available in person and virtually, in multiple languages. It does not state the number of weeks of treatment, and it names no in-person OSP site.

Languages and pathways the network states: English; Mandarin and Cantonese (the page's running text says Chinese); French, coordinated through The Royal; An Indigenous Culturally Safe Pathway for First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults who live in the service area, offering individual psychotherapy that blends Indigenous ways of knowing with CBT.

CMHA York publishes two timeframes. Its intake team says it will contact you to schedule an assessment within five business days, and it says the assessment is typically within four weeks, though waits vary. The four weeks is the time to assessment, not to the start of treatment. The five-business-day statement sits under a duplicated question heading on the page, so confirm it when you refer.

• The page states outright that OSP is not billed through OHIP, that there is no charge regardless of OHIP status, and that not having a family doctor is not a barrier.
• Self-referral forms exist in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and French, plus a separate Indigenous Culturally Safe form.
• The service area includes North York and North Etobicoke as well as York Region and South Simcoe, with local services delivered with Across Boundaries and HF Care.
• Session formats are specific: weekly 30-minute clinician phone sessions for bibliotherapy, weekly one-hour sessions for individual or group therapy, and clinician-supported internet CBT by secure texting.
• CMHA York Region and South Simcoe also runs BounceBack Ontario, the program for people aged 15 and over.

CMHA York says OSP is not equipped to provide emergency or crisis intervention. Its page directs you to the Community Crisis Response Service at 1-855-310-COPE (2673), the Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8, or 9-1-1.

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